Hey Everyone,

I have been working on my car a whole bunch and took a few photos to show the newest change I've done this past week. I ordered my car and picked it up in December 2009. It's a 2010 MCS with a few JCW factory upgrades. I ordered Lounge Leather with white trim to match the car, with aluminum dash trim parts and silver rings on the doors. I got tired of the silver look and went to black a while ago. Easy change. I bought a GP dash from Alpha Motoring which was a little more involved. Recently did an LCI facelift on my 2010 by swapping out my climate control circuit board into a black carrier module from a 2012 Mini and made it work. The stereo was an easy swap and I didn't mind loosing some functions as long as I could listen to the radio an CD player.

Being tired of the white trim on the seats I called Mini. It's $3000.00 for Lounge Leather seat covers with red trim. That's not the seats themselves or the rails, that's just the head rest and covers for the two front seats. Holy crap, no thanks. I did some research, found an Automotive Leather/Vinyl dye and went to work. It took a few days total for both seats and head rests but I've changed the look of my interior so much that I'm not even driving the same car 10 years later and I'm driving the same car 10 years later.

Here's some photos of before, during and after my most recent new upgrade. I only used a flat edge paint brush for the job and clean up was crazy easy with just water alone. Some soap really cleaned out the brush but this stuff washes up with water. It doesn't stick to the leather and really adheres to the vinyl. I looked at a lot of different colors before choosing the one I used. I also started with white edges which are the correct color to dye.. I did wash my seats up prior to starting. I used a toothbrush in between all the lines in the leather to clear out all the old dust and along all the piping on the seat edge also. It made a difference and made the seats look like brand new once I was finished with everything. I've got a few more things in the works coming very soon.

 

Looks like you've done a good job. It looks great from the pics.

 

Very nice! I've never seen anyone do just the piping. Looks great with the floor mats as well.

 

Thanks a lot Knt. I appreciate your saying so!

 

Thanks cooper48. I appreciate your posting here.

 

Looking very good! Well done.
Could you tell me what color and brand you used. I have the same seats in my Roadster and really like the red. But 3000$ is insane.
What do you mean by "I also started with white edges which are the correct color to dye.."

 

Thanks a lot for checking it out and for the kind words. What I meant by starting with white edges was just that. I ordered my Mini with Lounge Leather with white trim. Not blue trim or another color. White is the easiest to dye a different color. Starting with a darker under color trying to lighten it up takes more effort that dying a lighter color dark.

As for the brand I used here's the link to the site. I spent a fair amount of time looking at the reds and chose Ferrari Russo Red over the plain Russo. It was a tiny shade different but those are what I was looking at.

https://autoleatherdye.com/

Good luck~! PM or post here if you need or want any other input or help.

 

Hi, I understand now about starting with the white. Did you buy a kit with adhesion promotor or just the dye. Did you apply a clearcoat afterwards?
Could you take a close up picture of the red vinyl for me?

Awesome job!

regards,
Rein

 

Seats turned out nice. Yeah, the pricing for OEM seat covers is nuts.

FYI - I was the original owner of that GP dash. Had it in our R55, along with the JCW Championship seats, piano black dash, and a GP2 steering wheel. So it looked a lot like yours. Sold it to Alpha Motoring a couple years ago.

 

Hey Rein,

I did not buy the adhesion promoter and did not use clear coat either. I didn't want to get the adhesion on the leather and have the red dye stick to it. It's kind of vinyl itself so doesn't stick well to the leather. I didn't use tape even though I tried. I was too much effort, didn't stick, didn't do the job and was a waste of time trying. I used a flat edge paint brush and took my time. I went over it at least three times total for all the piping on all the seat parts. I cropped a photo for you to see some red and some white too. This is just the beginning but you can see what's up there. If you have any more questions just post~

Thanks again for the kind words too~

Slade

 

Well JackMac~ I couldn't be a happier person to have bought it and have it in my car. It was a wonderful upgrade for sure. FYI~ I love it!

PEACE

 

Thanks for the picture,

It doesn't come off or crackle?

I assume you bought the smallest bottle? I'm going to see if I can get it here in the Netherlands.

regards,
Rein

 

It's qualities are similar to the vinyl itself. It's a rubbery paint that adheres to the vinyl and washes off with water. All in all your body doesn't come in contact with the piping much anyway. It's going to last the life of the car. If you'd like I'd be more than happy to get a bottle and ship it to you. The cost was $35 US and whatever the shipping would be. Just an option.

 

Thanks for the offer, I'll check out their shipping policy and will get back to you if necessary.
I assume it doesn't wash off with water once it has dried? Otherwise it might be an issue with the convertible and the unpredictable weather here.

 

Hi Rein, No Brother, the dye is permanent to the vinyl. It doesn't rub off when I try to. It's a perfect solution to getting red lines on the seats.

 

Great,

they do ship to the Netherlands, so I'm going to order from them. :-)
Can you please confirm that you ordered this exact item (RFR23)? Shipping is almost the same as the price of the dye, but it's for a good cause

Automotive Leather & Vinyl Dye Dye Size: 8oz - touchups / 1 seat frontCar
Manufacturer: Ferrari Ferrari Dye Color: Ferrari Russo - RFR23 $ 29.95

 

Yes sir! You have to correct color there. I purchased mine from Evilbay so it was a tad more. Nice deal for the bottle. You won't use very much at all. Take your time, wipe off any excess from the leather and do several coats until you achieve a good opaque coloring. Please post before and after shots too. If love to see the change you make. Best of luck with it!!

 

Ordered! Now we wait

 

Dye came in today. Couldn’t wait to start

excellent color, slow progress but I find it quite relaxing.
i will post some more when I get started on the seats.
Looks like I will be good for about a mile of piping considering the the level in the bottle hasn’t changed

 

That's exactly where I started too, with the headrest. You can probably get miles of piping colored with the bottle. It takes so very little overall to get the job done. You won't use more than an ounce. Can't wait to see them in the car... Have you taken before shots yet?

 

I did!




Headrests came out very well!
I want to thank you for finding the dye and the perfect color !

 

Way to go!!! Nothing is cooler than having before and after photos. Is that a Roadster then... I always loved those cars. If I didn't have the one I do I would pursue owning one of them hard top preferably. I have always loved the look of the roadster... Pretty soon Rein you're going to have "JCW" Championship seats... How totally Awesome! I've got something else pretty cool to show you too... It'll be a nice surprise post in the next day or so.. I need to take some photos to share...

 

Great! Looking forward to the pictures

 

IYou're going to want these in your car once your done with your seats.




Another member here turned me onto this company that does seat belts. I got a notice that they received my seat belts one day. A couple of hours later I got another email letting me know they were on the way back to me. Same day turn around on new belts. You can get a whole lot of different colors too. I chose the red trim of course because it matches so well. Enjoy!~!~!
http://www.safetyrestore.com/

 

OMG, that’s gonna cost me some money!
I like it a lot, but there might be a problem as I’m based in europe :-( The turnaround time would be a problem not to mention the shipping costs.
But maybe I can find a set of used ones in the USA to send them to the company or something like that

enjoy your belts, they look awesome