Help! My leather seats got damaged by rubbing alcohol

Arrrrrrrggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I noticed there was some gum on my seats (pass. side outer bolster), so I used a little ice to freeze/harden it, and removed most of it with my fingernail.

 

Now, to finish the job, I used rubbing alcohol, as per a thread I read here.

 

I started rubbing a bit in a circular motion.

 

I then notice my rag was turning tan, and what I thought was the remains of the gum on the seat was actually the natural leather color peeking through.

 

I rubbed the dye right off and the grain of the leather is gone (that 1" x 1" patch is as smooth as a baby's ass).

 

WTF?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What the HELL do I do now??

I have seen these kits that you can buy to re-stain leather for when it gets worn out. It might actually be an "As seen on TV" type item, but its just a thought.

Yeah, I guess I could contact Leatherique...

 

Too bad Magic Mender doesn't have a Subaru-specific kit.

Why not try a black marker

Black marker would look pretty nice on the beige seats.

 

To the OP: Might as well go check with the dealer. One of the dealerships I worked at had some girls come in every Wednesday to do touch-up on interior items such as upholstry on trade-ins. There were cigarette burns that were indiscernible when they were done. That's where I would start.

Black marker would look pretty nice on the beige seats.

 

To the OP: Might as well go check with the dealer. One of the dealerships I worked at had some girls come in every Wednesday to do touch-up on interior items such as upholstry on trade-ins. There were cigarette burns that were indiscernible when they were done. That's where I would start.

 

My local dealer insisted on having my VIN to give me a tube of Atlantic Blue Pearl touch up paint that was on the shelf next to him in plain view.

 

They're idiots.

There are vendors that do all sort of things at the dealerships including fixing interior panels/seats. your best bet is to find a vendor on the lot and ask, or ask the porter who they use. This way you can deal directly with the vendor and get a cheaper price that if you went through the dealership. You'll be amazed at the amount of information the lot porter has!

 

X

Good call laz.

 

Yeah, some of the vendors that do this kind of repair do amazing work. The advantage I had back in the day was I saw their work on a daily basis and knew it was good and was friends with the girls who did the work, so they always treated me right.

Wow. I want the touch up lady to put in some work on my car! I have a cig burn in my headliner that makes me want to punch a baby. I am gonna call some dealers tomorrow...

My local dealer insisted on having my VIN to give me a tube of Atlantic Blue Pearl touch up paint that was on the shelf next to him in plain view.

 

They're idiots.

 

That may sound dumb to you, but depending on the dealer, they will at least somewhat match the Lot of paint as ABP isn't the same from car to car.

 

Even Paintscratch.com (highly reputed as one of the best places to get touch-up paint) will ask for your VIN to verify the right color.