Suggestion on seat restoration

[jaida23jjj]

I have 2012 Raider scl.. I bought it a year ago, and when I brought it home the seat was a deeper color.. It has been garage kept and I have tried everything i  can think of beside dye to get color back.. If anyone has any suggestion on how to bring the color back to the dark mahogany color i would greatly appreciate any suggestions.. I have already tried saddle soap, Neatsfoot oil, Lexol leather conditioner, and a friend used his harley brand saddle soap.. it darkens it till it dries..   

[RoadStarRaider]

[A.T.]

Found this on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/LeatherNu-Complete-Leather-Restoration-Repair/dp/B003XZQQZM

I'm sure there are other products

[Ares X]

WELCOME to the forum!

I'm guessing the previous owner didn't keep it in the garage (or covered) like you are.  When I ride my bicycle around the neighborhood I see this guy's V-Rod parked outside his garage all the time and I just feel so bad for it.

I bet you could easily find the non-SCL seats available at a good price, but not so sure how well you'll find an SCL replacement.

[jaida23jjj]

Thank you A.T... I  will look into that..

Ares X... I was told that the previous ower kept it in garage... And it's possible he did and parked in under a window.. I just got out my classic bmw convertible  that had been been parked in the garage next to the window with the top down since last summer, and when i got it out, the back seats had been sun faded... The interior is junk anyways but it can happen... So im not sure.. but I love the way the seat looked originally and would love to get it back to that color if i can... 

They no longer sell that seat anymore... Grrr

[kphudson]

I have tried to keep mine in good shape and color also. But sadly these seat are made of low grade leather. I have saddles that are 50 yrs old and well used that hold up better than this material. Good luck on keeping it from fading and cracking. I will end up getting mine recovered with better leather.

[dukedomain]

I have tried to keep mine in good shape and color also. But sadly these seat are made of low grade leather. I have saddles that are 50 yrs old and well used that hold up better than this material. Good luck on keeping it from fading and cracking. I will end up getting mine recovered with better leather.

That seems to be the better option.  Dye kits won’t last on leather between sweat, sun and rain, you’ll end up wearing the color on your pants.

[cobaltss01]

From my experience with boots and jackets, mink oil usually darkens leather a bit.

[Ares X]

I have tried to keep mine in good shape and color also. But sadly these seat are made of low grade leather. I have saddles that are 50 yrs old and well used that hold up better than this material. Good luck on keeping it from fading and cracking. I will end up getting mine recovered with better leather.

That seems to be the better option.  Dye kits won’t last on leather between sweat, sun and rain, you’ll end up wearing the color on your pants.

That would be my concern.   

I am a leather nut. I have only leather boots, only leather jackets and a whole lot of leather furniture, but when it comes to anything on the motorcycles, I have found vinyl just works better, especially in AZ.

[Dirtiegirtie]

They no longer sell that seat anymore... Grrr

You don't need a new seat, just get that one re-upholstered. I was going to have one done 2 years ago... they were going to shave some of the foam down to get me to sit 'in' the seat, not 'on' the seat, and put new black upholstery on it for $150. Most upholstery places work on classic cars and boat interiors so they end up doing motorcycle seats because they are such small, easy jobs for them. I bet they could color match it with vinyl very easily for you.

[Ares X]

They no longer sell that seat anymore... Grrr

You don't need a new seat, just get that one re-upholstered. I was going to have one done 2 years ago... they were going to shave some of the foam down to get me to sit 'in' the seat, not 'on' the seat, and put new black upholstery on it for $150. Most upholstery places work on classic cars and boat interiors so they end up doing motorcycle seats because they are such small, easy jobs for them. I bet they could color match it with vinyl very easily for you.

This was going to be my suggestion as well.

I have a 2014 Raider and my vinyl seat looks brand new.  I had a 2009 Raider and the vinyl seat looked brand new when I got rid of it in 2014. It also had been parked in the AZ sun at work for over a year during weekdays.

[bacchus40]

From my experience with boots and jackets, mink oil usually darkens leather a bit.

thats what i was going to suggest. but it looks like its been beaten to hell as is..

if leather is not treated when new, i dont know how much it will do years after use.

[Ares X]

I did a quick Google search and people are recommending Leather Honey.

If you click on the pic you can see some of the comments and they mention that it does darken the leather. Might be worth a shot considering it's only $19 before shelling out to have it reupholstered.

I may actually order some of this and try it on some of my faded jackets.

[TRaider_John]

I have a pair of natural goatskin herders (boots) and wanted to clean/treat  without changing the color.  I found  Boot Doctor Formula 4.  It is a cleaner and conditioner I've used for a couple years on those boots and it has not changed the color of the leather.  It's widely available.  I bought mine at Boot Barn, it's on line and WalMart has it. 

[Ares X]

I have a pair of natural goatskin herders (boots) and wanted to clean/treat  without changing the color.  I found  Boot Doctor Formula 4.  It is a cleaner and conditioner I've used for a couple years on those boots and it has not changed the color of the leather.  It's widely available.  I bought mine at Boot Barn, it's on line and WalMart has it.

Yeah, but she wants the color to change back to the darker color it used to be.

[TRaider_John]

I have a pair of natural goatskin herders (boots) and wanted to clean/treat  without changing the color.  I found  Boot Doctor Formula 4.  It is a cleaner and conditioner I've used for a couple years on those boots and it has not changed the color of the leather.  It's widely available.  I bought mine at Boot Barn, it's on line and WalMart has it.

Yeah, but she wants the color to change back to the darker color it used to be.

Ya, I thought it might restore the original color, but it probably won't change what color it is now.  Bad suggestion...please ignore.