How to repair and refinish BMW Vader seats in 1,479 easy steps...

[wolferj-RIP]

Originally Posted by roadrash

Another possible application... would this work on steering wheels? Those seem to get quite a lot of wear too.

As long as the leather isn't worn through, it should work...

[boss23]

To remove the lower seat section off the seat frame, remove the 2 Torx screws on the front and 2 plastic pins in the back (which I just broke off, as the pins are not designed to come out. I replaced them with #10 sheetrock wall anchor and screw).

Okay.. so I'm not exactly a vader fan (I'm selling the suede one's I bought already), but I do like the dove grey sports seats.

1. wolferj .. great writeup. I have been following it step by step to get my m3 sport seats done. So far, so good.

2. Instead of using the drywall anchor, I decided to source them for the bmw parts counter. Those POS's were a b*tch to get all the way off.. so I thought that I might like to put those back on to keep my seats nice and secure. Long story short, I got the replacement clips that are broken off in the process. They were $0.26 a piece (pn 52 10 8 130 678). Totally affordable in my opinion.





Again, thanks for the great writeup. Just thought that I'd add that tid bit in, in case anyone out there wants to replace these with the proper bmw part.

[wolferj-RIP]

Always a great idea to use oem parts if available... I appreciate you posting up the part numbers for anyone interested.

Also, be sure to post up pics of your seats when you are done!

[boss23]

Is there anyone out there that is interested in redying their m stripes? I might buy some colorant for them, but it's going to be way too much for the job. If I get enough interest, I was thinking of getting smaller kits together and distributing them. Post here if you're interested. Thanks.

[boss23]

Okay... so mine didn't turn out as well as wolferj's, but here they are.

m3 sport seats:

You can definately tell which one was the drivers side before.

I might do a once over again when we get a new compressor. (someone apparently stole ours over the last few weeks )



I'll post picts of my back seat when it is finished.

[B3n]

How is this holding up currently?

[boss23]

They are holding up great! I had some serious doubts about this product, but it seriously works. I also went ahead and dyed my door cards so that they would match.. (dove grey seats with the original sandgrey of the ti didn't settle with me so well)

[wolferj-RIP]

Here is a more complete DIY that's in the Knowledge Base;

http://318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=25904

Also, the seats have worn great. After 2 years, the black refinish job needed a little touchup here and there, but for asthetics, not because the finish wore off...

I sold the coupe that had the dove seats about a year after I did the seats, and they were still in great shape, the finish was holding up fine...

[B3n]

Good to hear! Nice write up too! Im think im going to be doing this, you guys have any idea what the color code is for my car? Its a 95 318ti active with tan leather interior. Also with the kit u can get glossy finish ect, what options did you get with your kits?

[zoner]

James- what was the color code and finish that you used for the dove gray kit? I need to take my vaders apart to fix a bent driver's seat back and figure that this would also be a good time to refinish them. Thanks!

[wolferj-RIP]

Originally Posted by zoner

James- what was the color code and finish that you used for the dove gray kit? I need to take my vaders apart to fix a bent driver's seat back and figure that this would also be a good time to refinish them. Thanks!

I used color code 436 with a low gloss finish. Good luck!

[e36convert]

hi yes i would be intrested in this. i have just got some silver/ oe light gray vader seats. i have been lookin for some for a while and these were the best i could fine without payin sill money, how ever they have crackin in them i want to fill in the cracks and then re colour them. and i wanted to do the m3 stripes on them to as its cracked to. please can you help me . thanks for your time . Dan

[wolferj-RIP]

So, some one "gifted" me a pair of Vaders recently, which needed refinishing. So I went to work on them and here are the results;







The passenger seat back is from a sport seat, so it's missing the ///M stripes. The Drivers side is also heated back and bottom, the passenger seat is only heated on the bottom.
I cannot use them since my interior is black, so who wants them?

[eurohb]

Originally Posted by wolferj

So, some one "gifted" me a pair of Vaders recently, which needed refinishing. So I went to work on them and here are the results;







The passenger seat back is from a sport seat, so it's missing the ///M stripes. The Drivers side is also heated back and bottom, the passenger seat is only heated on the bottom.
I cannot use them since my interior is black, so who wants them?

wanna do mine next time ur in socal

[AnuketTi]

WOW James! This is the first time I checked out this thread. Great work there man! I will be doing this to my seats in the future. Good to know there is hope for them. Thanks for the detailed information.