Carbon Wrap interior, headliner and new leather seats

[RobPatt]

I'm about to start an interior renovation... this is the worst part of the car... engine/suspension all kept up, revitalized, etc... paint pretty good, sweet style 5 wheels...

Looking for last minute thoughts, recommendations on this interior plan ( dark grey dash top, rest of inside is dove grey with wood trim )

- Headliner and ABC pillars sourced from wlsheadliners.com medium or darker grey headliner... or stick w/stock dove grey

- Use 3M 1080 black carbon fiber wrap to recover, update the look of all interior wood... ( check amazon.com, etc 2x5 foot sheet is about $40. )

- I was quoted $579 for new dove grey leather seat covers from leatherseats.com (you take the old leather off and put these new ones on..) I recieved a color leather sample, great match, looks WAY better than mine, and the skin is relatively thick and seemingly durable... I did the leatherique intensive treatment routine first about 10 years ago on this car.. then about 5 years ago... I'm ready for something new, nice, total and complete!

Comments, suggestions welcome... likewise if anyone has experience dealing w/ leatherseats.com OR if you've done the carbon wrap and can share photos?

Will post results...
Thanks,
Rob

[genphreak]

Sounds great Rob, I'm near doing it on the touring which also has grey seats.

I'd ask

1. Can they do double stitching in M colours blue/red. It makes a dark grey or black seat look good. I imagine it'd work on Lt Grey too. Definitely an easy job to do at home with a pair of pliers and the right torx wrench/socket, just need to take care undoing the seat belt adjuster clips and any electrical connectors underneath before removing the seats.

2. Consider getting a pair of sports seats first if you don't have them and don't mind a tight seat. The investment is worth it before changing the leather- less so after :)

Wisheadliners look good, its a pity international shipping is so expensive.

Carbon wrap makes a massive improvement over that POV woodgrain shite. My 540i/6 has carbon finish standard, its much nicer but I reckon carbon fibre wrap would be better than the glossy finish. Add an M5 shift surround if you have a manual and the interior'll be sweet as.

Don't forget to post before and after pics!

[RobPatt]

Keep in mind the bad cell phone lighting, nighttime, incandescent light in the garage, etc... looks much better in person. $40 for a 2x5 foot sheet of3M... great stuff... it "breathes"... re positionable until you make the adhesive set... kind of smooth it out like real fiberglass or carbon... soak w/resin and squegee the excess out... except there's no resin..

Some first look shots from the phone....
really adds a bolder, sportier look....
of course not all trim put back, etc, etc.... patience...

practice on a small piece of something, otherwise very easy to do the 3M 1080 carbon wrap... tons of vids on the 'net... and 3M has some good documentation as well....

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[ScottyWM]

Nice! I need to do that, my wood nonono is all scratched and cracked.

[RobPatt]

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[RobPatt]

ordered the leather seats from leatherseats.com

guys were awesome. pattern was arhived, but they "pulled it" or whatever.

$1050 shipped... full leather... front seats... back seats... arm rests... center rear armrest... AND new door card inserts in leather too.
(haven't installed the door cards... )

awesome fit, awesome service

like a new car... supple leather... all the leather matches in tone, wear, etc... smells great.

it's like driving a new car. ( the suspension updates helped too (sachs, dog bones.. poly subframe and thrust arms... all new tie rods...)

very pleased... very easy to install just takes time and patience...

it's not perfect because it's my first time.. few thigns i'd have done different... but was a fun learning project and I'm very happy w/the results.

a few pix here:
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[RobPatt]

ordered a small can of silver-gray colorant from color plus... cleaned all the plastic bits and repainted/coated them....

use a real fine brush... many light coats... everything looks WAY better in person than w/garage light and the iphone.

next project... VANOS seal and rattle kit from beasian... parts in box waiting, got the cam lock kit on ebay for $75. need to find a 3 day weekend.

[mattyb]

very nice work indeed, was just talking this afternoon about carbon wrap for interior / exterior finishes, want to go the same way. was there much prep work on the door cards prior to painting? they look great. any tips on fitting the seat leather?

[RobPatt]

very nice work indeed, was just talking this afternoon about carbon wrap for interior / exterior finishes, want to go the same way. was there much prep work on the door cards prior to painting? they look great. any tips on fitting the seat leather?

***for the Wrap***

for the 3M carbon applique... not much prep. remove the wood panels and clean well, make sure they're try.
...trim the carbon wrap a good 2 inches larger on all sides than you need...
....peel a tiny bit of the paper backing off the wrap, stick it to the piece you're working, and keeping the rest of the backing ON... lay the wrap down to make sure your lines are straight... if not, remove and readjust...

..the HARDER you stick the 3M adhesive, the better it will adhere... so just use light pressure, virtually none.. while positioning the piece.
THEN... slowly peel the backing away as you follow with the other hand smoothing the wrap on... this way you don't get wrinkles.

however... if you do get minor wrinkles, you can usually poke a tiny hole and it will lay down....

to wrap the edges, have a friend hold a hair blow dryer... ever so gently heat the wrap, and it will mold and bend and wrap around...
...just practice on random sample stuff around the house to get the hang of it first...

I bought the good 3M wrap, don't remember which one, they have 2 or 3 good longlife exerior UV quality ones... anyway it was under $50.

******

[RobPatt]

***SEATS*****

watch the videos at leatherseats.com

- work from the inside areas (center of the seats) to the outside... from front to back...
- make sure EVERYTHING lines up pretty closely (within an inch... inch & quarter max)..before putting the new leather on.
- won't line up exact because the foam and batting, etc of the seat is expanded... and will squish down and let it all line up as you press and hog ring the leather into place...
- BE GENTLE! the leather will give a bit... BUT if you pull or try to stretch TOO MUCH... you will create deform the leather, and where there should be a smooth area over the seat may end up with a little bag or sag... so if you pull or stretch... be sure to gently pull on the ENTIRE PANEL... not just a single section or area...

- folks use a fancy steam machine... I don't have one and didn't use one...

- it REALLY looks much better in person than the pix.... feels so soft...you don't know how brittle 20+ year leather gets in the sun... & smells great.

- pace yourself... if you're not an expert it will take longer than you think. a lot longer... however the second ones go much faster (second front seat bottom goes half time of the first... same for seat backs... same when you do left and right brakes, right... so same thing here.)

- be patient and fix all your bowden cables... align and measure your seat angles perfectly... clean all the dust out... clean your interior carpet while the front seats are out....

that's all I can think of right now... I have some pix I'll post, nothing near as great as the giants on this board have done... but maybe will help someone.

[califblue]

Very Impressive!

[mattyb]

Thankyou for sharing the experience, im looking forward to it the results seem brilliant, and yeh I have 20 year old leather in both e34s so know the need to refresh, they are cracking etc and new leather is the only thing I really want right now. thanks again

[RobPatt]

Thankyou for sharing the experience, im looking forward to it the results seem brilliant, and yeh I have 20 year old leather in both e34s so know the need to refresh, they are cracking etc and new leather is the only thing I really want right now. thanks again

pictures i posted really dont show how nice it is... and scott at leatherseats.com was very helpful... the leather is NOT as thick as the factory... but what would you expect?
if you jump into this and have questions please ask... pm, etc..