Nigel Coleman

Thanks very much Tim. I found the DIY method results looked very good. If you are able to remove the front seats and spray the coats on then I'm sure you can achieve even better results. You can even get mini spray guns that work off aerosol can propellent that would do the job from Amazon. Only down side is that I'm suffering with tennis elbow and a sore wrist from all that "sponge dabbing". 😬

Hi Malcolm, With the SC430 so far I have only found the one sensor under the heated seats switch and that one is not adjustable. As I said before there is at least another sensor somewhere or maybe even 2 which may also be the fault cause?

Keith. While recently recolouring my leather seats I found the location of the alarm sensor. It is very easy to get at being directly under the heated seats switches. The trim is easy to remove, start at the back area near the armrest lock. Yes a mobile phone would be extremely close to this sensor when inside the central storage under the armrest - I don't know if this actually causes any problems though? I have purchased a tested replacement sensor from a breakers on eBay for £20.00. It is from a SC430 which did only 39,000 miles while mine has done well over 100,000 miles. However this sensor may not be the cause of the alarm fault as there is at least one other alarm sensor/ECU on the car - but I have no idea of it's location? I'll fit the sensor tomorrow and report back.

Thanks Bob - it was hard work. I finished with 2 coats of semi-matt colourlock sealer. it is supposed to protect the colour and make the leather easier to clean? Then reapply every 6/12 months. Some say that the leather conditioner can not actually be absorbed into the plastic water based leather dye/paint and you end up with a glossy finish which attracts dirt and grime,. I know that's a classic used leather look but I think new car leather seats look more matt than glossy? However the sealant does come in "gloss" (slippy) as well as semi-matt and matt. I used semi-matt.

Thanks Bob - it was hard work. I finished with 2 coats of semi-matt colourlock sealer. it is supposed to protect the colour and make the leather easier to clean? Then reapply every 6/12 months. Some say that the leather conditioner can not actually be absorbed into the plastic water based leather dye/paint and you end up with a glossy finish which attracts dirt and grime,. I know that's a classic used leather look but I think new car leather seats look more matt than glossy?

Improvements with both paint layers and filling. Much better than it was.

(C) Method Used 1. Use leather cleaner and brush into a foam. Leave for a minute then clean off with a cloth rinsed in clean water – repeat if necessary. Wait until dry or speed up drying with hair dryer. 2. Degrease seats with cleaning/degreasing spirit. Dry with hair dryer 3. Lightly sand crease and cracked areas with the sanding pad – clean with spirit. 4. Fill in cracks and creases with the “filler”. Leave for 20 minutes to dry the sand with the sanding pad. Repeat this several times depending on how deep they are and/or between paint coats. (some old creases my be too big/deep to fill?) Many very fine creases will improve with just the paint layers. 5. Mask trims and covers. 6. Apply the colour dye/paint in a dabbing action with a black sponge. Use the hair dryer to dry the paint between coats (I found that a heat gun was to hot/powerful) Apply 4 to 5 coats to the front seats, centre armrest and door handles and inserts drying with the hair dryer between coats. You can also fill and try to improve cracks between coats. Apply 3 to 4 coats to the back seats. 7. You can easily remove the back seats for painting. The bottom seat just pulls out from the front and you remove the back ones by taking off the rear head rests then remove 4 seat bolts and slide out the seat sideways through the seatbelts. 8. Remove the armrest for painting (several screws) and centre console trim starting at the back of the heated seats switches (I found an alarm sensor right there!) including the gear selector trim to paint the leather. 7. I used the very small flat art paint brushes to paint in the tiny gap between the silver radio unit and control unit (mask silver edges) and other places. You will need to repeat this at least 4 times. 8. I removed the door electric window trims for painting behind. Also the door handle centre screw for loosening the handle trims and painting behind. 9. Paint the door inserts and handles with the sponge. Mask the wood trim edges and use the small flat paint brush to get paint under the wood trim and trim edges – repeat until you get the correct coverage. 10. Mask the front seat side bolster plastic trims. Push the leather bolster in with your fingers to get room to sponge and paint lower down. Hold open and dry with hair dryer between coats, push leather in again and move along and repeat. Touch up and repeat in places difficult to get at with the small flat paint brush. 11. Used the hole repair kit and filler to fix the rip in the drivers seat. Sanded painted several times. 12. Applied the mini leather sealant to all coloured surfaces with a black sponge. 2 coats to front seats, armrest and door handles.

(B) Here is a list of the materials and tools I used (I already had the Leather Cleaner) total cost in the region of £165.00 delivered. You will also need a hair dryer, masking tape and a supply of rubber gloves. Geist. Easy Colour Restorer DIY Leather & Vinyl paint | www.leathercare.com Geist. Easy Filler to fill scratches and cracks on leather and vinyl | www.leathercare.com Geist. Double Sided Sanding & Finishing Pads | Pack of 2 | www.leathercare.com Colourlock Set of 3 Sponges 90 x 55 x 35 mm : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive COLOURLOCK Stainless Steel Spatula/Oil Painting Knife : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen COLOURLOCK Leather Cleaning Spirit for Cleaning and degreasing Leather Furniture Suite, Sofas, settees, car Seats, Alcantara interiors, Jacket Collars and Cuffs, etc (225 ml) : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive COLOURLOCK Leather Glue Crack Kit Solvent- (Glue 20g, Tension, 3 Mini Brushes) : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools Colourlock® mini leather sealant, 30 ml, seals leather against abrasion, wear and stain, for cars, furniture, leather jackets : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive Koogel Paintbrush Set-7 Filbert Art Nylon Artist Painting Flat Brush Natural Wood for Professional Oil Acrylic Watercolor Gouache Painting (White Tip) : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen PROUSKY 4 PCS Paint Brush Set, Wooden Handle Foam Brush for Arts and Crafts 4 Sizes Absorbent Foam Brushes for Oils Varnishes Stains Acrylics : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen Geist. Leather & Upholstery Cleaning Brush Medium | To clean car seats, leather sofas, and alcantara | For car interiors, furniture, boots, shoes, bags and more : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools Autoglym Gentle Leather Cleaner Kit **COMES WITH MICROFIBRE CLEANING TOWEL & APPLICATOR PAD** : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

(A) So, to begin with I watched numerous YouTube videos on how to recolour leather car seats to give me confidence in doing the job myself. There are are lots to view for both professional and DIY recolouring and repair. The “Colourlock” ones seemed to be the best? I used the DIY method of using a small sponge to “sponge & dab” the dye/paint onto the seats. (Also I used this method as I don’t have a garage as most professionals remove the seats then spray them). I achieved good results but you could do even better if you are able to remove the seats and spray on the dye. I also had a small hole in the drivers seat that I needed to repair. I sent the broken drivers side seatbelt strap to the dye/paint suppliers leathercare.com for a paint match – you could send your headrest or a small piece of leather from under the front/back seats to match. You will need to order 2 x 200ml bottles to do the entire car. It appears to me that it virtually impossible to get a perfect colour match to a 17 year old interior. Once applied the matched paint will end up being at least one shade brighter, newer than the old leather colour so you will have to do ALL the leather in the car. Leathercare.com labelled the bottle “Lexus Ecru”. If you look at the following photo you can see various stages of coats and shades. The armrest is not cleaned and appears glossy with years of dirt, grease and grime with a greyish tint. The headrest has just 2 coats of paint and the finished seat has 4/5 coats of dye/paint.

Thank you very much Phil. Once I have recovered I'll add text of what I did.

32 man hours of OCD work................... pleased with the results!

You could try this Peter? I know the SC430 is only 2 doors - but the principle should be the same.

Of course that was my typo error. Should read "60-70mph". 🤪

Hi Nick Do you have the part number and cost please?

When I collected my 2006 SC430 from Gloucester on the way back to Torquay (doing between 70-80mph most of the way) it returned an average of 32.8 MPG which I thought was excellent for a V8. Probably the 6 speed gearbox helped? Back home I mostly do stop-start short trips and it's very hilly (Torquay - like Rome - is built on 7 hills) and it returns 18 MPG Really pleased. (use 99 grade petrol)

Thanks Glyn.............. very useful info. Those 3 videos put me off doing the job but that update makes it look simple.

Thanks - I'll try that as the Gorilla tape has turned out to be far to sticky.

No, just faulty rear parking sensors which buzz for 4 seconds when reverse is selected then don't work.

Have resorted to leaning across and locking the passenger door from inside then locking the car (drivers door) with the key - this disables the alarm (as per handbook instructions). Not ideal but the neighbours are happy. I'm having problems with local garages not even wanting to look at the car to fix it. Also still having problems with the rear parking sensors - and just discovered what appears to be a front parking camera installed? I love my car the drive and mechanics are great but these electrical problems are annoying and let it down. 😒

IMPORTANT UPDATE! Another related problem: So last night the folding roof was down - but would not close. So I looked in the handbook and read the emergency manual roof closing pages. I got to stage 4 but the remaining looked like heavy going so went inside for a cup of tea and to look online. I found an American forum thread suggesting a faulty above windscreen (passenger or driver side) pin locate sensor/switch. So I looked into the passenger side roof pin location point and immediately saw the black plastic pin cover stuck inside! This was holding the switch below in the "closed position" so the open roof would not close - I removed it and the roof then worked properly. What had happened was the glue from the worn away Gorilla tape was so sticky that it wedged in place and when the roof was opened pulled the plastic cover off the actual metal pin keeping the switch on. So the roof is now working but it's back to being noisy when closed. It looks like the tape is not such a good idea? Any thoughts from members?

IMPORTANT UPDATE! Another related problem: So last night the folding roof was down - but would not close. So I looked in the handbook and read the emergency manual roof closing pages. I got to stage 4 but the remaining looked like heavy going so went inside for a cup of tea and to look online. I found an American forum thread suggesting a faulty above windscreen (passenger or driver side) pin locate sensor/switch. So I looked into the passenger side roof pin location point and immediately saw the black plastic pin cover stuck inside! This was holding the switch below in the "closed position" so the open roof would not close - I removed it and the roof then worked properly. What had happened was the glue from the worn away Gorilla tape was so sticky that it wedged in place and when the roof was opened pulled the plastic cover off the actual metal pin keeping the switch on. So the roof is now working but it's back to being noisy when closed. It looks like the tape is not such a good idea? Any thoughts from members?

Video 1 states main dealer only. 🤑

Anyone know where you can buy the correct aerial? Is it main dealer only?