I have a 2002 Sebring Silver with all black interior. Does anyone know which interior parts are leather and which are vinyl? Is there a diagram somewhere showing what is what?

 

I had a very good source in the custom automobile interior industry tell me that everything that is perforated within the S2000 interior is real leather. That covers the door card inserts, elbowrest, steering wheel, and seats.

Now while various parts are leather based it is important to know that the parts are heavily coated with a top-layer that is mostly a coloured vinyl application on top of the leather. It isn't the type of leather that is a natural hide with open pores that readily absorbs conditioners like you might find in very high end autos. This leather is heavily coated - called pigmented leather. I think the Ap1 leather parts are coated even more than the ap2 leather.

Personally I find the oem leather parts are pretty crappy, I've had many of them replaced with higher grade replacements that look and feel much nicer.

 

Thanks! That was my suspicion. I've found that mink oil does absorb well into the perforations.

 

Didn't realize the leather was coated. Knowing that, what's the best protector/conditioner to use on it? I've been using Lexol up till now.

 

Used lexol in my Audi, best thing I've ever used. Brother also used lexol in his ap2 said it was wonderful.

 

Lexol seems to be well liked by many users. I also like to give the seats a top coat with Pinnacle's Leather cleaner and conditioner, or even 303 Aerospace as those two products have UV protection. If your car is in the sun for any period time UV protection is good to have.

 

Depends on the car. Your Bentley has a nice grain leather and that is it. Your lower tier cars do have "leather" but it is highly processed for the auto market. Plus there is a lot of vinyl mixed side by side in the upholstery; look for the term "leather trimmed". The parts that do have leather are bonded to a plastic coating. For the most part, it is very durable and pretty much care free. Conditioners cannot be absorbed through the plastic, unless there are hole perforations that would allow conditioner to seep through the holes.

Use a water test to see what kind of leather/vinyl it is. If it leaves a spot, it is naked leather. Many European cars are like this. Use leather conditioners.

If it is American/Asian, it is probably coated. Don't use a leather conditioner (unless you have holes like our S) but do use something vinyl conditioning and UV protection.

 

^ Yup this is pretty much how it is. I have a new Jeep vehicle with "leather" seats and I spilled an entire frozen coffee drink on the seat recently. Surprisingly not a drop of it absorbed into the seat, everything wiped off with a towel since the leather is so heavily coated, lol.

I've done the water drop test on my ap1 seats and it sits there for hours, as it won't absorb.

When you see S2000 seats cracked, it is mostly the top layer/coating of the seat that cracks and peels off first, in many cases the underlying leather stays in tact and mostly wrinkles.

That's why something like 303 Aerospace does a pretty good job of keeping the top layer of seats protected despite it being a vinyl protectant, and it offers UV protection. I still condition our seats where you have perforations , and along the stitching, as it will absorb through those areas to some degree.

 

Bumping this old thread to find out about seat replacement options.

So ive been on the market for S2K and almos all have upperbolster wear (through the coating) and lower bolster wrinkling and deformation.
But its mostly the driver side. so I have a few questions
1) can you disassemble the passenger seat and rails and attach to a driver side one, or are they assymetric and unable to swap?
2) how much can a little dye and protectant replenish upper bolster wear and cracking? does this need to be professionally adressed- if so how much should i expect?

Thanks in advance

 

The center panels of the seats, including the seat bottoms, with all the holes, are the main "leather" components. They are interchangeable. No need to swap out the seats, just swap the panels.

The bolster can take a beating. Mine was getting worrisome so I changed how I enter and exit the car. I don't touch the bolster anymore and the wear has been suspended. I sit down 90 degrees and then rotate to the driving position. I keep the seat bottom well conditioned and it has not worn to my eye.

For bolster repair, if you have a hole or crack, you can use one of those kits to repair. The pros use a mouth air brush with a bottle that you can quickly mix paint. At least our stuff is black. You might even use a magic permanent marker. If you really want it done well, if your skills and time is limited, check with your favorite car dealer. They have these people on tap. My large Honda dealer goes to town each Thursday with the for hire team fixing dents, repairing upholstery, painting, and detailing. Usually they have a particular upholstery shop on call they can recommend. I am using one shop recommended to repair the leather seat bottoms of my MDX. (New OEM covers for it are $600 APIECE!!) plus installation. The shop can do it for 1/3 the price.