[Mini_Power16]

Hello

Does anyone know any firms which can retrimmed these recaro mini seats..Im based in london

Does anyone know any good trimmers?

regards

[Goonery]

the best would be Connolly Bros, of Connolly Leather fame. It really is the best you can get in a car and althogh a retrim will cost, they'll be better leather than even Rollers use

Oh they are in London too I think,

Not advertising , but try UKhide.co.uk

[Mini_Power16]

thank you goonery

ps you can never get better leather in a rolls or a bentley

"conley leather its called" spelling maybe incorrect

that is the bollox of leather and thank you for your help

regards

[Rakey]

I think is it Newton and Commercial? They have been known in the classic circles for retrims for sometime, or maybe even try Radlett too

[Mini_Power16]

are they based in london tho rakey tho and i dunno weather this sounds stupid but they wont damage the side airbags when retrimming them will they?

and all so can retrimmers copy the stiching just like how they were stiched from the factory.

and could do the mini crest in the headrest just kike bentley do

[stealth haggis]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mini_Power16 (original)

are they based in london tho rakey tho and i dunno weather this sounds stupid but they wont damage the side airbags when retrimming them will they?

and all so can retrimmers copy the stiching just like how they were stiched from the factory.

and could do the mini crest in the headrest just kike bentley do

most likey better than the factory if you find a good place

[Den W]

I've just had my Recaro's changed to full black by having them 'buttonized' at a company called Clean Image in Chelmsford-they charged £400 for the 2 front seats and done a fantastic job-I'm well pleased,they've also guaranteed they won't fade for 2 years.
you can contact them on 01245350035 and ask for Gary.

[Goonery]

Quote: Originally Posted by Den W (original)

I've just had my Recaro's changed to full black by having them 'buttonized' at a company called Clean Image in Chelmsford-they charged £400 for the 2 front seats and done a fantastic job-I'm well pleased,they've also guaranteed they won't fade for 2 years.
you can contact them on 01245350035 and ask for Gary.

So in 25 months they will revert to the original colour

[Lucky Dave]

To be fair all leather is treated to this same type of colouring...

When did you last see a panther black or lapis blue cow?

[Alicsone]

yeh i looked at there website and am not convinced by this buttonizing. It looks like they just spray paint the leather. I was looking at having seats retrimmed and think the only way forward is to buy the leather colour you want and then get it retrimmed by an upholstery specialist

look at this lotus' seats
Connollising Gallery

I dont know if i would want my seats just masked and sprayed for 400 quid!!!!

[Goonery]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lucky Dave (original)

To be fair all leather is treated to this same type of colouring...

When did you last see a panther black or lapis blue cow?

this is pretty black

Edit: Pic of black cow (image removed - too large)

[LMB]

Quote: Originally Posted by Den W (original)

I've just had my Recaro's changed to full black by having them 'buttonized' at a company called Clean Image in Chelmsford-they charged £400 for the 2 front seats and done a fantastic job-I'm well pleased,they've also guaranteed they won't fade for 2 years.
you can contact them on 01245350035 and ask for Gary.

Any pictures?

[LMB]

Quote: Originally Posted by Goonery (original)

this is pretty black

** Awaits a pic of a Blue Cow **

[venox22]

lapis blue cow at that!!

[Goonery]

This was the nearest I could find, It's a river horse or hippo, but its not a cow.

Now , back to serious stuff, car seats or sofa hides are dyed with the colour and then given the conollising process . This is not a full colour to the whole depth of the hide, but does go deep enough to allow the whole grain of the material to take light abrasion without showing thebase undyed leather through. The 'Buttonising' process is a light surface coat of dye or colour which sticks to the top surface. The original leather underneath won't normally take the newer colour to any great degree so it will eventually wear away and show through. The cleaning process before the buttonising takes place must be scrupulous too, as any grease or un-natural substances left of the leather will cause the new coating to flake away very quickly.

[Den W]

Will post some pics at the weekend........The seats look amazing and are an exact match to the side bolsters etc in Panther Black.
A mate had his seats treated nearly three years ago in his car and it gets used daily and they still look like the day they were buttonized.
Hope this is of help to those interested

[PCooperS]

Try:
hrs autotrim - leather upholstery and re-trimming

[warner3]

try B-Trim they are based in brimsdown nr enfield
you always see brand new bmws in their yard stright from the showrooms.

[Clean_Image]

Hello Ladies and Gents,

I'm Danny the web stig from Clean Image, I folowed the link back from my website to this thread and I see there are a few misconceptions about connollising...

Firstly, the Connolly Leather Company Ltd. has ceased trading and has been gone for many years, there is a new company that bought the name, but they only sell leather products and as far as I know have nothing to do with the origional company. (Having never used them, I can't vouch for their products by the way!).

Connollising isn't just painting the leather... like most things, there is a lot to it once you scratch the surface (forgive the pun). Anyway, rather than have me waffling on as usual, you could read an article by Anna -- she spent a day with us a few weeks back and it just so happens that Connollising process impressed her greatly so she wrote about it here... Allan doesn't talk much, and he hates people watching him work, but he took a shine to Anna so she probably knows more about how he does it than anybody now.

Unfortunately, as a new member, I'm not allowed to post a link to the article, and the site is so new that it isn't indexed yet so I can even tell you what to search for! But if somebody wants to PM/email me, I'll give you the URL. The article explains a bit more about colour matching and how leather changes colour over time.

Buttonizing is much the same, but uses the modern EU approved, enviromentally friendly stuff which is used on modern cars. Being a different product, you can do different things with it, such as changing the colour of a seat. Contary to what Goonary said about 'scrupulous' cleaning to remove grease, often this is not an issue as the old factory applied dye is completely stripped off!

None of this is cheap, but it can be a lot cheaper that retrimming the car. Not always, but mostly, the existing leather in your car would have faded ot been stained by air contaminats, so a shiny new replcaement panel will stick out like a sore thumb -- so usually they reconnollise it to colour match, and when doing this it's easier just to recolour the whole seat than do the one panel (avoids labout time for masking and ensures an even colour across the whole seat). In fact, When Alan B isn't doing cars, he is one of the worlds only accredited experts on the restoration of leather furniture, which he often recolours to look 100 or more years old. So as you can see, it's not just a question of slapping on a coat of paint.

I hope this cleared up some misconceptions, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Danny

[Clean_Image]

Oh! Almost forgot... there is a chance that you will need neither re-trimming or full re-connollising. If it is just the usual worn driver's side bolster and seat base on a black leather, a localized repair will probably do the job and comes out a lot cheaper.