How To Repair Leather Gearsticks.
Gearstick Repairs Colour Loss and Fading
Vehicles that have a gear stick that are covered in leather are normally made from split leather that’s ultra-thin, these are normally around 0.8mm thick.
Other types of materials used to make gearsticks are suede, alcantara and vinyl.
Gearsticks are normally in the centre of the car, but some cars have gear shifts on the steering column, more modern cars now have an electronic gear knob to turn to shift gears in an automatic vehicle.
With this being split leather it’s not the best grade of leather around and after a great deal of use and incorrect care gearsticks can become damaged.
Gearstick Repairs With Colour Loss
Constant use of a gearstick can result in colour loss and if not cared for correctly holes can start to appear caused by grease and grime left on the gearstick.
Gearsticks can be repaired using a leather repair kit, first of all you have to prepare the leather surface using a leather prep solution and red scotch pad. Once this is complete, wipe over the area with alcohol cleaner to sanitise the leather fully. Once you have wiped the leather with the alcohol cleaner, don’t touch the leather again with your bare hands as grease and sweat from your fingers can get into the leather.
Gearstick Damaged
If you need to repair damage this can be done at this stage using the leather fillers of fibre binder to repair the damaged areas.
The next stage is to apply the leather colourant this can be done with a sponge stippling the colour onto the gearstick, allow to dry or speed up the process up with a hairdryer. Once completed, lightly sand with a 1200 grit sandpaper.
The next stage is to apply the clear top coat lacquer. The top coat lacquer can be applied in the same way as applying pigment paints, apply by sponge and stipple this on, you want to apply four coats to the gearstick allowing to dry fully between each coat and lightly sanding between each coating with 1200 sandpaper. The final coating, once dry, can be sanded with 3000 grit sandpaper, this is used as a polishing paper to make the gearstick ultra-smooth and feel luxurious and brand new again.
Gearstick Clear Coat Lacquer