Lacquer thinner on leather, good or bad? (in my case anyway) - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Larry's M5 · 24th March 2005, 20:28

Ok, here's the story... When I got my beast about 2 months ago, I had always thought it was all black sport seats, but as it turned out, the previous owner didn't like the original black/silverstone leather so he had someone sprayed a top black coat on the silverstone...

About a week after getting the car, I started to notice what seems to be leather cracks but in fact it's the top black paint that's cracking. I managed to scrub off all the paint on the door panels, but the black paint the seats are stuck on pretty good... I can scrub them off inch by inch by it will take forever and might not be a perfect clean. Should I try lacquer thinner? Will lacquer thinner hurt the original silverstone dye or the leather itself?

The guy who sprayed painted the interior did a very bad job, a lot of paint got on the plastic next to the leather on the door panel too... I'll be lucky if I can fix this mess

On the brighter side, at least the leather underneath are kept in perfect condition I guess :P

vndkshn · 24th March 2005, 21:20

It likely would damage the silverstone as well, and do a number on the leather in the process.

BKH · 24th March 2005, 22:05

Wow - that is unbelievable. FWIW, I wouldn't use lacquer thinner w/o testing it out first. It's too aggressive. If you try it and it really seems to leave the color and surface texture of the Silverstone inserts intact then you could probably proceed cautiously if it is the final step before conditioning. And - no matter what - you're using aggressive techniques regardless so I would make sure to get the proper conditioner for tanning process that the leather originally underwent. Is there a good shop? You could do the grunt work and turn it over to them...

Philip · 24th March 2005, 22:15

I use "Goof Off" to remove the painted warnings of the leather visor, and plastic visors of other cars. It removes the cured paint and leaves the surface intact. You may want to try this as I'm pretty sure it will not damage your interior leather and plactic. Lacquer is MUCH more agressive, and I would try less harsh solutions first.

Multiple applications of Goof Off may be required. Whatever you decide to use, follow up with a good leather conditioner since the paint stripping process is harsh to leather.

mottati · 24th March 2005, 23:38

if i were you, i'd go to www.leatherique.com and see if they have someone you can ask this question to. Since they make a leather dye, i'd imagine they know what you can and can not put on leather.
Mike

Mrs_Struth · 24th March 2005, 23:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry's M5

as it turned out, the previous owner didn't like the original black/silverstone leather so he had someone sprayed a top black coat on the silverstone...

wow. why would anyone do that?

keep us posted on how the restoration goes.

CSBM5 · 25th March 2005, 15:19

I would try mineral spirits before I would ever use lacquer thinner. I'm not sure of its effect on leather however, so trying a small section first is obviously in order. If you can get it to simply remove the sparyed on junk and not get worked into the leather itself, that should be the goal.

Greco · 25th March 2005, 17:39

I second the leatherique post. Better get the opinion of a leather professional on that unless there's one on the board. I woulnd't even think about putting lacquer/thinner on the leather.

Larry's M5 · 25th March 2005, 21:54

Actually, I did write to Leatherique, it's them who recommended the lacquer thinner or prepping agent approach. They also mentioned that thinner is on the aggressive side and prepping agent might be a better idea.

But I just don't know, prepping agent is for removing the original dye in prepration for re-dyeing too right? This is really driving me nuts right now, the local pros are no help, they either said they never seen a case like this nor they just said to replace the leather.

I'm thinking about having someone to buff them out, just not sure if buffing will also remove the original dye as well. I just don't want to go thru the trouble of re-dyeing the whole thing if I don't have to

Greco · 25th March 2005, 21:59

Try a water'd down version of the prepping agent. Better off it not being as strng and taking longer to come off than it being strong and removing the original color as well.