Newish Member Now an Owner

[Boomer54]

48 minutes ago, GMB said:

Yorkshire pudding or Lancashire hotpot?

Papuan Stew

[Boomer54]

Bitten the bullet and ordered a bottle of Leather Prep/Degreaser. Saw some lovely leather the other week on a grey SC 430. Just like it came from the factory. Can't put that genie back in the bottle so to speak. Now I need to get the silicone off the front seat leather work and return it to the same level of finish that is in the back seats. Once I have that finish removed I am going to try steaming to remove some wrinkles and signs of compression and finally I will refinish it to a nice matt black. Going to take some before ,during and after pics so we can all see what happened. This is one of the very very few issues I have had with this car which in most other respects is exceptional in my opinion.

[Malc1]

Just imagining the after effects of your steaming to remove your wrinkles …….. supping that bottle of Prep/Degreaser might help a little ……… your Missus encouraging you in all this self flagellation …….. is she that fed-up 🤣

Malc 

[Boomer54]

36 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Just imagining the after effects of your steaming to remove your wrinkles …….. supping that bottle of Prep/Degreaser might help a little ……… your Missus encouraging you in all this self flagellation …….. is she that fed-up 🤣

Malc 

Hey, I will have you know that on my planet Uglyus I was voted the most attractive man on the planet 70 years consecutively. Indeed, there was only one dissenting vote out of the population of two.

[Boomer54]

Trip back to home ground yesterday.

[Malc1]

Wormwood Scrubs ?

Malc

[Mossypossy]

Where is the car in the picture?

You had one job.

[Boomer54]

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

Wormwood Scrubs ?

Malc

Oh so close. You barely missed by a intergalactic mile.

[Boomer54]

12 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

Where is the car in the picture?

You had one job.

Sir, little Johnny raises his hands. "It was the yellow lines wot dun it"

[Boomer54]

Weather permitting i will be off to the Westmorland County Showground next weekend for the Up North Weekender car show. Anyone else on here thinking of going?

[Malc1]

1 hour ago, Boomer54 said:

Weather permitting i will be off to the Westmorland County Showground next weekend for the Up North Weekender car show. Anyone else on here thinking of going?

Maybe on that canal barge …… Lexus should be making one ….. or a fleet of ‘em 😄

Malc 

[Boomer54]

So, the current state of play on the leather seat restore is; first a Degreaser to strip the high gloss look; second a sanding using 500 grit to complete that process; third  steaming to shrink the leather in parts (not very successful); fourth a second degrease after the sanding.

The pics show their current condition. In terms of matching the front seat leather to the rear seats by removing the gloss finish it's been a success.

Now I have received my flexi filler, 1200 grit paper and Gliptone Black dye. Currently using the flexi filler on the passenger seat and will post up after it's done before i move on to the drivers seat.

I am waiting before picking a  sealant out. Thought I would at some point after the dye is applied drive over to Gliptone at Ellesmere Port and get their techs opinion on choosing the right sealant finish.

[Glyn Jennings]

2 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

So, the current state of play on the leather seat restore is; first a Degreaser to strip the high gloss look; second a sanding using 500 grit to complete that process; third  steaming to shrink the leather in parts (not very successful); fourth a second degrease after the sanding.

The pics show their current condition. In terms of matching the front seat leather to the rear seats by removing the gloss finish it's been a success.

Now I have received my flexi filler, 1200 grit paper and Gliptone Black dye. Currently using the flexi filler on the passenger seat and will post up after it's done before i move on to the drivers seat.

I am waiting before picking a  sealant out. Thought I would at some point after the dye is applied drive over to Gliptone at Ellesmere Port and get their techs opinion on choosing the right sealant finish.

I have some success with other cars using a hot air gun to get the stretches out of leather. Obviously not too hot to burn the leather. Being damp beforehand also sometimes helps.

[Boomer54]

Got some leather clinic binder, but don't think that as a fluid it is going to fill the cracks I have on the drivers seat. So, filler stops play for the moment.

Think I will have a trip to Gliptone and speak to the techie before I go further.

[Boomer54]

Just now, Glyn Jennings said:

I have some success with other cars using a hot air gun to get the stretches out of leather. Obviously not too hot to burn the leather. Being damp beforehand also sometimes helps.

Glynn, I used an old tea towel dampened in conjunction with a hot air gun. Not much to show for the effort on the seat pad. Suspect the pad itself may be too compressed for the leather shrinkage to do much good. Again. I am going to speak to the guy at Gliptone about that when I get the chance to drive over.

[Boomer54]

Made a start with the Perl. Pic below of the roof seal done and to be done. Impressed so thanks go out to Bob who recommended it.

[Boomer54]

Just played a game of mutual appreciation with a 24 plate  LC500 on the way back from Lytham. First one I have seen up close and personal. I see the attraction even though it can never really match up completely to the SC 430.

I told my wife riding passenger "believe it , or not I could buy 10 of this SC for that one". Oblivious to the fallout she said "that's understandable".  In protest I am withdrawing my services as entertainments manager until further notice.

[Malc1]

I think she’s just given you carte Blanche to buy another 9 of your Sc430  😄👏

Malc 

[Boomer54]

4 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

I think she’s just given you carte Blanche to buy another 9 of your Sc430  😄👏

Malc 

Oh, why didn't I think of that.

[Boomer54]

Back from watching Bruce in London. God that guy is impressive. 74 years old and lifting the roof off Wembley.  I bow down in awe.

Meanwhile, thank you Mr Perl for doing this in the boot. Just got some under bonnet stuff to treat and that's that bit done.

Then back to the drivers side leather to fill and finish that.

[Boomer54]

I have been enjoying doing little things with my toys, but I felt it was a shame really that I lack even basic mechanic skills. To that end I am looking into going back to college for a short course (or more) in car maintenance. I am well along with matters on the Sc 430, but that was mostly non mechanical stuff and I would like in future to do that stuff as well. Also I have not even started on the Jag XK so plenty of scope to put some new skills to work.

Until I got the SC 430 it never occurred to me that I might get an enjoyable hobby out of owning it, but I find I like messing around with it just as much as I enjoy driving it. Every time I do something that I think improves it I get a great deal of satisfaction. Much better than going for endless cruises and eating yourself to death.

[Mossypossy]

Oi! I enjoy endless cruises in my car. Got the back end out today even with traction control on.

[Malc1]

Back to college for Car Maintenance tuition might well be focussed on the electronic wizadry of cars and how to unplug old units that are kaput and plugging in anew ……. that’s possibly more skewered towards Car Maintenance these days  than “ greasy stuff “ 

No doubt you’ll tell us soon enuf …… as you get expelled for gross insubordination and flippancy whatever 😂🤣

Malc 

[Glyn Jennings]

59 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Back to college for Car Maintenance tuition might well be focussed on the electronic wizadry of cars and how to unplug old units that are kaput and plugging in anew ……. that’s possibly more skewered towards Car Maintenance these days  than “ greasy stuff “ 

No doubt you’ll tell us soon enuf …… as you get expelled for gross insubordination and flippancy whatever 😂🤣

Malc 

At least on the SC every time you change an electronic part it doesn’t have to be coded like it does on a BMW meaning a trip to a main dealer because very few independents have the software to carry it out. I am not sure this is still the case for newer Lexus models though. Everything hinges on tying you back to the main dealer as soon as anything goes wrong with a price tag to match.

[Boomer54]

Inbetween resolving matters of state importance on other threads I find time to put my head underneath the bonnet with Mr Perl. Yes, you don't need to say  you would prefer it if I just left it there ad infinitum.

Not sure how well these pics will come out ,but pics of vinyl after Mr Perl are below. Going to take awhile underneath here as there are a lot of bits to be done including some spray and paint refresh. I really liked Bobs SC at the meet up and another I saw a pic of from a prior year. The reason is lots of people wash/polish their car in the places people usually look, but I like those who also attend to the bits people don't usually see.