Hi everyone, just looking for a little 'upholstery' advice... The back seat on my morris 1000 (Bergerac, to those who know of him )has burst at the top of the seam. Almost 20cm. The leather (which is original 1958 ) is a little brittle and even the stitching is pulling through what remains on that part of the seat. lm wondering if there us anything in particular l can use to soften the leather, and leave me in a position to stitch it.
Any thoughts???
Mine had split on the joins in the seat, the twine stiching it together rots, but the leather is ok, this is what I did,
Remove the rear seat, you can then take it apart by undoing the fixings and clips underneath, and a few tacks too!
Then buy some saddle soap, I got mine from Scats, it is the plastic jar you need, not the stuff in a shoe polish tin, this will clean all the old grime away and soften the leather too!
Next when the leather is dry, apply lots of Conolly's hide food, let it soak in and use quite a bit, leave for as long as possible, getting it in all the joins. Conollys provided the leather for BMC originally!
Then you should be able to re stich the joint back together with a strong twine,
Then re-fit the cover back to the seat frame.
I re-treat my seats at least once a year, and all the dryness has gone now and they are so much softer!
My 1956 Series 11 Traveller! Bought when I was 17 (1985)....sold 6 years (1991) later......bought back 9 years after that! (2000) With 6 different owners in the middle, what a lucky boy I am!