I decided to go with the M2/Manzo exhaust today to take advantage of the eBay special, so full speed ahead with the DIY leather work! Once that decision was out of the way, I started in on deconstruction of the white leather couch. I cut the back panel off the sectional piece that's up against the wall, so unless I decide to pull more material, it's not visibly any different than before. I managed to puncture my hand only once while removing the numerous staples.

Picture #1 - the 4' x 2' or so back panel section. I kept the vertical panels stitched together in case I use those for the center (inset) portion of the seat cushion(s), saving me the work of assembling one or more of horizontal seams to match the factory seat design. I doubt I'll get lucky on multiple seams lining up depth-wise, though.

Picture #2 - shows the back of the leather with no fabric backing. I'm wondering if the fabric backing is a method used for cheaper quality leathers to keep shape over time? This was a $3000 couch many years ago, and almost all of that went into the leather, because the structure and overall design certainly got little attention!

Picture #3 - shows the seating area of the couch. That's the top of the back cushion folded over, showing a different quality to the back of the leather, plus the grippy texture of the front. It's tough to see with the camera flash (the other attempts were even worse), but it's a darker color to the backing.

I'll have to make a decision on whether to use the cushion leather or back panel leather as the primary material for the insets. I was expecting them to be identical, but the back panel is thicker while the front cushion is softer. The best analogy I came up with is a pork chop vs. pulled pork. I may have to bring some of each to a leather specialist and see which they think will hold up better in the car. My first thought is the thicker stuff will be more resistant to drying out, but maybe the manner in which the softer stuff has been prepared accounts for that?

The back panel leather is almost exactly twice as thick as my Clazzio sample which includes the fiber backing.

 

Thoughts on the following SEM leather paint color options?

#15863 Light Neutral
#15143 Sandstone
#17293 Toyota Ivory

The first two are commonly recommended, but I haven't found a real consensus.

Might also be interesting to have some fun with it and 2-tone it with the light beige and darker color of the steering wheel (#15723 Monterey), but if I'm going to go 2-tone, I'll probably leave one of them white.

 

I tried a little experiment, draping the white leather panel over the seat to get a sense of how the material will feel. As high as my hopes are for this project, they were far exceeded -- it feels amazing! I guess that's why Clazzio says to keep the original covers in place when using their foam-lined slip-ons. A supple top layer will disguise stiffness in the stock lower layer.

After two hours of sitting in the sun, I was also pleasantly surprised at how much cooler it is than the other seats. I don't have anything for accurately reading surface temperatures, but I would guess it's a 20-30 degree difference. I'm not sure how much of that is white being a bit more reflective (probably not much, since the stock color is already quite light), having extra air space below the temporary layer, or that the extra thickness of the leather dissipates heat much better. Whatever it is, it's a remarkable difference.

I'm still undecided about color combos. The white by itself doesn't look as odd as I would have guessed, although it may look funny where it meets up with the back rest panel and lower seat trim. The one big panel is big enough to do an entire seat, but I imagine I'll still cut it up differently and follow the stock cuts. It actually makes a great seat cover just like it is, with the heft of the material and natural leather grain on the back being sufficient to keep it from slipping around.

 

I had hoped to have a glowing progress report, but I've had to raise the white flag... I thought I was making good progress, having finally figured out how to remove the lock ring on the seat back lever (stymied me on the passenger seat when trying to change out the motor) and getting all the hog rings off the seat back. As I started prying the seat back cover off the frame, I was surprised to see it taking the foam with it. Turns out, there are rods connecting the two along every stinking seam, and they're virtually impossible to get to. I partially removed a few and realized I would never be able to get them back together, so I reversed course before doing too much damage. I nearly lost the two tiny springs that are part of the release button for the head rest.

It's absolutely sadistic how these things are assembled. Some simple fabric pass throughs to connect in the back would work just fine, but instead they've created a system that apparently requires very special tools to access. I see now why the local automotive upholstery shop estimated $450 just in labor for a single seat, with half of that being just installation time. I'll be using zip ties instead of hog rings to put it back together, as I see no good reason why something that hard to remove is desirable.

Having now taken the driver's seat out for the first time, I can definitely see why people opt for the manual Supra seats. That thing is a tank! It must weight 60-80 lbs. I couldn't believe how much heavier it is than the passenger seat.

I'm not sure what my next plan of attack is. The Clazzio recommendation to not remove the original covers is making more and more sense! I could try fashioning my own slip-on cover, but I imagine that would be extremely difficult to get a snug fit. But at least I have all the trim pieces removed now and would have a fighting chance of snugging it up. I might just have to proceed with ordering Clazzios and try to come up with a two-tone scheme that blends well with the interior... It's a shame that their beige is so far off.

I was rather excited to discover earlier today that the back of the white leather is a near-perfect match for the original beige of the seats, raising the possibility of reversing it for the sides to get the desired two-tone with no SEM painting necessary. It probably wouldn't hold up well, though, being the untreated side.

 

Keep it classy. Stick with the OEM color scheme. There's a reason the manufacturer didn't offer a white leather option in a completely beige interior.

Kudos for giving it a hands-on approach.

 

Oh, I definitely agree with the original color scheme being the best. But, matching it perfectly is quite expensive, and matching it so-so is going to look worse than not trying to match it at all. Also, 1) white is found in some very classy interiors, 2) since embarking on this project, I've seen a couple examples of black & white 2-tone SC interiors and boy do those seats look good, and 3) white compliments beige nicely, as long as it's tied in. Which brings me back to the original 2-tone plan...

Tomorrow, I think I'll try opening up the seat bottom and seeing how hard it would be to simply fashion my own slip-on cover. I removed the side bolts already but couldn't get it to lift up enough to get the vertical bolts out, so there must be something I'm missing... A fresh mind and a fresh start will help.

If I go that route, I'm somewhat stumped how to address the area around the base of the head rest. Would a slip-on cover just have a circular cutout for the release button? I already discovered that prying it out is a risky endeavor, as it's very easy to loose the springs and pretty tough to get the horizontal bracket behind it to line back up with the slot, due to the tension on the seat cover. And adding more material under the release button itself will make it tough to push it in far enough to allow the head rest leg to slide down in the hole.

 

I apologize in advance if linking this website that I've had bookmarked for quite some time is not allowed but I felt that it would provide an avenue to affordable genuine leather OEM replacement interior. I made the initial contact with this seller a few months ago. It's definitely on my Lexus bucket list soon.

Full Interior: $550.00 (+45shipping) + Ebrake Boot & Center console cover
2 Front seats: $325.00 (25shipping) + Ebrake boot & Center console cover

https://www.interior-innovations.com...duct_detail/50

https://www.interior-innovations.com/

 

I'm almost positive that's the same seller who was on eBay up until recently and has gotten good reviews here. I contacted him a few months back and he seemed to know his stuff, but he did caution that they don't guarantee color match within 10% due to fading. For over $700 for just the front seats (including installation) and not matching the rest of the interior, I would be hard pressed to categorize that as an affordable option.

 

I had totally forgotten about the headrest release button. Even the aftermarket replacement leather didn't have a cutout for it. So I just installed it over the release button hiding it under the leather. Functioned pretty much the same. Just have to remember where it was however. Another way to do it is to cut an X on that part of the leather and tuck it under the button for the oem look. We had purchased the leather when that seller had them on eBay for $600 for the whole set (front and rear) including the armrest and extra pieces of leather for the door armrests. I guess it's affordable only when doing it yourself like we did. LOL

 

Good suggestion on the x-cut to tuck the material under the head rest button or trim further from there. Interesting that even the replacement cover people couldn't figure out what to do with that! Another thought I had is deconstructing the stock cover and re-using a couple of the leather panels around the base of the head rest, as they're the few that have aged well. The top/middle one is the best, being largely protected from the sun. I'm not sure if the side one with the release button is good enough to re-use.

I did tackle it again two days ago, being at the point of frustration with assembly methods that I'd rather tear the thing to shreds and throw the seat carcass off a cliff rather than leave it in its current state. Fortunately, it didn't quite come to that point. But, whoever coined the term "hog heaven" clearly didn't have hog rings in mind, because you don't know hell until you know hog rings!

Eventually, I got all the hog rings undone and was able to pull the covers off and put the seat back in with just the exposed foam and my white leather draped over it like a bucking bronco ride. Believe it or not, it's actually more comfortable that way than it was all dried and torn up before, and now I can take my time figuring out the next step.

 

do you have the "green" original seat?

 

Well, I don't know where I'm going, but I'm surely much closer.

All but two of the panels are cut. I was 1/4" shy of material to get the door-side bolster cut out of the last panel shared with the cushion side piece, so I'll have to cut another section off the couch for that and the main seat back piece. I cut everything 1/8" or so bigger than the traced outlines, just to be safe. It's easier to trim it more later than it is to add more on!

I was planning on dying (SEM) the vertical pieces to match the beige/tan, but once everything was torn down, I realized the side pieces were still pretty supple. I'm hoping to re-use those to tie into the seat garnish and head rest, instead of using the bolsters and corresponding pieces on the cushion to do so. That way, there's no concern about paint fading and rubbing off in the high wear areas. If it all works out, I would re-do the top of the center console lid the same way, carrying the theme further.

I've been toying with a different idea for how to assemble the panels. I expected the original assembly method to be like the couch's cover, with adjacent panels being bent down 90 degrees at the seam and the leftover pressed into the ridges in the foam (where the hog rings attach to the metal rods). Instead, the "leftovers" are folded back on themselves like a "U" shape and sewn flat with the foam/fabric backing, then covered up with a nylon strap thingie for more seam strength.

That might be beyond my sewing skills to replicate... The idea I've been tossing around is to sew narrow velcro strips along the length of each panel and simply stick them together. I hate that the assembly method is so permanent for something that's such a high wear item, and this would allow panels to be taken out and replaced down the road without disassembling everything else. However, there would probably be that velcro tearing sound every time you get in and out, and it would slowly loosen over time... But I think both downsides can be alleviated by putting a few zip ties through the velcro portions closest to the seat cover. The whole length should hold pretty snug as long as the upper edge isn't pulling away. I'm still very undecided on it, though, and sewing the velcro in accurately could be just as tough as replicating the OEM design.

Which brings me to my big uncertainty. Now that just about everything is cut, I have no idea how to line everything up properly and secure it so as to not end up with a bunch of uneven seams. That's a daunting level of clamping and measuring. So, I might see about having someone else do the sewing, sort of like doing your own prep work before a paint job.

 

Oh yeah, I had the old cover sitting on the ottoman for the past couple days, and that leather was so hard, it was actually quite uncomfortable to put my feet up on! That's what motivated me to start disassembling it.

Of course, now I'm down to two disassembled covers instead of one complete but bad one and one perfectly functional "throw towel" of a cover. Two steps backward, one step forward...

 

Here's a better indication of what it'll look like, using the foam base to fill out the cushion panels.

 

It's far from perfect, but I have something bearing a vague resemblance to a seat cushion! I picked up leather sewing needles for my sewing machine, plus heavy duty thread. As it turns out, my sewing machine can barely handle the doubled up leather's thickness, stalling repeatedly and vibrating like crazy when it does push through. I've ended up doing 80% of it turning the wheel by hand, which is quite a workout. I'll have to go back over various sections with a straight needle and thread to cinch corners up, as my machine isn't industrial enough to handle those contours.

Symmetricality is a bit lacking, but I should be able to straighten the panels out with a second line of stitching to pull things together more evenly, now that the basic shape has been defined. Clamping all those non-straight lines is tough!

I drove around today (to the fabric store) with just the new leather panels laid over the foam, and let me tell you, it's buttery soft luxury. I have newfound respect for what these cars must have been like on the showroom floor. While I certainly wouldn't advise anyone going my ghetto DIY route, it certainly highlights the value of replacing your worn old covers.