Pay to Have Your Leather Professionally Fixed

If fixing your leather seats on your own does not sound like something you want to do, you can take your car in to get serviced. Depending on how damaged the seats are, the prices can range from $75 to $300 for simple rips. If you have a more complex rip that requires additional time and attention to detail, you can find yourself paying up to $100 to $200 per hour to get it fixed. A replacement may range around $300 – $2,000 depending on if you are just replacing a certain section. However if you are needing an entire replacement for your seats, expect the cost to be roughly $5,000 or more. It is important to weigh different factors when you are considering fixing up leather seats. Fixing up your own seats will be cheaper than having it professionally done. However, if you have significant tears it may be best to invest in a specialist who can patch them up nicely to where you won’t even notice it was damaged.

If You Can Prevent Tears From Happening, Even Better

Cracked leather seats and tears are usually preventable. It is important to take appropriate measures to prevent them from happening. Make sure you try and avoid long sun exposure. If you must leave your car in the sun, use a sunshield when you’re away. Leaving your leather seats exposed to the sun for a long period of time can cause it to crack or have the color fade. Additionally, you should avoid placing large and heavy objects on your seats. These objects can accidentally scratch your seats and leave tears in them. If possible, place those objects in the trunk of your car or on the ground. Lastly, be sure to keep your seats clean. Use a gentle vacuum cleaner that won’t be harsh on your seats. You can also purchase a conditioner made for car leather. The conditioner helps prevent cracks and keeps the leather strong. Keeping your car free of leather tears will ultimately help protect the value of your car should you decide to sell it in the future. However, if an accident does happen resulting in a leather tear, this article has some great tips to help you fix it.

Leather Car Seat Repair: How To Fix And Prevent Tears And Cracks

https://www.tearmender.com/blog-how-to-repair-a-leather-car-seat-using-tear-mender

Leather Car Seat Repair – Options to Make Them Good as New

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Stain and Odor Removal

We’ve all lived on the edge a few times while driving with an open-lid drink in the cup holder. When you have to come to a hard stop or make a tight turn, even the standard coffee lid with the small opening can become a chute for your coffee to spray onto your car’s upholstery – you’re probably familiar with just how tough coffee stains can be to take care of. Perhaps you are a smoker or have had a child or pet have an accident in the back seat. These things not only stain your car, but they can leave a long lasting stench. When it comes to odor and stain removal in a car, unfortunately baking soda just doesn’t do the exceptional job to remove the stain and odor.
You are going to want to hire a professional that has expertise in auto upholstery repair and McDowells Specialty Repair has just the team you need! Not only can McDowells help you with stains and odors, we specialize in both interior and exterior automotive restoration. When thinking about selling your car, the most obvious but important part is that it runs. From there, you have the cosmetics to think about. This is everything from clean seats, fresh smell, clean windows and even smaller things like headlight renewal so they don’t look foggy or worn out. Oftentimes, these cosmetics are the little things that will really sell someone on your car at the end of the day.

Leather Repairs

Traveling with pets often leads to nails and claws doing damage to the upholstery in your car, or even to the paint on the outside. While McDowells specializes in both paint chip repairs and leather repairs, when reupholstering your seats you need to think about how much care you are willing to put into taking care of the seats. Fabric seats are more susceptible to future stains and dirt getting in the cracks, so perhaps you should switch to leather seats instead. Leather seats are overall easier to clean and are more pet-friendly than fabrics. Not to mention – leather also increases the overall appearance of the car’s interior!

Vinyl Repairs

Camping gear, your kids’ sports equipment, or everyday items that get tossed around in your car all have the possibility of damaging your interior. Even scrapping your shoe against the bottom of your car door can leave a mark that can’t be simply buffed out. When it comes time to sell your car, you want to make sure your car looks presentable and there are no glaringly obvious signs of wear and tear. Holes and scratches in steering wheels, dashes, door panels, seats, arm rests, center consoles and rear hatch compartments with hard plastic are all repairable.

Ever since opening in 1993, McDowells has been serving the residents of the Treasure Valley and helping them get their vehicles ready to sell. If you’re planning on selling your car soon, any cosmetic repairs on your vehicle can be done by McDowells Specialty Repairs!

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Leather

Leather is a material that not only looks good but is also extremely easy to clean. This is why many car buyers opt for leather seats in their new car despite the extra cost that may come with it. Because it’s so smooth, you can generally just wipe off anything that spills onto the seat. It also takes a lot more to stain leather seats than most other materials and doesn’t absorb smells. However, the main downside to leather seats is that you have to take some preventative maintenance measures to avoid cracking in the leather. This includes using a special cleaning chemical, as well as leather conditioner.

Vinyl

Although vinyl hadn’t been used in car interiors until fairly recently, it is quickly gaining traction. Vinyl can be made to look like leather and then is called faux leather, or it can just be regular vinyl. Faux leather is becoming very popular in cars as an alternative to leather for those who want a vegan option. Similar to leather, its “fake” counterpart is easy to clean because of its smoothness and doesn’t stain easily. Where the two differ, though, is that vinyl will not dry out and crack, making maintenance a lot easier.

Polyester

Now, into the fabric materials! Polyester seats, also called microsuede, are very soft and comfortable for those sitting in them. They are often chosen because they look very upscale and high-end. That being said, polyester seats are very difficult to clean. Dirt and food can be ground down into the fabric, and it becomes a struggle to remove the small pieces of debris. Fabric seats also absorb smells much easier than leather and vinyl seats. Because of this, you’ll want to clean them much more often and consider using a chemical cleaner to break up the dirt.

Nylon

While more resistant to staining than polyester is, nylon is another fabric seat material that gets dirty easily. Like polyester, nylon absorbs smells easily and is prone to easy staining. Fabric car seats in general are harder to clean and require cleaning more often than leather and vinyl upholstery.

If you’re looking for someone to clean or repair your upholstery, give us a call! McDowells specializes in fixing minor tears and burns, dash and door panel damage, and extensive color restoration and re-upholstery. Contact us today with any questions you have!

The post Which Auto Interior Material is the Easiest To Take Care Of? appeared first on McDowells Specialty Repairs.

Window Tint and Shades

One thing that can help you immensely when looking to protect the interior of your car is investing in window tint as well as a windshield shade for parking. The sun can take a serious toll on your interior, especially if you have leather seats. The leather can fade, dry out, or even crack. We unfortunately see this type of damage regularly, mostly on seats and dashboards.
When you have window tint installed, it minimizes the amount of sun that can get through and damage your interior. There are varying levels of tint you can get, each level protecting your car from worse to better from the sun but also making it more difficult to see. Another good solution is a sunshade that you can put in the windshield when you’re parked. Since the law prohibits you from tinting your windshield as dark as you please, this legal option will help preserve your dashboard for much longer.

Seat Covers

One sure way to protect your seat upholstery completely is to invest in some seat covers. While they may not be as pretty as the original seats in the car, you’ll never have to worry about getting your seats reupholstered. It’s a lot cheaper and much easier to just replace a set of seat covers than it is to redo the upholstery. Not only this, but seat covers also make it much easier to clean your seats. You can bring in as much mud and dirt as you’d like then take off the covers to wash them!

Consistent Cleaning

This seems like a no-brainer, but it is often overlooked and can make a huge difference in preventing damage to your interior. A lot of times, if you leave dirt or crumbs on the floor or in the seats of your car, you’ll end up grinding them into the material. This can leave stains, or in the case of a rock being ground into the seat, it could cause rips and tears. If you give your car a weekly vacuuming to remove any dirt and rocks, it will help keep it in better condition overall.

If you have any interior repair needs or questions about interior repair, be sure to contact McDowells Specialty Repairs today. We’re more than happy to help you with any of your repair needs, including furniture repair, auto body repair, and home repair. Give us a call today!

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Maintenance Tips

Between family, pets, food, skis and everything else, the inside of your car can take a beating over time. The easiest way to make sure your car’s interior doesn’t wear more than it should is to keep it clean. A buildup of trash and other random items you may keep in your car can cause spills, stains, and tears to the upholstery and carpet if you’re always digging through your car to find something you left in there.
While it doesn’t solve every problem, getting in the habit of vacuuming the inside of your car, wiping down the dashboard and doors, and washing the carpets with the right cleaners on a regular basis will always help prevent bigger issues from arising.

Stains & Smells

Try to remember a time when you were in a rush to get somewhere and when you got in your car, you accidentally spilled your coffee or your child’s drink on the floor. It happens to the best of us, and oftentimes we forget about the stain by the time we get back home. Even if you’ve tried cleaners and other chemical products over and over, some stains just won’t come out. Your nose may get used to it, but passengers in your car will be able to smell the lingering odors from pets, cigarettes, and spills left untreated. At McDowells, we pride ourselves on being able to get the toughest stains and smells out, and if you just don’t want to think about what was spilled in your car anymore, we can also do a full replacement of the carpet.

Upholstery Damage

Whether your car is outfitted with leather, vinyl, or fabric, it’s bound to wear and tear after continuous use. Tears, holes, burns, scratches, and cracks are just a few things that our auto upholstery repair experts see on a daily basis. Once we are able to understand the extent of the damage, we can determine the best procedure for repairing it with superior results and consistent quality.

Dashboard & Door Damage

The sun, among other things, can be your dashboard’s worst enemy. If you don’t regularly cover your dashboard with a shade or something similar, over time the UV rays will cause the material to crack, warp, or peel. Keys and other sharp objects can leave scratches and holes on your door panels if you’re not careful. If this type of damage has happened to your car’s interior, don’t worry! McDowells’ team of professionals can most likely fix it up like new again for a fraction of the cost of completely replacing it.

Most of the time, damage to the interior of a car is only accidental, but it can be a hassle to try to do it on your own (and your DIY repair might not even turn out like you had hoped!). This is why our Boise auto repair technicians are always happy to help make your car like new again. If you have any questions about damage or repairs to your vehicle, don’t hesitate to contact us!

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Consider time

Vintage car restoration is a LOT of work. Not to scare you, it is just going to take a lot of time. That is being said, it is important to set goals and a schedule for yourself, such as a timeline. By developing goals you want to meet by a certain time, it will help you stay motivated to complete the job. In addition, remember that restoring a car can consume your time and energy. Daily or weekly time limits can be helpful to set for yourself to ensure you are getting it done without spending too much time or prioritizing the restoration over other obligations.

Be Prepared to Learn

As much as you may know about vintage car restoration, there is always more to learn. A restoration involves many different processes; some processes you may be familiar with, while others will be brand new. The processes involve a large variety of skills such as dent removal, extensive bodywork, electrical wiring, upholstery, etc. Classes, mentors, or even companies can often help you with the process if you are willing to pay.

Use Your Resources

By using your resources, you will succeed. This may include something as basic as your toolset, or it may mean going to a specialty repair company for the harder jobs; either way you can get it done. If there are a few tasks here and there that you can not get done on your own, that does not mean you’ve failed but rather used your resources in order to complete the restoration.
For example, paintless dent repair is an affordable, efficient, and environmentally friendly dent removal service that you may not have the tools or training to use. By calling expert technicians like the team at McDowells, you can ensure that you get the best work done on your vintage car project.

Set a Budget

Vintage car restoration can get expensive if you aren’t careful. Even if you do it all on your own, the various components involved add up. For this reason, it is important to set yourself a budget. In order to stick to the budget, assess the car before you begin to estimate what it will require. In addition, add some leeway money on top in case of any costly surprises that may occur during the process.

Celebrate Small Victories

Let’s face it, restoring a vintage car is a long process. An average is around 1000 hours depending on many factors such as experience and starting condition of the car. That being said, it can be easy to give up. That is why it is important to celebrate the small victories along the way. By taking the restoration one step at a time, it can keep you stay motivated throughout the process.

Enjoy It!

Restoring a vintage car is supposed to be a fun and rewarding experience. It should not be an unenjoyable job or obligation. Make sure you aren’t going to back out halfway through before you begin the process.
If you ever need assistance throughout the restoration process with bodywork or other tasks, contact McDowells Specialty Repairs. We are experts in dent repair, headlight restoration, auto interior repair, etc. and would be happy to help you or answer questions along the way.

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Protect your car from kids and pets with this guide.

How to Child Proof Your Car

• Use Child Locks
• Secure Seat Belts
• DIY Seat Protectors
• Store Hazards Safely
• Always Look Before Locking

Child Locks

Yes. Even if they are annoying for your older passengers, using child safety features is important. Little kids are curious! You would not want to run the risk of having a child fling open the car door or crawl out the window. You can usually find the child door lock on the inner part of your car door. The window lock is the funny looking window button with an X on the drivers’ side.

Secure Seat Belts

It’s imperative that you secure your children tightly and comfortably in their seat belt. Loose or ill fitting belts can result in injury, and even death. Be sure that the little ones are not left unaccounted for either. Make sure that you are using a proper car seat for the age weight of your child. The typical age for children to move to a regular seatbelt is 8-12 years old.

DIY Seat Protectors

Children are notorious for spilling drinks and ruining car upholstery. Even if you think your leather seats are protected, think again. Luckily, if you don’t usually have children in your vehicle you can create a DIY seat protector. All you really have to do is use an old blanket or sheet. It’s better to have spills and crumbs in a collected area.

However, if you aren’t wanting to use that method, you can always have your car upholstery professionally cleaned by McDowells. That way all of the small crumbs, and hard to reach spills are taken care of.

Store Hazards Safely

If you haul around sharp tools or cleaning supplies in your car, be sure to store them accordingly. At young ages anything can become a toy. Not only is it detrimental to the child’s safety, but it’s also important for protecting the interior of your car. Before going on a long drive with children, store the hazards in the trunk and fasten them securely.

Always Look Before Locking

Whether it’s cold or hot, the weather switches to extreme conditions in a matter of minutes. In no case should you ever leave a child unattended in a vehicle. Get in the habit of looking in the back before you leave the car. Even on a 70 degree day, the temperature inside a car can jump to 104 in 30 minutes. The humidity also accumulates at a rapid rate, making it even more muggy and unbreathable.

How to Pet Proof Your Car

• Clean Beforehand
• Pack a Care Kit
• Cut Their Nails
• Cover the Upholstery
• Play Before Travel

Clean Beforehand

It may seem counterintuitive, but cleaning before will save you a bigger headache in the end. Especially if you have kids or guests who eat in the car, try to clean out the space before putting your pet in the car where they can and will eat anything. If you don’t have the tools or time to clean thoroughly, consider having your auto upholstery professionally cleaned.

Pack a Care Kit

On long car rides pets get antsy, some more than others. Pack a care kit of trash bags, toys, food, water, and towels. This can also include things like lint rollers, air fresheners, and first-aid kits, that will help you out too. If anything, pet owners should try to entertain their animals with toys or treats like they would with children.

Cut Their Nails

Pet nails are an auto upholstery nightmare. It’s easy for them to snag a seam or rip the material if their nails are long. Give them a nice trim beforehand so they aren’t awkwardly trying to regain stability and accidentally tearing into the seat. If you do end up with damage, you can have your auto interior repaired in Boise for a reasonable price.

Cover the Upholstery

This goes hand in hand with what we talked about with childproofing your car. You can find some really affordable seat covers online, but if you’re looking for a quicker method, use towels, old blankets, and sheets. Dogs aren’t the kind of pet that will wipe their feet off before climbing onto the seats.

Play Before Travel

Pets can be rambunctious at the worst times. When going on longer rides where your pets will be in the car for an extended amount of time, consider giving them extra attention. Wear them out before the ride. This way, they are more relaxed and less likely to get antsy. Just throwing the ball a few times or moving the laser pointer around should do it. It’s also fun just playing with your pets too.

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Big Pieces

Taking out the big pieces of clutter that are hiding under your seats make a huge difference when examining your car. Crumpled bags and water bottles are an eye-sore and only cover up more problems that may be in your car. The first step is always removing the big pieces.
Your carpets may be stained from spills and other liquids that have made their way in. A heavy-duty solution is used to clean your carpet so that all the grease and dirt can be lifted. The scrubbing takes some elbow-grease, so having a professional deep clean your interior to get all the nooks and crannies would be the most time-efficient option. The tools needed for carpet cleaning go farther than a rag and some water, professionals can be found using special vacuums or shop vacs, shampoo solutions, degreasers, and special scrubbing brushes.

Cracks & Fades

It is common for leather upholstery to crack and fade. A deep cleaning using leather cleaner will lay the foundation when tackling tears, cracks, and rips. Your upholstery professional will then use a series of fillers and pads to cure the damage. Heat is applied to make sure everything is dry and ready for sanding to smooth out the surface. You will also need to have your leather dyed the correct color, so you can think of your upholstery repair specialist as a mixologist when finding a match.

The process can be time-consuming depending upon the extent of damage, and there are several tools needed. A professional is best equipped to do the job quickly and effectively since they are a centralized place for all your auto interior repair needs.

Beyond Repair

Some rips and tears are beyond fillers and pads. If this is the case, then you get to customize your next option. Reupholstering your car’s interior sounds like a money drain and is a scary decision, but if you remember how often you use the interior of your car; then it is worth considering. Car reupholstery options are abundant and can give your car the makeover it needs. Instead of constantly having to repair, you start with a clean slate. Some of the options of auto upholstery you can choose from are:

• Vinyl
• Faux Leather
• Leather
• Brushed Nylon
• Suede

High Quality Option

McDowells is a specialty repair company that offers the option to have Katzkin Leather in your car. Not only is this material durable, but it can also help your resale value. With over 120 colors to choose from, you receive an open invitation for customization. For high-quality leather that is easy to clean, then consider what McDowells has to offer.

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Opportunities lie in external cosmetic alterations like tinting. However, incorporating internal elements into your auto update will provide a more tangible product in terms of your satisfaction. Simply, new rims can be a significant addition to a car and your personal satisfaction but don’t forget to invest in something that you might use more regularly that you might find on the inside of the vehicle because you’ll be interacting with those features much more often. Five great opportunities for an upgrade in your car are:

1. Carpeting

While not all of us are avid campers or experienced adventurers, the wear and tear that our vehicles carpeting sustains is an inevitable consequence of living our daily lives. Carpet stains may range from your niece’s or nephew’s spilled juice from the backseat, consequences of a rampant permanent marker, or just enduring dirt from weekend hikes in the foothills. Carpets act as a boundary between the outside world and your experiences, travels, and routines.

Regardless of how the damage happened, updating your carpeting from cleaning or replacement can have an immediate impact on the face value of your vehicle. Not only for your benefit but these enhancements can increase the weatherability of your vehicle with stronger, newer carpet fabrications.
 

2. Dashboard

Cracking, sun bleaching, or temperature warping all detract from the dashboard’s general appearance. Although, these things simply become a reality since our vehicles are typically a long term investment and dashboard corruption inevitably occurs over time. Now that it is summer though, these accessory elements become more important in our line of sight as well as more vulnerable to the unusually warm temperatures peaking in July and August.

It is important to remember that repairing or replacing the dash is a relatively inexpensive solution to improving the landscape of your vehicle interior. The dashboard is a relative indicator for the interior’s charm. When that base is damaged or maybe just not meeting expectations, the overall value of the vehicle can appear diminished. 

Caring for your dashboard benefits not only the look of the vehicle interior but also your experience as in the driver’s seat. Outdated or seasoned dashboards have a tendency to creak and crack further so make take time to just listen to the wind blowing through your window and not your dashboard squeaking after every bump.

3. Upholstery

You sit in your car. Your passengers sit in your car. Fido may even take a seat on the occasional (or daily) cruise. All sorts of loads and deliveries are made utilizing the seating in your vehicle. Sometimes, though, all of that traffic can impact the overall experience in your vehicle. Your vehicle’s personality is signified by its upholstery. Updating to leather or other durable alternatives can boost not only your comfort in the seat but your mindset. Plan the long road trip and rest easy knowing the ride will always be smooth with your new upholstery.

Every day, innovations and new technologies are rolled out. In the event that your vehicle does not seem to stand up to par but these options do not suit your interests, look into external upgrade prospects. While they may appear as insignificant aesthetic changes, small updates like the few listed above can dramatically enhance your everyday driving experience.

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