Honda and Acura Model Specific Forums

exotik4doorcivic · 10-08-2008, 10:23 PM

(posted this in appearance cosmetic thought i would post here too)

bought some itr recaros and the armrest looked horrible compaired to my seats. i almost just wanted to buy a new one and throw this away because it felt like leather

it was that worn down

no plush feel to it at all and the stiching was faded to a pink/white color, but i decided to restore it

went to famous footwear in the mall and bought a suede brush kit

MATERIALS

*suede brush(famous footwear
*suede eraser(famous footwear)
*oxy clean(walmart)
*kiwi suede cleaner(walmart)
*fine tip roller ball ben red(walmart)
*cloth
(pic above is after i already restored the material, i dont have any pics of it before)

1. start out by spraying worn alcantara with the kiwi cleaner, then clean with a clean cloth

2. next take the eraser provided with the kit and rub the worn areas

3. take the brush and run it against the material in one motion over and over
if its really worn like mine was use the eraser again and repeat with the brush

4. once youve reached the desirable nap take your oxy clean and spray onto the armrest but dont soak it, take your brush and do the same sweeping motion as before and you will start to see the differance

5. the next part seems a little ghetto but it works great just take the fine tip pen and color on the stiching...the ink will soak into the stitch and the tip is so small it wont go onto your alcantara

faded stitch..damn you sun!

in the process of inking

done

please use as a referance try at your own risk

picture above is the way my armrest looked like before

Modified by exotik4doorcivic at 7:29 AM 10/9/2008

This ad is not displayed to registered or logged-in members.
Register your free account today and become a member on Honda-Tech!

sheekdude · 10-09-2008, 02:01 AM

Nice...

BlueIntegraBoy · 10-09-2008, 02:08 AM

I do the same but with a metal brush

DiRT! · 10-09-2008, 02:56 AM

Nice. The armrest in my car is past dead, but just because of your post i will try again

rhd94teg · 10-09-2008, 03:02 AM

nice, my buddy did that to his seats while back

exotik4doorcivic · 10-09-2008, 07:10 AM

ya i wish i had a pic of it before.

i didnt know it would turn out this great because it looked like a leather armrest with pink stitching, i figured if i ruined it i would just buy a new one

but now its as good as new

walker111 · 10-09-2008, 07:13 AM

Did it work on your recaro's?

Tyrant_007 · 10-09-2008, 07:19 AM

Well done! I'll have to try that on some old skate shoes too

exotik4doorcivic · 10-09-2008, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walker111

Did it work on your recaro's?

ya it worked great on the recaros, you just have to be more gentle because you dont have a hard flat surface to work with like the armrest

i wanted to try the armrest first something a little cheaper to work with first

Morraz3 · 10-09-2008, 07:38 AM

great diy

coolhandluke · 10-09-2008, 07:41 AM

I'm impressed, very nice write-up. Bookmarked.

Jon D · 10-09-2008, 08:21 AM

I have often considered doing this to my JDM SRS wheel to bring the stitching back to life a bit. Interesting..... thanks for sharing.

exotik4doorcivic · 10-09-2008, 08:57 AM

i know what you mean i see used itr wheels on ebay all day but the stitching on all of them look pink,the wheel otherwise looks great

Morraz3 · 10-09-2008, 10:47 AM

my friend recently did this to his civic ex armrest, which was grey. He bought black fabric paint which is ideal on suede, and sprayed about 3 coats and let me the first to tell you it looks real good. So for those who have faded seats, armrest, etc. Should look into fabric paint, BUT BE ADVISED STEER CLEAR OF THE CHEAP ONES, THEY ARE HORRIBLE!

Reyes · 10-09-2008, 12:56 PM

great write up, thanks, i now have a saturday morning project,

Comp97GSR · 10-09-2008, 02:26 PM

I have used that pen to touch up the red stitching before. It works great if you have a steady hand. I do want to add that this isn't a one time fix though. It will need to be re-done periodically but it does last several months.

kakarot · 10-09-2008, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reyes

great write up, thanks, i now have a saturday morning project,

I was at work when I saw this thread, so when I got off today I made it an after work project. Armrest turned out pretty good.

Reyes · 10-09-2008, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kakarot

I was at work when I saw this thread, so when I got off today I made it an after work project. Armrest turned out pretty good.

yeah im at work too, but by the time i get home i lack all motivation to do anymore work,
well at least this week,

TypeR1159 · 10-18-2008, 05:02 PM

Wow... I can't thank you enough for this post. I took my armrest out a few years back of my R cause it started to look worn. I put in the JDM console but liked the armrest better. I took out the armrest and used a just a little water, toothbrush and eraser and what a difference. I had just been looking online for replacement seat covers totalling over $1500 to do both seats but I now have a project tomorrow. I'll take before and after pics of the seats to show the difference. I'm off to walmart now... Thanks.....!

E-Money · 10-18-2008, 05:55 PM

R Legend · 10-19-2008, 05:17 PM

Nice work

ITR525 · 10-21-2008, 06:54 AM

good post, the corners of my seats are starting to get worn out, i'm deff gonna try this!

boostn92vx · 10-21-2008, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R Legend

Nice work

Agreed, very nice work.. looks good in the pics

exotik4doorcivic · 10-21-2008, 03:23 PM

thanks everyone for the comments

01_ITR · 11-02-2008, 10:47 AM

awesome write up. tried it out my self. my armrest was a mess, it had paint on it, and suede was totally worn out. : (. After following these simple steps, my arm rest looks brand new. Thanks.

10-09-2008, 02:01 AM	#2
sheekdude Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Long Island but reppin Brooklyn, NY Posts: 1,690	Re: DIY: restoring worn type r alcantara armrest (exotik4doorcivic) Nice... __________________ R.I.P. Mom 11-13-06 00 #432 PY ITR, 99 MR EM1, 99 NBP TL, 96 CW EK9, 93 CB7 2000 PY ITR Rebuild: http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread/1929452

10-09-2008, 02:08 AM	#3
BlueIntegraBoy Senior Member 1998 Acura Integra Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Picard, Portsmouth, Commonwealth of Dominica Posts: 22,206	Re: DIY: restoring worn type r alcantara armrest (exotik4doorcivic) I do the same but with a metal brush __________________ インテグラタイプR 98-0425

10-09-2008, 02:56 AM	#4
DiRT! Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: AMABALA Posts: 1,497	Re: DIY: restoring worn type r alcantara armrest (BlueIntegraBoy) Nice. The armrest in my car is past dead, but just because of your post i will try again __________________ dAng! ITR#1216 BMWIsetta#493623

10-09-2008, 03:02 AM	#5
rhd94teg Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: watching u, watch me Posts: 2,487	nice, my buddy did that to his seats while back __________________ 2000 PY itr # 1010 2002 rsx / k20a swap 94 jdm xsi integra

10-09-2008, 07:10 AM	#6
exotik4doorcivic Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: everett, wa, u.s.a Posts: 930	Re: (rhd94teg) ya i wish i had a pic of it before. i didnt know it would turn out this great because it looked like a leather armrest with pink stitching, i figured if i ruined it i would just buy a new one but now its as good as new

10-09-2008, 07:13 AM	#7
walker111 Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: VirNgOiVnAia Posts: 4,689	Re: (exotik4doorcivic) Did it work on your recaro's? __________________ [do not link to other forums]

10-09-2008, 07:19 AM	#8
Tyrant_007 Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 837	Well done! I'll have to try that on some old skate shoes too __________________ 2001 Integra Type-R NBP #201 1995 Civic DX w/h22 1993 Civic SI Shitbox winter car Integra Type R Registry - Get on there!

10-09-2008, 07:38 AM	#10
Morraz3 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: somewhere over the rainbow, ny, USA Posts: 171	great diy

10-09-2008, 07:41 AM	#11
coolhandluke Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: GK, USA Posts: 5,316	Re: (Morraz3) I'm impressed, very nice write-up. Bookmarked.

10-09-2008, 08:21 AM	#12
Jon D Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Homie dont, play that, USA Posts: 11,159	Re: (coolhandluke) I have often considered doing this to my JDM SRS wheel to bring the stitching back to life a bit. Interesting..... thanks for sharing. __________________ For all EXPO sponsor inquiries please email jond@itrexpo.com

10-09-2008, 08:57 AM	#13
exotik4doorcivic Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: everett, wa, u.s.a Posts: 930	Re: (Jon D) i know what you mean i see used itr wheels on ebay all day but the stitching on all of them look pink,the wheel otherwise looks great

10-09-2008, 10:47 AM	#14
Morraz3 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: somewhere over the rainbow, ny, USA Posts: 171	my friend recently did this to his civic ex armrest, which was grey. He bought black fabric paint which is ideal on suede, and sprayed about 3 coats and let me the first to tell you it looks real good. So for those who have faded seats, armrest, etc. Should look into fabric paint, BUT BE ADVISED STEER CLEAR OF THE CHEAP ONES, THEY ARE HORRIBLE!

10-09-2008, 12:56 PM	#15
Reyes Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: progress starts now. Posts: 649	Re: (Morraz3) great write up, thanks, i now have a saturday morning project, __________________ *AS1*

10-18-2008, 05:02 PM	#19
TypeR1159 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: VA Posts: 10	Wow... I can't thank you enough for this post. I took my armrest out a few years back of my R cause it started to look worn. I put in the JDM console but liked the armrest better. I took out the armrest and used a just a little water, toothbrush and eraser and what a difference. I had just been looking online for replacement seat covers totalling over $1500 to do both seats but I now have a project tomorrow. I'll take before and after pics of the seats to show the difference. I'm off to walmart now... Thanks.....!

10-18-2008, 05:55 PM	#20
E-Money Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: reppin jerzey, USA Posts: 2,149	Re: (Reyes) __________________ PSN: yurpindude FS: First gen RSX Type S wheels. Local NJ Tristate area. http://www.hondamarketplace.co...72139

10-19-2008, 05:17 PM	#21
R Legend Moderator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Everywhere, TX Posts: 1,255	Nice work

10-21-2008, 06:54 AM	#22
ITR525 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Cold Canada Posts: 105	good post, the corners of my seats are starting to get worn out, i'm deff gonna try this! __________________ 00' CW ITR #525 I ♥ my Honda

10-21-2008, 03:23 PM	#24
exotik4doorcivic Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: everett, wa, u.s.a Posts: 930	Re: (boostn92vx) thanks everyone for the comments

11-02-2008, 10:47 AM	#25
01_ITR Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: 860 Posts: 2,421	Re: (exotik4doorcivic) awesome write up. tried it out my self. my armrest was a mess, it had paint on it, and suede was totally worn out. : (. After following these simple steps, my arm rest looks brand new. Thanks. __________________ My flickr\|

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search