Elephant hide preservation

[chuckstp]

I have the gray elephant hide seats andat 50 years, they seem to be getting old very quickly. I suppose ifthey were made of real elephant hide, they should be good for quite abit longer. What is the best way to preserve and hopefullyrejuvenate this vinyl? At least one in the back is badly cracked,but the ones in the front are in much better shape.

[TeriAnn]

I have the gray elephant hide seats andat 50 years, they seem to be getting old very quickly. I suppose ifthey were made of real elephant hide, they should be good for quite abit longer. What is the best way to preserve and hopefullyrejuvenate this vinyl? At least one in the back is badly cracked,but the ones in the front are in much better shape.

The time to preserve the vinyl is when it is in good condition. Since many cleaners have a solvent in them they will harm vinyl. Long exposure to sunlight breaks it down. Vinyl is something you clean with soap and water. You need to store the truck out of the sunlight for maximum life. Once it is hard and inflexible you need a necromancer that specializes in vinyl.

Probably best to start saving your pennies and head off to the Exmoor trim web site. They have revised their elephant hide vinyl and it looks pretty good these days. I redid my front interior 3 years ago and the results made the inside of the truck look new. And when I clean off the trail dust it still does. I also got the heated seats for a touch of decadence on those below freezing winter mornings.

With a 100% full new interior my 54 year old truck feels like a new truck when I slide in behind the wheel. Of course since my other vehicle is 53 years old I'm a little hazy as to what a new vehicle feels like.

[o2batsea]

Echoing what TAW wrote. The dried vinyl is beyond help.

[tolonian]

There are cleaners and conditions made for vinyl seats so I would try to save the front ones if they are not all dry and cracked up. You might have to buy new rear seats but if you can save the original front seats I would try for the price of a cleaner and conditioner pack. I bought a LR brand pack from our hosts 10 years ago that worked well. Not sure they have the same or a newer version of it...worth a check.

[stomper]

try autogeek.net and fish around there, or ask on their forums. I have found them to be very knowledgeable when it comes to auto detailing and proper product use. I use a lot of products from poor boy automotive detailing, but I doubt they have a vinyl restorer product.

[Escargo]

Those damn poachers who kill elephants just for their tusks ought to be skinning them too.