Lee Sibley
Bournemouth, UK @lee_sibs
Model 996 Carrera 4S Year 2002
Acquired April 2017 Hopping out of the C4S after football training one evening (or ‘soccer’, as it’s known to you US folk), it struck me how those onceimmaculate front seats ferrying myself and a lucky passenger around weren’t looking quite so fresh. Looking like nobody had ever sat in them before I bought the car, now the black leather engulfing my non-sport thrones are beginning to show the signs of a car that, until the start of December, was my everyday car. “I’m not having that,” I said to myself, and stormed indoors to see what detailing products I had to combat this.
Amazingly, I had nothing. Caught off guard, I remembered fellow Living the Legend columnist, Joel, being impressed with some Britemax products in a previous article of his, so I ordered a bottle of leather cleaner online for around £11. Two days later, the bottle arrived, and out to the C4S I went.
‘Shake well and apply a small amount on a clean cloth. Rub evenly into the surface until desired area is treated,’ it said, and that’s what I did. My desired area was the whole of both seats: ideally I wanted crease marks reduced and light scuffs removed. Working in small circular motions, I covered the entirety of both seats, left for a while, then buffed off with another new, clean cloth. I’ll admit at first I wasn’t that impressed: to my eye the condition of the seats hadn’t really improved in an instant. However, my reaction was down to my own naivety. On browsing the ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots (below), I changed my mind. Before the seats looked dull and dry. Now they’ve a deep, rich sheen, and a day or two later the seats were already more supple to touch, with no greasy residue to them.
I’ve since read a lot on how to keep leather properly conditioned and am thankful I didn’t wait any longer before tending to my seats, as prolonged negligence could have lead to them cracking. I therefore advise you to check and ensure the upkeep of your 911’s thrones, particularly over these cold winter months, to ensure you’ve a beautiful 911 to return to come summer.