I bet no other has had this one! We got the seats re-foamed and in doing that the leather or whatever it is was cleaned.
Looks fantastic
But now you can barely pull the arms down. Two hands. Leave them up a day, stuck solid. So much that might tear the fabric you would think as pull them down.
Ideas? MOT said to try soap/water and if that not work then a leather cleaner. Nope, neither was the solution.
It almost seems that the two materials, arms and seat sides, react and bond.
Bet this a unique occurrence but maybe another has encounters, solved.....sure hope so.
Is the seat material real leather, or "pleather"?
Have you tried Armor All?
have not tried armorial, will
Chuck, it is the original, I guess, seats in a 2001 320. People call it leather, but is it that or something other i don't know.
Keith Davis at MOT said to us a leather cleaner, not conditioner.
I gather in all conversations there they think leather.
Trina suggested I cover one surface with cloth, just a drop cloth, to stop the bonding. She says she has seen it before on older coaches, over time. My hesitation to that is that when I took it in, before seats were done, I had no hint of such a problem.
mike
Maybe try some dry silicone spray?
Mine have done this and you will tear the leather. Its a real pain when you want to put them down while driving. I have my wife or oldest daughter help me with them if under way.
Mike,
It may be worthwhile removing the arm rest (easy to do) and see what is hanging up. Could be a wad of material in the pivot point. Play around with it-- perhaps a nylon fender washer as a pivot point with less friction.
Professionals that do the cleaning, "detailers," go for the immediate look and use some pretty harsh chemicals to achieve that "like new" look. Armour All is a good suggestion. I can tell you from experience that you do not want to Armor All your leather bench seat. Even the seat belts won't keep you in place in a turn. Maybe spot treating the area that stick with silicone oil?
Mike; to remove the arm rests, rotate the arm back past the vertical of the seat and with a little patience and pulling, it will come off the seat. The arm rest have a solid rod with a short welded 90 degree rod that fits into this socket that is on the seat itself. Once removed, use Krud Kutter on both the side of the seat and the arm. Once done, clean again with warm soapy water to remove any residue. You have Ultra Leather by Villa. You can verify this by looking in the pocket that is behind your seats. There is a tag there and what happens is the leather gets dirty and starts to stick. This should do the trick, as we have had the same issues with ours and now much better! Hope this helps!