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I have successfully re-upholstered the front armrest console in my 97 Lexus LS400 rather than buying a used one then ended up needing another one a few years down the road. Anyway, there's a guy on eBay selling what he claims is a genuine leather skin for the armrest for a pretty reasonable price. Upon receiving & installing the skin, I've found out it's precisely cut to fit the armrest's cover. It also looks & smells like real leather & the color is very close to mine being beige in color so it's good enough for me. Here's how I did it: You'll need to remove the top cover of the console in order to wrap the new one on. There are a total of 11 screws w/ 8 easily accessible & 3 much harder ones due to the location of them being underneath the vents. They're screwed into plastic stand-offs so you'll need to take your time to get to the last 3. One you've got it out, the vents in the back of the cover can be easily popped out from the inside. I used liquid cements to wrap the new skin around the circumference of the cover. The cements set time is about a minute & it sets nicely so there's no need to use any clamps. Here's a few photos of my newly armrest console's installed back in the car. I could have done a little better w/ the wrap around the vents but that location was my starting point & I didn't know how long the cement would set but overall, I'm very happy w/ the result. Enjoy.
Last edited by Superfast1; Jan 5, 2018 at 01:25 PM.
I have successfully re-upholstered the front armrest console in my 97 Lexus LS400 rather than buying a used one then ended up needing another one a few years down the road. Anyway, there's a guy on eBay selling what he claims is a genuine leather skin for the armrest for a pretty reasonable price. Upon receiving & installing the skin, I've found out it's precisely cut to fit the armrest's cover. It also looks & smells like real leather & the color is very close to mine being beige in color so it's good enough for me. Here's how I did it: You'll need to remove the top cover of the console in order to wrap the new one on. There are a total of 11 screws w/ 8 easily accessible & 3 much harder ones due to the location of them being underneath the vents. They're screwed into plastic stand-offs so you'll need to take your time to get to the last 3. One you've got it out, the vents in the back of the cover can be easily popped out from the inside. I used liquid cements to wrap the new skin around the circumference of the cover. The cements set time is about a minute & it sets nicely so there's no need to use any clamps. Here's a few photos of my newly armrest console's installed back in the car. I could have done a little better w/ the wrap around the vents but that location was my starting point & I didn't know how long the cement would set but overall, I'm very happy w/ the result. Enjoy.
Dibs on the car phone...
So who is mystery vendor?
Toyota used durable leather..mine looks good after 20 years, but has a few wear blemishes so am interested in learning more about alternatives...
Yep, Toyota used the best top grain leather as I'm always amazed at how durable the leather after all these years (I own the car for 19 years now). Anyway, the guy that I bought the cover from is autogurutx for $36 but I think he only carries in beige color. There are other sellers on eBay also sell them but they all stated synthetic leather. Maybe his is synthetic too but he listed as real leather. It's hard to tell now these days. Oh well, time will tell.
Yep, Toyota used the best top grain leather as I'm always amazed at how durable the leather after all these years (I own the car for 19 years now). Anyway, the guy that I bought the cover from is autogurutx for $36 but I think he only carries in beige color. There are other sellers on eBay also sell them but they all stated synthetic leather. Maybe his is synthetic too but he listed as real leather. It's hard to tell now these days. Oh well, time will tell.
I know the company which supplies the leather to Toyota since a friend of mine is working there as a stuff in Japan. Their quality control level is very high but still Toyota says sometimes "No" to accept their products. Toyota's quality standard was so high that the manager of the company used to say, "Why?". I can't open the name of the company but it is located in North America.
Once I was presented a big leather sheet from that person. It only had a very small scratch. Now I'm thinking of doing some re-upholstering of my Celsior's armrest and others using it. My Celsior's drivers seat and the armrest are not in very good condition but still those are mostly OK. Other seats look quite new still.
I know the company which supplies the leather to Toyota since a friend of mine is working there as a stuff in Japan. Their quality control level is very high but still Toyota says sometimes "No" to accept their products. Toyota's quality standard was so high that the manager of the company used to say, "Why?". I can't open the name of the company but it is located in North America.
Once I was presented a big leather sheet from that person. It only had a very small scratch. Now I'm thinking of doing some re-upholstering of my Celsior's armrest and others using it. My Celsior's drivers seat and the armrest are not in very good condition but still those are mostly OK. Other seats look quite new still.
Having OEM leather source is important to a correct restoration. ..
If that source becomes available , then the interior shop can be dircted to acquire matching materials there...
Anyone with intel on the name of described leather vendor located in North America?
Legender- I had it done for 6 months now & it's still holding up very well but I think the seller is lying as it feels more like vinyl than genuine leather. Oh well, can't expect much for $36.
Re-Upholstered Front Armrest Console - Success
