Dying Leather?

fishEH

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,929
203
Lake Villa, IL
Is it possible to dye leather a darker shade?
I found some NICE Beamer junkyard seats with perfect leather and they're manual 3-way adjustable. And they're a piece of cake to remove. BUT, they're a little more yellow than I care for. Can I dye them brown or black and how hard is it?
 
A

antisoshal

Active member
Jul 16, 2010
38
0
You can dye leather, but unless you are an experienced upholstry shop I wouldnt advise it. The correct process involves chemically treating the leather to loosen the tanning cure on the dye thats there, then you effectively re-dye and tan the leather. Ive seen one step kits but they always end up bleeding into your clothes after the fact.
 
Jagfixer

Jagfixer

Well-known member
Feb 25, 2008
367
3
Millstadt, IL
Get a color kit from a leather shop. Clean seats well, apply conditioner for dye set, dye seats using heat, wipe fully , then use the final cover wash to set and seal dye. Lengthy process and will be messy. Give a while and use a leather conditioner to keep leather soft. Can be applied by touch up spray gun or air brush.
 
Butch

Butch

Well-known member
Mar 8, 2006
459
0
52
Warner Robins, Ga
Jagfixer said:
Get a color kit from a leather shop. Clean seats well, apply conditioner for dye set, dye seats using heat, wipe fully , then use the final cover wash to set and seal dye. Lengthy process and will be messy. Give a while and use a leather conditioner to keep leather soft. Can be applied by touch up spray gun or air brush.
Click to expand...

Sounds like it might be easier to pay a shop to do it.
 
U

ubuntu

Well-known member
Apr 16, 2014
225
1
Mosquito Alley
I got a quote to redye all my seats... wait for it.... $600. Yeah not happening. Apparently that black piping triples the price.
 
Blue

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,056
869
AZ
If you dye leather, just be sure that you are always wearing that color when you sit in the seats and you'll be ok
 
M

M4auto

New member
Jun 24, 2015
1
0
Satx
M4satx.com
That's my business. I've been dying leather, vinyl and plastic for my accounts for over 5 years. I recently dyed tan d2 seats to black for my d110.

There are many myths with dying leather like that it will rub off on your clothes but it's not the case.

If you clean the surface properly you will get good adhesion. Dye is not like paint, paint is a top coat applied to a surface, dye will actually become part of the material (etch itself in)

I have done several complete color changes and it's a great way to update and or restore old seats.

Here is the brand i use . http://www.semproducts.com

The waterbourne system is what I use mainly do to the fact that it's FAA approved so I can use it on aircraft interiors. But you can buy just about any color in Aerosol especially made for leather. If you deside to buy some cans you will likely need 2 cans per seat and make sure to use a semi gloss clear coat for a longer lasting result and original leather shine.
 
yo! adrian

yo! adrian

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
346
0
Frisco, Tx
I can vouch for Patrick at M4. He's worked on my DI, DII, RR Sport and soon i'll be taking my P38 to him. He makes our trucks look and feel like new.
 
kennith

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Devildog01 said:
Krylon spray paint.
Click to expand...

That's not too far off what most shops do when you pay them all that money. They will literally spray-paint your leather with a flexible "dye". It will be hot. It will crack where the leather is already damaged, and it will wear badly.

This is what people consider the "good stuff". It's shit.

A real dye job is only coming from a dedicated upholstery restoration shop with a garage full of vehicles that would be allergic to our Rovers. It's eliminating the coating that's already on the leather and replacing it almost entirely. This leather is actually coated from the factory; that's part of "Connoly Leather". You can't just paint over this stuff.

It ain't cheap. Doing it yourself isn't impossible, but it's time consuming and delicate. I'm working on some parts of the seats in my Jaguar right now.

It's always cheaper and more effective to buy new upholstery or used seats that are in better condition.

Cheers,

Kennith
 
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