What product to use to dye a gray seat to black

[John1180]

Found a good gray leather back seat that I'd like to dye black, any tips on a good product and method?

[Court M3]

leatherique

[dashboardmonkey]

Dupli-color makes a product for that too. SEM I think does also.

[RonP]

SEM is the best application for this. I have used it on several different surfaces including leather and it works great! What I do is clean the surface with Smart & Final's degreaser with lint free towels and then use Prepsol on the surface once that is done and then apply the SEM.

[John1180]

SEM is the best application for this. I have used it on several different surfaces including leather and it works great! What I do is clean the surface with Smart & Final's degreaser with lint free towels and then use Prepsol on the surface once that is done and then apply the SEM.

Thanks Ron, where's the best place to get this stuff?

[PiercedE30]

Leatherique. Real leather dye. I've used it. Some what involved, but if you take your time, properly prep the leather, it turns out awesome.

[RonP]

Thanks Ron, where's the best place to get this stuff?

I get it here in OC at Senik, but you can probably get it at a local automotive paint store. Good luck, John!

[Mossman]

i prefer leatherworldtech's dye to leatherique. SEM is the budget choice. I bought a huge leatherique kit and I wet sand leather with 400 before and clean with pristine clean. I think isopropyl alchohol is good too, I'm trying that next time cuz I ran out of pristine clean.

[AndrewBird]

If you are going to dye it, there is much more too it then just wiping some dye on. You will need to seal it afterwards or the dye will come off on what ever touches the seat.

Get some leather dye from someplace like a leather supply store or a shoe repair place. Don't even bother with the crap they sell at grocery stores or the like. It's garbage. I suggest Lincoln or Fiebing's products:





Oregon Leather Co. in Portland sells both brands, try contacting them. Google them and you will find their number.

You will also need a top coat to keep the dye from rubbing off the leather. Something like Fiebing's Tan Kote will work.

For prepping the leather, get a cleaner made to be used before dyeing. It will remove any grease or dirt and prepare the leather.

Once you have the seat clean, let it dry fully and then start applying the dye. You can use a rag or get some daubers to put it on with. A dauber is the metal wire with the ball on the end in the picture above. After the first coat goes on, let it dry completely, then go back over it with another coat, filling in any spots you might have missed. Just keeping coating it until it is well colored. After the last coat is dry, buff the whole surface off with a rag (you'll need more then one on something as big as a seat) until almost no dye residue comes off on the rag.

Now comes the top coating part. Basically just apply the top coat, let dry and buff off. You might want to apply more then one coat just to be sure you got everywhere.

Above all, follow the directions that come with the product. What I posted is just an overview and different products will have different applications.

You can also check out Fiebing's website for more info on their various products.

https://www.fiebing.com

Look under "Leathercraft".

[Moto-Mucci]

Bringing it back...

Has anyone successfully dyed and matched tan skins to cardinal? I've got some good tan bolsters that I would like to replace the torn cardinal ones with.

[naplesE30]

Used leatherique and SEM, happier with SEM although the conditioner, pristine clean, and prep solution from leatherique worked very well. I may have been happier with the leatherique dye if I had equipment to spray it on.