# dying leather any colour you want.



## KADVR6 (Mar 16, 2008)

here is where i got my kit from

http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Colourant_Kit.htm

and it was easy to do, which i was very surprised about:thumb: the entire kit cost me approx £65 but i still have loads of dye left over just incase i have an accident?? but as a rough guide, here is how i did mine/another set.

1, using the leather prep that is supplied in the kit, apply the leather prep onto the leather using a firm pad, i used an old megs cutting pad. make sure you get into every nook/cranny. The crap that comes off the seats is the most horrible sticky stuff ever, so make sure you use some very thick gloves.

2, you then need to "key" the leather for the paint, i ended up using some 200 grade wet "n" dry for this, also use the smallest amount of the leather prep when doing this.

3, you then need to apply the first coat of your leather dye, i tried it a number of ways, and this was the best way i found. using a firm bristle paint brush, just paint it on, but only do very small patches at a time, approx 6" at a time is fine, if you try and do an entire seat back in one attempt?? you will have the most awfull mess to try and clean up. Also the brush is very good at getting into all the seams in the leather.

4, when the first coat is dry, which does not take long, mine was dry in about 15mins when it was outside in the sun. then using the airbrush kit (supplied) go over the seats again with your chosen colour of dye. you will be amazed what results you will get from the poxy airbrush, just make sure you take your time getting the sprayer covering everywhere.

5, when the seats are dry. you then go onto the last stage. you then have to apply the leather finish. when you order the kit you decide on matt or gloss finish. this stage is soooo easy, just use the airbrush again and go all over the seats using the leather finish, i did 2 coats just to be safe.

6, seats are dry?? i would leave them overnight to allow the dye/finish to cure.

7, fit the seats and stand back and admire your work:thumb:

any questions?? just ask

karl

the attched 3 pics show the sets when i bought them, after the first stage of painting them using the paintbrush method, and then after they have sttod overnight in the spare bedroom.

i have also done the leather inserts of my doorcards to match.

i also did a DIY re-trim for the leather bench as i could not get a 2nd hand one to spray up.


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

The preparation sounds a little dated now. 
Making surfaces sticky with surface preps and then applying new product can cause problems with peeling etc. so it will be interesting to see how it wears. It is much easier to apply a product that can be put straight onto a stable coating
We have found that adhesion agents like this often do not cure properly.

Looks good though for a DIY job. Looks as though you have a nice warehouse there with lots of space for recolouring.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

looking good kad  they did a small how to with this in practical classics

judy if you can post any newer /better im sure we'd like to hear about em


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## KADVR6 (Mar 16, 2008)

true it is a dated method, but so far the seats have been dyed for over a year with no pealing at all, and its my daily driver.

karl


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

looks very good, im definetly going to look into this, if you just wanted a certain part of the seat dyed, what is the best way to mask it off?


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

i masked mine with tape and a plastic bag...the water based stuff went through the paper lol


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

You can use masking tape to mask off areas that you do not want to recolour.

The BRIT system of recolouring requires no messy pre bottoms and adheres to stable finish very, very well. No finish failures in over 6 years of use.


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

where can i get the BRIT system, and do you have any pics


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

Please see images attached for BRIT restoration


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)




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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)




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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

Hi,

. Nice results with the seats.

The reason you need to prep the leather is, with many car interiors (especially old ones) the finish goes hard, brittle, rough, and so is not nice to the touch. If you re-coloured the leather without removing the finish, the end results wouldn't even be half as good. 

The main reason for the sanding, is not so much to create a key, but to smooth the leather, again, something that enhances the texture at the end.

The colourant has been tested to with stand in excess of 150,000 flexes and has been avaiable on the market for about 4 years now, with extremely good results. Once, done, and if maintain the properly with leather protection cream, the colour will not wear off.


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

As long as the finish is intact it is much better to leave it on rather than remove it. Removing and softening a finish was an old fashioned method which is now superceded by products that do not require this process. Breaking down the finish always creates a more unstable surface for recolouring and is not advisable. Rough areas can as you say be sanded which we always do to prepare the surface.

Flex testing is fine and all leather pigments should have been tested for this but it is the adhesion to the original finish that would be in question. Pigments when tested are rarely tested on old leather or those with the finish removed. BRIT has been developed over the past 20 years and we have used it for over 6 with no finish failures.

New coatings should always be protected as a final stage in the process and looked after accordingly to give longer life.


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

judyb said:


> Removing and softening a finish was an old fashioned method which is now superceded by products that do not require this process.


The products supplied will still work without prepping the leather, its just, the end result will not be as good.

1. softening the leather enhances the end results - softer/smoother leather is better then harder/stiffer leather.

2. Removing the finish keeps the thickness of the leather down (although its minimal), it makes for a better end result. Rather than having layer upon layer of new coatings.

3. With old interiors (especially those with connolly leather), sanding them doesn't do that much, not compared to prepping. We would always prep to remove the old colour/finish (or a lot of it), and then sand afterwards.

The method may have been used for a long time, but in no way is it an outdated method. It takes a bit longer to do, but the results are much better.



judyb said:


> Pigments when tested are rarely tested on old leather or those with the finish removed. BRIT has been developed over the past 20 years and we have used it for over 6 with no finish failures.


You're probably right, but the thing is, all leather we restore is old leather, and so we make our coatings so that they work on it, and because we make and use these coatings ourselves, we continue to develop and improve them, based on our own, and customer feedback. The coatings also work fine on new leather.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

i restored some bolsters with another brand...i must admit removing the old cracked finish worked well in my case, 99% of the damage was just in the finish


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

As I said on stable finish.

Old cracked finish would have to be removed but it should not leave a sticky finish.


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

judyb said:


> As I said on stable finish.
> 
> Old cracked finish would have to be removed but it should not leave a sticky finish.


where to you get the impression it leaves the leather sticky?


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

*ben* do you have before /after pics or other advice for re colouring leather?

like i say ive done a little bit and been very pleased with the results, i think it was kads results that made me go for it

any further expert advice or tips would be well apreciated


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

Hi,

Yeah, I have hundreds of pics. Heres a few;

BEFORE After

















BEFORE After
















BEFORE After
















When it comes to doing the job, there aren't really a great deal of tips I can give you. As long as you follow the instructions (they are very comprehensive) you'll get a fine result. Then you can just fine tune the process to suite your needs.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

looking good mate

any pics of some nasty damage thats been fixed up?


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

Yeah.

































The leather is basically filled and sanded down to make smooth.


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## Dazmeister (Feb 4, 2008)

judyb said:


> As I said on stable finish.
> 
> Old cracked finish would have to be removed but it should not leave a sticky finish.


Hi Judy/Ben,

Very interested in the different approaches you can take when dealing with restoration. I take it that dependent on the age of the leather a different approach is required, would you agree?
For example for my 04 plate convertible, would a BRITA restoration or similar be more preferable to the type that use a sanding process?
I only have slight discoloration to bolsters so was thinking of using this method.

(photos are a bit naff)

Scuff Master Kit

Comments welcome.


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

Hi,

The kit we supply is fine for both old and new leather. All I was saying is that it isn't 100% curcial to prep new leather as it is old, but there is no harm done in doing so.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

ben what would happen if the sides or back of the seat are made from vynil? can this be done with lasting results?


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

Hi,

It works fine on vinyl, we did a TVR last week, which was majority vinyl, and most car interiors we restore have vinyl sides. Although I personally feel the product doesn't adhere as well to vinyl as leather, we haven't had any problems with doing it.


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

The BRIT system works the same on new and old leather. We use it for all recolouring work whether on new leather panels or restoring older leather. Works on vinyl too but as it is a specific leather product we do not give any guarantees of its wearability.

The crucial part of any restoration job is using a product that is going to give the best adhesion and preparing and finishing correctly with appropriate curing times. The BRIT system is different to others in that you need far less product and unlike other systems (due to the way it is applied) it does not lose any of the leathers graining effects. We have seen many examples of products that have to be applied so thickly that you lose any grain pattern that was there.


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## Dazmeister (Feb 4, 2008)

judyb said:


> We have seen many examples of products that have to be applied so thickly that you lose any grain pattern that was there.


I have had experience of this myself on my last car. No pattern, just smooth and gloss like finish where it should have been a slight matt or silk. No grain could be seen.


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

When leather is made, they sometimes emboss the grain pattern into the paint, and so as the leather is used, the paint is worn thin - and so is the grain pattern. Maybe this is what you experienced.


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## KADVR6 (Mar 16, 2008)

where abouts are you *judyb* i think you need to see the job that can be done with these kits, last year i went to a few vw shows and everyone liked my interior, they were even more amazed when i told them they were black before i dyed them.

over the last couple of weeks i have been helping a family friend do he's interior. i cant say yet what car it is, as he's gonna be taking it to a classic car shows, and he wants to see if anybody can tell the seats have been dyed from cream to red. i have taken loads of pics as the seats were over 28 years old, and very very very cracked/worn.

when he has done this years shows then i will put up pics on here.

you *will* be amazed.

karl


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## Dazmeister (Feb 4, 2008)

Ben Staerck said:


> When leather is made, they sometimes emboss the grain pattern into the paint, and so as the leather is used, the paint is worn thin - and so is the grain pattern. Maybe this is what you experienced.


Thanks for the info Ben,

It was on a BMW 330 so unsure if they use this method of embossed grain or whether they use quality materials.
I'm new to the forum as you can gather but just wanted the best solution to light wear on bolsters in my case. Something a novice could pick up quite easily.
On another note I had a look at BRIT restoration (LTT Leather Care) but it also mentions rubbing down the leather with fine sand paper before prep, so a little confused as both seem to use the same method. 
I guess depends on how bad the seats are as to what course of action.

Cheers for all the info.


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## rav t sport (Jul 31, 2007)

should this be sanded with 200 grit or 2000


what would you recomend for torn leather


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

i used 180 -320 on mine....2000 wouldnt touch it

some of the kit sellers have a patch n glue kit for tears....although imo if the car is a keeper id get a new piece sewn in and then dye the whole lot as i cant see the repair lasting well in a high use area, prob be ok if its on a seat back or something


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

We just had an article done on our repair kit in the daimler and lanchester owners club magazine in which the editor fixed an 18" long tear in his car using our kit.

Whilst doing something like this wouldn't always look as good as a re-trim. It's a lot cheapr and it does hold.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

any pics ben? always intrested in these leather repairs

does the repaired section feel hard comapred to the orig seat?


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

No not at all. It feels just like the leather would normally.

*BEFORE*









*AFTER*









I don't have a pdf copy of the magazine article online yet, but I'll put it on the website soon.


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