dying leather seats -does it really work?

I found some good looking leather seats that should fit my truck. The seller is local so that saves a bit of money. However the seats are grey and I would really like black seats. Has anyone ever dyed their leather seats? Does it really work and does it last? I'm guessing a botched dye job will pretty much ruin the seats.
Thanks, don

 

Use dye specifically for leather seats and you'll be fine. It's about $15.00 per spray can.

 

I've had good luck with SEM dye, typically available at better automotive paint stores. Real good stores can actually mix custom colors and put in aerosol cans.

 

I have dyed seats and interior parts before, however I went to a leather shop and found some brush on stuff that worked great. No brush marks. GM used to make the same stuff but discontinued it.

 

The original seats are painted. All leather interiors and most of the vinyl on newer cars is ALL painted. The term "Dye" is a bit of a misnomer.

You need to use the proper flexible paint. See your paint shop to see what coatings they offer.

The bigger concern I would have is what sort of "treatment" has been applied to the seats. If they have been coated with anything containing silicone, you may have a tough time. At a minimum, you would need to wipe them down extremely well with something like alcohol, mineral spirits or VM&P naptha (my favorite). I would wipe them down multiple times using new terry cloth washcloths each time and make sure and get in the nooks and crannies.

Don't spray the coating on too heavy. It will peel when it dries. Just put one or two medium wet coats on and walk away.

Good luck.

 

I've done lots, i use SEM, usually landau black. if you do the prep work right it'll last.

 

i washed mine down with enamel reducer,worked out fine,still looked great when i sold it 19 years later

 

SEM is THE stuff to use. Custom tintable to any shade.

 

I used some stuff called " Product 40" form England. They use it to restore jags. GREAT Stuff.

 

Leatherique is also a good brand: http://www.leatherique.com/ Looks like there's a lot of technical info on their page on how to redye seats too.

 

I would be very careful with "enamel reducer" if yours is made up of any sort of blend of toluene or xylene (typical). Both of these solvents are too harsh and will make a gummy mess of the original "dye" on the surface of the leather.

On the other hand, toluene dries really quick and might be a possibility if you wiped one quick time and then let it dry. I wouldn't chance it personally.

 

Just for curiosity's sake, can someone post pics of a seat they've done?

 

The wife uses Fiebing's leather dyes on all her custom seats. It goes INTO the leather, but it has to have some kind of sealer put over it. Try Tandy Leather Factory.

 

I've had good luck with SEM, make sure you use whatever prep product they offer as well and follow the instructions exactly.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Due to the feedback, I did purchase the seats and will be researching the products discussed, I'm guessing that properly prepped and applied they all would do a good job.

 

...perhaps you will do a 'before and after' and post it...?

 

The sealer, there is the kicker. Yes you can paint them as has beem mentioned but contrary to popular beliefe good quality leather seats are dyed before they are stitched and they have a sealer on them

The trick to making the paint of stain stick is to get past the sealer. Some solvents have been mentioned, I like to use MEK but you can also use pre-sol like a painter uses on an old car.

I had a friend that recolored old seats all the time and he would use solvent then after he would use Comet and steel wool on them. After they were dry he would give them a good wipe with lacquer thinner and then go after his color. His seats always looked like they came that way.

 

I've used both and the one that ges "into" the leather seemed to last longer and look better.

Good luck!

 

Done it 3 or 4 times and turned out real nice.
However I always was dying a darker color than it was, so can't comment on the other way around.
Cheers and good luck,

 

another Leatherique user here

 

I used SEM, It's real easy, just be sure to clean them well.
My last wipe down before spraying was with acetone.

 

Good point, Benno. I was thinking of the OP starting with raw hides (...RAWHIDE!) rather than RE-coloring. You're right, anything that's already been colored will have sealer on it.

 

I was just expanding on what you said.

Here is a trick that an upholstery guy told me once that works well for vinyl. You can buy the cheapest vinyl dye in the world and make it work of you wipe the upholstery down first with some laquer thinner. he says it opens the pours up and lets the dye sink in.

I guess this has nothing to do with the thread but I know a lot of the fellas have vinyl seats.

 

i had a 72 Nova that the seats were painted black by the PO, looked great but the first time i had a girl in the car with white pants on it didn't go over very well, heres something i learned about vinyl thats gone hard, whipe them down with paint remover, makes them soft as butter, lasts for years.

 

We had a guy come in and change a leather sofa in our house from blue to black. It cost us $60 I think it was. His business was going around to the car dealers and doing interior repair and re-color for them.

It has been three years I think since he did it, and the couch looks great even after having the kids treating the couch none to kindly.

Regarding SEM, here is our olds which when we bought it someone had already painted the dash, seats, sun visors, and door panels tan (actually had tan overspray on the gauge bezel, etc. so they did it all in the car. When you would clean it, the color would come off...

I didn't like the tan, so I used the SEM prep and paint to change it to black. SEM has special prep stuff that you treat the surface with prior to paint. I took the dash and everything out of the car, did the prep, treated it and it all looks like it was black from day one.

That was at least 6 maybe 7 years ago, and it still looks just as good. The seats we recovered.

Before


After

 

To finish this up: I purchased SEM from Eastwood (prep and paint) because of the recommendations and it was on sale. I cleaned the seats with as "wipe" of brake cleaner, quick as not to dry the seats, but it did clean them nicely. Then sprayed and worked the prep into the seats - two applications. Then did four coats of paint: first coat very light mist, second coat for coverage and used a heat gun to dry it in place, third coat was even for coverage, fourth coat very light and just to ensure a consistent finish. I tried to make sure the coats weren't too thick . The result is that they look like brand new. I'm very happy with the results. Thanks for all the suggestions, I would never have tried this without the recommendations and experiences offered.
don

 

Don how about posting some pictures, sounds like they came out nice.

 

I used the SEM stuff on my Riviera and it worked great

 

Don, great to hear the "end of the story", and glad it worked out well for you. Would also love to see some pics!

 

This thread is where a current adventure started. How to dye leather
or vinyl. Some of the products above are no longer around at least here on the east coast. Since I have been in lock down, I did a bunch of home work on this subject. I ended up using a place in Richmond Va called AUTOLEATHERDYE, Strange name but easy to find on the net. They have a water based product that works on leather and vinyl. The key ( as with everything ) is the surface prep...…up to and including using a 3M scrubby pad on every surface. I used a sponge for application on one piece an a small paint brush on the rest.
My seats are Procar seats ( 20 years old ) that are gray

4 light coats of the product and it looks like this

My V8 Corvair is on the ragged edge of the HAMB but changing interior colors is for anyone wanting to do it, regardless of the year of manufacture.
Time will tell if this was a good idea. It sure does not seem to wipe or rub off.
The vendor has color matched dyes to manufacturers colors. Really great stuff. Just in case you are interested, www.autoleatherdye.com