My black seats are showing a bit of wear after 20 years. Has anyone used a leather dye that they would recommend?
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My black seats are showing a bit of wear after 20 years. Has anyone used a leather dye that they would recommend?
I bought a spray bottle of leather conditioner from CDN TIRE and it not only cleans the leather but recoats a leather smell. Yeah they bottle the smell. What is this world coming to? Works great, was on the shelf of car waxes and stuff. It's a black can called Tannery...
The best dye I have ever used is Connelly (as in british connelly leather). Haven't bought it for a few years but it may still available over the internet. I have also had good luck in saddle shops with the dye's they use on the leather. I've even pulled off a couple of presentable jobs with the spray on crud they sell in the auto parts stores but I cannot vouch for its longevity, so let's stick with the stuff I KNOW works for the long haul!
Most of a good dye job is a few tricks and some labor. Remove the seats, take hardware off of them, seperate the backs and the bases. Clean the leather thoroughly. Using a soft bristle brush and detergent (I use Dawn dishwashing detergent) thoroughly clean the leather, but do not get it excessively wet. Shake most of the water out of your brush before applying. Scrub vigourously especially the seams and use a clean damp rag to remove the soap. When you are done, wipe the whole thing with a fresh clean damp rag.
Now here's the big trick. Leave the seats out in the sun to dry for a couple of hours. They need to be completely dry before you dye them. Also, the sun warms the leather and the pores open up (leather is dried skin). When you apply the dye, it will soak deeper into the leather and your dye-job will be much more even and longer lasting. Follow the directions for the dye you are using. Don't over saturate the seams, wipe the excess off with a soft dry cloth. It is better to do a couple of light coats rather than one heavy one just like paint. I use the brush on type dyes and apply them with a sponge.
When the leather is thorougly dyed, condition it. I use Lexol to condition leather. There are two versions of Lexol (available anywhere they sell leather horse equipment). One version is for dark leathers as it tends to stain. No problem on your black interior. The other is for light colored leathers and does not "darken" the leather. Doesn't matter which you use on black, but you will probably like the dark Lexol better.
Thorougly wipe the seats down lightly with Lexol and again leave them in the sun to dry. Repeat the process until the seats will not absorb any more Lexol. They will look slightly damp. Then use an absorbant towel to wipe down the seats. They may feel a little "tacky" the first couple of uses. If that bothers you, use the Lexol Cleaner (same availability as the conditioner) on them once to remove the slight excess of the conditioner and buff them with an absorbant towel.
If you clean and treat your leather once a month, it will probably last 30 years or better on a daily driver. My 76 Jaguar has her original leather and it looks about 4-5 years old.
angela
Most of a good dye job is a few tricks and some labor. Remove the seats, take hardware off of them, seperate the backs and the bases. Clean the leather thoroughly. Using a soft bristle brush and detergent (I use Dawn dishwashing detergent) thoroughly clean the leather, but do not get it excessively wet. Shake most of the water out of your brush before applying. Scrub vigourously especially the seams and use a clean damp rag to remove the soap. When you are done, wipe the whole thing with a fresh clean damp rag.
Now here's the big trick. Leave the seats out in the sun to dry for a couple of hours. They need to be completely dry before you dye them. Also, the sun warms the leather and the pores open up (leather is dried skin). When you apply the dye, it will soak deeper into the leather and your dye-job will be much more even and longer lasting. Follow the directions for the dye you are using. Don't over saturate the seams, wipe the excess off with a soft dry cloth. It is better to do a couple of light coats rather than one heavy one just like paint. I use the brush on type dyes and apply them with a sponge.
When the leather is thorougly dyed, condition it. I use Lexol to condition leather. There are two versions of Lexol (available anywhere they sell leather horse equipment). One version is for dark leathers as it tends to stain. No problem on your black interior. The other is for light colored leathers and does not "darken" the leather. Doesn't matter which you use on black, but you will probably like the dark Lexol better.
Thorougly wipe the seats down lightly with Lexol and again leave them in the sun to dry. Repeat the process until the seats will not absorb any more Lexol. They will look slightly damp. Then use an absorbant towel to wipe down the seats. They may feel a little "tacky" the first couple of uses. If that bothers you, use the Lexol Cleaner (same availability as the conditioner) on them once to remove the slight excess of the conditioner and buff them with an absorbant towel.
If you clean and treat your leather once a month, it will probably last 30 years or better on a daily driver. My 76 Jaguar has her original leather and it looks about 4-5 years old.
angela
I used Connoly products on my wife's Austin Healey and had very good results.
I did a google on connoly hide dye and got this hit:
www.ferrariclub.com/faq/leatherdye.html
looks similar to what Steve mentioned.
Moss Motors carries much of the Connoly line of leather products
www.mossmotors.com
I did a google on connoly hide dye and got this hit:
www.ferrariclub.com/faq/leatherdye.html
looks similar to what Steve mentioned.
Moss Motors carries much of the Connoly line of leather products
www.mossmotors.com
Liquid Leather from the UK. I bought their scuff kit to redo the interior of my Benz. Excellant product and very good written materials. Comes with cleaner, conditioner and concentrated dye. Did everything from filling in cracks to totally re-dying the armrest which was devoid of colour.
www.liquidleather.com/scuffs.htm
Brian
www.liquidleather.com/scuffs.htm
Brian
I think Angela's treatise on leather should go in the Knowledge section.
Ah, leather.....
Bob
Ah, leather.....
Bob
Thanks for the help. I found it all at a shoe repair place
Bruce
Bruce