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What is the general consensus on dying leather to another color? Specifically from linen to black. Does this work well over time? Does the color fade and make everything kinda blah? Before starting a new project wanted to ask those that a smarter and more experienced in this.
Hi Ed,
I have dyed a few seats. First of all, I would think of it as "painting" seats, since "dyeing" suggests penetration of color into the material. Now, as with most painting, success depends on three things: preparation, quality materials and correct application. Of these three, I believe preparation is the most important. Without going into details, there are definitely methods to properly prepare (solvents, sandpaper, etc), flexible coatings (Leatherique, Color Plus and others I forgot) and easy application methods such as spraying, brushing or sponging, that will give excellent, long-enduring results.
Good luck,
Dave
Last edited by j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net; Dec 8, 2019 at 05:31 PM.
The most important thing is preparation.
If you take your time and carefully follow each step, you will get good result.
I did mine with ColorPlus products few years ago and had good result.
I used an air brush.
Bertrand, that piping looks great! Ed, my experiences with ColorPlus were mixed. I "dyed" a pair of seats that were light gray with burgundy dye. I used a spray gun, and I very carefully followed ColorPlus's instructions (great customer service BTW) and they turned out pretty well, but: the seats were in great condition, with very minor cracking on the DS bolster and a couple of other places, so I used their filler. And pretty much wherever I used it, the colorant came off. And I am a "less is more" type when using fillers for almost anything (except maybe chocolate croissants). My 928 is a DD and gets a lot of wear, so keep that in mind. I should also note their color match was perfect, and they keep a record of this so if you need to retouch, they can supply the exact shade.
There are pluses and minuses. I had very poor results with repair and filler. Also the colorant is basically a latex paint so it does not breathe. However it is durable and gives a good look on surfaces that aren't damaged. One lazy man's benefit: If your seat gets dirty you can just use spare color and disappear the dirt with a paint brush.
Overall, I though it was overpriced ($250/quart for custom color) but way way cheaper than recovering with new upholstery.
What is the particular application? Are you changing an entire interior color? Adapting a used part to your interior? etc...
The leather will be fine but your arm may know the difference. It’s just like vinyl after coloring, durable but no longer porous. For such a small piece colorant is the way to go IMO, especially for a less expensive stock color. ColorPlus was what I used. I colored the opposite of you (light grey color over black leather) for a back seat and it came out perfectly. 3 years and still pretty.
I bought a car last year that had “dyed” seats- I was always sticking to them, and then eventually the paint started wearing off on my clothes. It was a shame because I wouldn’t have minded some patina and old leather smell in my car, I just wanted to drive it! But it became evident I couldn’t drive it to work or take my wife out to dinner in it for fear of having paint all over the backs of our clothes. Hence, I had a completely new interior installed at great expense. My advice is to either ride with what you’ve got, or find good condition seats in the color you wasn’t, or pay the money to have the seats recovered in new leather.
I did a lot of repair to the seat bolsters, and repainted the repaired sections using a method very similar to what the Leatherique folks show for their products. I've had no issues with the paint coming off on clothing, and would suggest that proper prep is absolutely essential if you want to avoid that. The amount of sanding needed seems excessive when you are doing it, but there's just no way a new color will adhere to dirty, oily, worn-smooth leather or vinyl. You MUST do the full prep if you want lasting results.
I did some seat repairs then refinishing over a dozen years ago now, documented in this thread starting at post 50. https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...-wheels-2.html It's way more description than just the final refinishing part, but might give you an idea about what's involved and the results you might expect from your work.
At a very recent local PCA tech event, one of the folks shared that he'd shopped around and found a shop that was experienced in doing the seat refinishing. He thought the results were well worth the expense. Don't be afraid to reach out to local resources, including your PCA region members, to identify the best local resources for this stuff. The 928 seats are not so unique that a "other Porsches" specialist can't do a great job for you.
You know, what Dr. Bob says is right (as usual, dammit). Pros do this all the time and get very good results for not that much money. You might check around.
Good luck,
Dave
Bertrand, that piping looks great! Ed, my experiences with ColorPlus were mixed. I "dyed" a pair of seats that were light gray with burgundy dye. I used a spray gun, and I very carefully followed ColorPlus's instructions (great customer service BTW) and they turned out pretty well, but: the seats were in great condition, with very minor cracking on the DS bolster and a couple of other places, so I used their filler. And pretty much wherever I used it, the colorant came off. And I am a "less is more" type when using fillers for almost anything (except maybe chocolate croissants). My 928 is a DD and gets a lot of wear, so keep that in mind. I should also note their color match was perfect, and they keep a record of this so if you need to retouch, they can supply the exact shade.
they keep it for 10 years as I just found out. I need to send in a new sample of Graphite grey for my seats. Great stuff though. This will be the first time i have done front seats.
I did a lot of repair to the seat bolsters, and repainted the repaired sections using a method very similar to what the Leatherique folks show for their products. I've had no issues with the paint coming off on clothing, and would suggest that proper prep is absolutely essential if you want to avoid that. The amount of sanding needed seems excessive when you are doing it, but there's just no way a new color will adhere to dirty, oily, worn-smooth leather or vinyl. You MUST do the full prep if you want lasting results.
I did some seat repairs then refinishing over a dozen years ago now, documented in this thread starting at post 50. https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...-wheels-2.html It's way more description than just the final refinishing part, but might give you an idea about what's involved and the results you might expect from your work.
At a very recent local PCA tech event, one of the folks shared that he'd shopped around and found a shop that was experienced in doing the seat refinishing. He thought the results were well worth the expense. Don't be afraid to reach out to local resources, including your PCA region members, to identify the best local resources for this stuff. The 928 seats are not so unique that a "other Porsches" specialist can't do a great job for you.
thanks for doing that. I found the ALEX painters caulk at home Depot yesterday. I have the COLOR plus FLEXFILL also. Im going to attempt to fix/hide the prominent cracks in my dash pod with the ALEX stuff. Also, they make two types...be sure to use the one WITHOUT the silicone added.
I'm in the same boat with a set of seats I have. I reached out to a local car group and this was one of the responses:
If you want to match the dye perfectly I recommend Furniture Clinic out of England which has operations here in the U.S. you can give them the VIN and they will send the exact dye for your seats. I also have another source should you have issues. You can then take the dye to the upholstery shop of your choice if you do not want to undertake the project yourself. FC also has some amazing fillers if you have cracking or pitting. I am not an expert and have done a number of my cars and they look brand new. Good luck. I hope this helps.
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Dying Leather Advice
