Champagne seats on a beer budget.
07-06-2012, 01:20 AM
#1
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Champagne seats on a beer budget.
$75 bux. That's all I spent. I bought the smallest seat color dye from Color plus and also bought the smallest leather conditioner. I spent a few more dollars on some brushes and good quality lacquer thinner and fine grit (400)sand paper from a automotive paint shop.
Here is what I did step by step.
1. Remove seats
2. Wipe all the old color off of the seats with lacquer thinner and clean white cotton cloth/rags. Get as much of the original dye/paint off as you can. This will allow the leather conditioner to really soak in.
3. Sand every crease and crack with the 400 grit sand paper. You won't wear through so give it a good sanding to smooth things out. You will need the crack filler if you have deep cracks in the leather. Wipe seat back down one more time with thinner.
4. Apply the conditioner liberally. I applied one coat every 12 hours for three days until it finally stopped soaking in and left a semi-shiny sheen on the leather. This step is very important and takes patience. It makes the leather feel supple and soft again instead of like cardboard.
5. Wipe seats down with a warm soapy rag to remove residual conditioner. Then wipe down with a damp cloth rag to remove any soap left over.
6. Apply color plus dye. I used several different sizes of foam brushes I got from Hobby Lobby. These brushes don't leave streaks and do not leave brush hairs behind in the dye. keep the first coat light, and resist going back over where you have already been. The stuff starts to dry, and will streak if you keep going over the same spot over and over. You could probably spray the dye on with an air brush but I didn't have one.
7. Repeat until happy with the color/coverage.
That's it. I am pretty impressed with the results. Even with the smallest containers of the dye and the conditioner, I will have enough to do both front seats easily.
Here is what I did step by step.
1. Remove seats
2. Wipe all the old color off of the seats with lacquer thinner and clean white cotton cloth/rags. Get as much of the original dye/paint off as you can. This will allow the leather conditioner to really soak in.
3. Sand every crease and crack with the 400 grit sand paper. You won't wear through so give it a good sanding to smooth things out. You will need the crack filler if you have deep cracks in the leather. Wipe seat back down one more time with thinner.
4. Apply the conditioner liberally. I applied one coat every 12 hours for three days until it finally stopped soaking in and left a semi-shiny sheen on the leather. This step is very important and takes patience. It makes the leather feel supple and soft again instead of like cardboard.
5. Wipe seats down with a warm soapy rag to remove residual conditioner. Then wipe down with a damp cloth rag to remove any soap left over.
6. Apply color plus dye. I used several different sizes of foam brushes I got from Hobby Lobby. These brushes don't leave streaks and do not leave brush hairs behind in the dye. keep the first coat light, and resist going back over where you have already been. The stuff starts to dry, and will streak if you keep going over the same spot over and over. You could probably spray the dye on with an air brush but I didn't have one.
7. Repeat until happy with the color/coverage.
That's it. I am pretty impressed with the results. Even with the smallest containers of the dye and the conditioner, I will have enough to do both front seats easily.
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07-06-2012, 09:35 AM
#8
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Orlando, FL: Treasure Coast, FL
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Love that cork!
The foam brushes have been working great for some of you guys! I have always used a gun to apply dye-best in very thin coats.
Regards,
The foam brushes have been working great for some of you guys! I have always used a gun to apply dye-best in very thin coats.
Regards,
07-06-2012, 11:45 AM
#15
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Thread Starter