Leather Dye - project completed with pics/write-up
02-19-2008, 05:27 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Derbyshire, England
Posts: 898
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Leather Dye - project completed with pics/write-up
Having just finished re-dying my entire interior, all bar some fettling, I thought I should post some results pics and a short write-up. Pics first of the end result.
The colour is Matador red, which originally had a faint black marble effect ( Corinthian? ). The problem I had was that specific areas of the interior were badly faded and almost pale pink: arm rests, door pulls, door caps, dash, parcel shelf. The driver's seat bolster was badly worn, though not worn through and the piping was split along about 1". Replacing the entire interior, which is all leather, with new hide was not really an option. Firstly, the Matador hide would have to be custom produced (£££) and re-trimming would be very expensive (££££££). The only bits available from Porsche are the gear **** ( which I bought ) and the handbrake ( which I re-dyed ). Oddly, the new gear **** doesn't have the marbling effect.
So, I decided to tackle re-dying the interior myself. That meant doing everything, to ensure an even finsih. It really isn't that difficult to do, but it is very time consuming. I assume that changing the colour entirely would be much more involved. I used Dynamix dye, which is water based and has a latex type feel to it when dry. Ryan at Dynamix is a top bloke. Extremely helpful and when I had a problem with the colour match, he sorted it all out very quickly and courteously; a shame that more companies can't be like that.
The finish is matt/satin. It looks shiny in a couple of the above pics, more so than it is in reality. I assume that it will take on a shine with more use; as new leather does eventually. I can't report on durabilty yet as I have only had my behind parked in the seat for 200 miles or so since putting the seats back in. I think, from my experience with the first few trim pieces I did, it really needs a good 4/6 weeks to cure fully before giving it too much abuse.
My hints and tips are:
1. Take everything that you are going to treat out of the car first. It really does make life so much simpler. However, if working indoors, try to apply the dye in good natural light or use a white light lamp. You would be amazed what you can miss when painting under electric light.
2. Preparation is everything. I wet sanded the leather first, taking off as much of the old top coat as I could without getting to bare leather. I don't think it matters if you do, as the driver's seat bolster was pretty much colour free before re-doing. I just didn't want to make extra un-neccessary work for myself. After wiping away all the sanded residue ( looked like a blood bath in my garden! ) I treated the leather to a conditioner ( Gliptone - great stuff ). The leather was still pretty soft, even in the worst sun bleached areas, so I didn't feel the need to go over the top. If your leather is very cardboardy, I would use something stronger. I did let the conditioner soak in over 24hrs, covering items with plastic bin bags and lettng them sweat. The next stage was to thoroughly wipe down the leather with methylated spirits; to remove any debris, grease etc. I then tackled any small tears/cracking with leather filler. I only had 2 deep creases on the drivers seat that warranted filller and a tear to the piping that I repaired with a patch cut from the underside of seat base, epoxy glue and a little fiiler to make good. I chose not to attack every minor crease with filler as I didn't want the end result to look fake. Old leather is never going to look like new and a few creases adds character
This moment is the Oh my God, what have I done time. The leather looks like it has been sat in a smokey drinking den for 200 years. But don't panic! Once the leather is dry and any filler cured and sanded, you can start applying the dye.
3. The instructions that came with the dye are really geared towards touching up damged areas and recommends using a sponge to apply. I did experiment with this but found it to be clumsy and the end result not up to the right standard. Spraying would have been ideal, but I just don't have the facilties/space/skill to do that, so I went with brushes. Brushes really DO work just as well the end result is just as good as spraying. Use good quality decorators brushes, natural bristle. I used a 1" and a 1/2" brush plus 2 fine art flat head brushes ( 1/4" width ). The key is to brush on the first base coats, without worrying about leaving swirls and then stipple the final 2 coats. By stipple, I mean dab the end of the brush onto the leather at 90 degrees. I applied 6 thin coats in all; 4 brushed and 2 stippled. I would think that black etc. would require only 3 maybe 4 coats. Red is a real sod of a colour in all medias and is semi-opaque. I allowed 3 hours drying between each coat.
Unfortunately, being a habitual idiot, I forgot to take any before and during pictures. Rest assured that the end result makes a huge difference and I am chuffed to bits. I had to do the job justice and replaced many of the plastic trim pieces; seat catches, hand brake button , dash vents etc. You would be amazed at how reasonable, dare I say cheap, the parts are from Porsche.
So, if you are thinking of tacking a similar job, go for it and if you have any questions or extra advice if you have already done the same thing, please do post.
Adam
PS apologies for the long post; I should try to be more succinct.
The colour is Matador red, which originally had a faint black marble effect ( Corinthian? ). The problem I had was that specific areas of the interior were badly faded and almost pale pink: arm rests, door pulls, door caps, dash, parcel shelf. The driver's seat bolster was badly worn, though not worn through and the piping was split along about 1". Replacing the entire interior, which is all leather, with new hide was not really an option. Firstly, the Matador hide would have to be custom produced (£££) and re-trimming would be very expensive (££££££). The only bits available from Porsche are the gear **** ( which I bought ) and the handbrake ( which I re-dyed ). Oddly, the new gear **** doesn't have the marbling effect.
So, I decided to tackle re-dying the interior myself. That meant doing everything, to ensure an even finsih. It really isn't that difficult to do, but it is very time consuming. I assume that changing the colour entirely would be much more involved. I used Dynamix dye, which is water based and has a latex type feel to it when dry. Ryan at Dynamix is a top bloke. Extremely helpful and when I had a problem with the colour match, he sorted it all out very quickly and courteously; a shame that more companies can't be like that.
The finish is matt/satin. It looks shiny in a couple of the above pics, more so than it is in reality. I assume that it will take on a shine with more use; as new leather does eventually. I can't report on durabilty yet as I have only had my behind parked in the seat for 200 miles or so since putting the seats back in. I think, from my experience with the first few trim pieces I did, it really needs a good 4/6 weeks to cure fully before giving it too much abuse.
My hints and tips are:
1. Take everything that you are going to treat out of the car first. It really does make life so much simpler. However, if working indoors, try to apply the dye in good natural light or use a white light lamp. You would be amazed what you can miss when painting under electric light.
2. Preparation is everything. I wet sanded the leather first, taking off as much of the old top coat as I could without getting to bare leather. I don't think it matters if you do, as the driver's seat bolster was pretty much colour free before re-doing. I just didn't want to make extra un-neccessary work for myself. After wiping away all the sanded residue ( looked like a blood bath in my garden! ) I treated the leather to a conditioner ( Gliptone - great stuff ). The leather was still pretty soft, even in the worst sun bleached areas, so I didn't feel the need to go over the top. If your leather is very cardboardy, I would use something stronger. I did let the conditioner soak in over 24hrs, covering items with plastic bin bags and lettng them sweat. The next stage was to thoroughly wipe down the leather with methylated spirits; to remove any debris, grease etc. I then tackled any small tears/cracking with leather filler. I only had 2 deep creases on the drivers seat that warranted filller and a tear to the piping that I repaired with a patch cut from the underside of seat base, epoxy glue and a little fiiler to make good. I chose not to attack every minor crease with filler as I didn't want the end result to look fake. Old leather is never going to look like new and a few creases adds character
This moment is the Oh my God, what have I done time. The leather looks like it has been sat in a smokey drinking den for 200 years. But don't panic! Once the leather is dry and any filler cured and sanded, you can start applying the dye.
3. The instructions that came with the dye are really geared towards touching up damged areas and recommends using a sponge to apply. I did experiment with this but found it to be clumsy and the end result not up to the right standard. Spraying would have been ideal, but I just don't have the facilties/space/skill to do that, so I went with brushes. Brushes really DO work just as well the end result is just as good as spraying. Use good quality decorators brushes, natural bristle. I used a 1" and a 1/2" brush plus 2 fine art flat head brushes ( 1/4" width ). The key is to brush on the first base coats, without worrying about leaving swirls and then stipple the final 2 coats. By stipple, I mean dab the end of the brush onto the leather at 90 degrees. I applied 6 thin coats in all; 4 brushed and 2 stippled. I would think that black etc. would require only 3 maybe 4 coats. Red is a real sod of a colour in all medias and is semi-opaque. I allowed 3 hours drying between each coat.
Unfortunately, being a habitual idiot, I forgot to take any before and during pictures. Rest assured that the end result makes a huge difference and I am chuffed to bits. I had to do the job justice and replaced many of the plastic trim pieces; seat catches, hand brake button , dash vents etc. You would be amazed at how reasonable, dare I say cheap, the parts are from Porsche.
So, if you are thinking of tacking a similar job, go for it and if you have any questions or extra advice if you have already done the same thing, please do post.
Adam
PS apologies for the long post; I should try to be more succinct.
Last edited by meek; 02-21-2008 at 06:56 AM.
02-19-2008, 06:24 PM
#3
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Derbyshire, England
Posts: 898
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not sure about durability yet; will have to wait and see. I don't think that staining on clothes will be an issue; atleast no more so that all leather seats. I have tested a small area with leather conditiner to see what would happen and the cloth did go a bit pink, but no more so than it did before I dyed it.
I did notice that when the dye was only a few days applied, it would peel if caught on something sharp ( don't ask! ). A bit like dead skin. However, after 4/6 weeks, the first bits I did have really toughened up and it is hard to scratch. I tested a small area and it took a fair stab with the tip of a screwdriver to get it to scratch. Even then, it looked like a scratch on new leather i.e. no peeling. Very impressed so far.
I did notice that when the dye was only a few days applied, it would peel if caught on something sharp ( don't ask! ). A bit like dead skin. However, after 4/6 weeks, the first bits I did have really toughened up and it is hard to scratch. I tested a small area and it took a fair stab with the tip of a screwdriver to get it to scratch. Even then, it looked like a scratch on new leather i.e. no peeling. Very impressed so far.
02-20-2008, 05:35 AM
#6
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Derbyshire, England
Posts: 898
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks guys I was quite concerned before I started at how it would turn out. If anyone else needs to re-colour their leather, I would say go for it.
I was quite concerned before I started at how it would turn out. If anyone else needs to re-colour their leather, I would say go for it.
Trending Topics
02-22-2008, 10:45 AM
#9
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Derbyshire, England
Posts: 898
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The steering wheel is a bit of a bargain. New from Porsche it was £200; guess the US price would be $200 or so. Amazingly, the four spoke wheels are £400+. I wanted something smaller and couldn't find anything that was better looking and/or more period correct for the 964. Feels great and the embossed badge on the horn push is classy and understand; well, I think it is
02-22-2008, 10:59 AM
#11
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Derbyshire, England
Posts: 898
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks again guys. I hope I don't have to report back later when it has all peeled off 
Only potential problem area would be the driver's seat.
Only potential problem area would be the driver's seat.
