Leather dyes - anyone with expertise??

[ChevLoRay]

I have a '98 Tahoe 2nd-row seat, in tan leather. My truck is going to be black. The interior is originally black. My theme is black and red. So, I have to re-color the seat.

Has anyone ever re-dyed a seat? My plan is to dye it red, except for two portions of the back and cushion, that I will do in black, for an accent.

So, what kinds of dye should I use, and where might I look for directions and helpful hints?

[Hardway]

If you are doing an entire seat I would not trust dye coming out of a rattle can. For something that big I would call a professional. My brother works for Dr. Vinyl and they have reps all over the country and most of them come out to you. Check them out at http://www.drvinyl.com/index2.html

I have seen their work done and it is amazing. Check them out and see what they can do for you.

[wzuke]

I used a spray can interior dye to change my seat from blue to black. More than six months now - still looks good!

[ChevLoRay]

Thanks for the feedback. I know the rattle cans of vinyl dye have been around for years. How well the stuff takes is dependent on how clean the vinyl is before you spray them. I know a guy who has a set of Firebird buckets in his '56 Chevy racecar, that have been in it for over 30 years. They were blue, now they're black.

I just figured that the process to re-dye the leather would be different, yet I know that it may be the same.


Anyone else have any imput?

[mnunn454]

ChevLoRay, This is a timely question and I'm listening to all the solutions as well. Recently I've got an eye on a pair of Tan 2003 Sierra seats for my interior upgrade. Heading to look at them tomorrow. If it come's through, I plan to dye them as well (just not sure if I'm going white or dark blue, maybe both).

Thx for posting the question and thanks Hardway, for the Dr. Vinyl link.

What about recovering? What do you think that would cost?

[ChevLoRay]

Recovering, Mike? When I had my "little" stroke, last year......seems like it cost me every bit of my deductible..

Recovering the seats? Good question. I don't have the unobtainium that I need to do that. My seats are in good shape, so dyeing them is my only quest.

Yeah, I'm hoping that somebody has dyed their leather seats and will chime in. Otherwise, I'm gonna hit up some shoe shops, if any still exist in my area, and see what they recommend. You know some ladies, somewhere, know EVERYTHING there is to know about changing the color of their shoes....oh, they just buy more, now. Shoulda known....

[Boog]

Hey D. How bout calling a couple of upholstery shops and see what they recommend for a doit yourselfer.

[ChevLoRay]

J-Man....

I went on-line (imagine that) and googled for info. I got a site that offered DIY help. The company is Advance Leather yada, yada. Anyway, the website said to email them at www.diy@advleather.com, which I did about two hours ago. I got a reply from them, and they're saying that neutralizing the surface is the most important thing in getting the leather ready to accept new dyes. He said that Armorall is a must to neutralization, and that after the dye job is done seal it to keep the coloration. So, with the phone number that he gave, he also referred me to one of their associates who has experience with automotive leathers.

Apparently, this company will sell you the instructions and everything one needs to do the job.

Mike, hope this helps you, too.