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Dyeing leather seats


Tuck

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How are you applying the new pigment......wipe on or airbrush?

 

Have they sent any sealant in the kit?

 

Wipe down as I don't have anything to airbrush it on with, unless I take a mouthful of the colorant and... Yeah they supplied a sealant too. Any advice on applying the colourant and sealant?

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How are you applying the new pigment......wipe on or airbrush?

 

Have they sent any sealant in the kit?

 

Wipe down as I don't have anything to airbrush it on with, unless I take a mouthful of the colorant and... Yeah they supplied a sealant too. Any advice on applying the colourant and sealant?

 

It's a tough one mate as for me your need to airbrush it on and/or rattle can the sealant.

 

That said your working with what you've got so I'd advise to go thin with your coats and build it up. Resist the temptation to daub it on.

 

Dry off with a hairdryer to speed up your drying time.

 

Once you have sufficient colour coverage don't be tempted to slat on even more just to be sure.......the thicker your coat the more chance there is of future failure/cracking

 

A bit like with detailing.......less is often more. Or more accurately the minimum required to do the job right.

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How are you applying the new pigment......wipe on or airbrush?

 

Have they sent any sealant in the kit?

 

Wipe down as I don't have anything to airbrush it on with, unless I take a mouthful of the colorant and... Yeah they supplied a sealant too. Any advice on applying the colourant and sealant?

 

It's a tough one mate as for me your need to airbrush it on and/or rattle can the sealant.

 

That said your working with what you've got so I'd advise to go thin with your coats and build it up. Resist the temptation to daub it on.

 

Dry off with a hairdryer to speed up your drying time.

 

Once you have sufficient colour coverage don't be tempted to slat on even more just to be sure.......the thicker your coat the more chance there is of future failure/cracking

 

A bit like with detailing.......less is often more. Or more accurately the minimum required to do the job right.

 

Perfect bud, how long should I wait between colourant and sealant? Just over night as some videos claim as long as a week!

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I guess it depends on what type of product you are using.

 

The stuff I use is industry grade but it ain't cheap and it supplied by Buffalo Leather who are the daddy with this sort of thing.

 

I wait as long as it takes me to swig down my brew! :lol:

 

If the hairdryer has a 'cold shot' button on it that'll help to cool down the leather after you apply a layer and dry it off but it's not strictly essential. Leave it 10 mins for the heat to dissipate.

 

The pigments I use are water based.......Perhaps the tinterwebs peeps are using solvent based and its 'gassing off'

Edited by Ricey@revolveautomotive
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Any probs give us a bell and I'll try and talk you through it.

 

07739 755 078 (mods - work number so no issues with it being public)

 

Cheers bud, I'll give you a bell tomorrow if i run into any problems, see what I did there... RUN into any problems 😉

 

 

Sent from my potato using duct tape

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Late arrival to this party, sorry. As you may of seen in my thread (thanks for finding it GMB) I tackled this a couple of years ago now, covering my black seats with a very light grey.

 

Most of my findings and thoughts are in my thread. There's NO WAY I'd do it again or even recommend it. After about a week it just flakes off and ends up colouring your clothes more than the seats.

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist. My seats still look great two years on. My main issue is the same that anyone would have with a light coloured leather seat from the factory. They can look a little dirty if not kept on top of - but this is just leather maintenance and conditioning that should be done anyway. The colourant did come off slightly revealing the black on a couple of areas that your clothing rubs against whenever you get in/out of the car, but this is very easily touched up with a paintbrush and doesn't need touching up again for a good few months, maybe even longer depending on how much you use the car.

 

My first attempt was with a sponge and that looked awful I'd definitely recommend investing in a half decent airbrush to apply the colour and sealant, it gives a finish that is 100 times better than applying with the sponge.

 

I'll take some pics of my seats at the weekend so you can see how a light colour has 'weathered' after two years use. It certainly hasn't just rubbed off like some thought it would.

 

Take your time and do it right first time (unlike I did) :lol:

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OK, found a recent pic on my phone.

 

This is the worst the seat got after about 18 months of use. I purposefully didn't clean or 'touch up' the seat at any point before this, just to see how bad it would/could actually get for a DIY job. Considering it's a very light colour over a very dark colour, I'm happy with the results. As mentioned, this is easily touched up with a paintbrush or a small sponge using some of the colourant that is left over.

 

If you're dyeing Alezan seats with tan, any wear will obviously be much less noticeable.

 

image_zpspcqha5pz.jpeg

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Well I stripped my seats out today (after I found out that the passenger airbag plug had been removed and soldered up) and sprayed them in a new colour. It's a hateful job to do and as Ian says, get a decent airbrush. I bought a draper one and spent more time fixing it than spraying :lol: I'll get some pictures up after I've put the sealer on tomorrow. :)

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Looks great B):thumbs:

 

I see what you mean about doing it now Ian! It's not an easy job but worth it. Looks a bit pink in the picture but they are a dark red similar to the seats I had in my mk2 Audi TT ( the only good thing about that car :lol: )

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They look good. What sealant did you go for? I opted for satin. I thought the gloss would just look like paint and the Matt would of been too, erm, Matt. :lol:

 

I got a handbrake and gear gaiter for £13 off eBay and did those too. Makes a big difference. And they're so easy to do compared to the seats!! :lol:

 

Look forward to seeing them back in the car :thumbs:

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Yes I went for a satin sealant too, when just the colour was on they were so shiney and it looks like plastic. I've got a bit of overspray on the plastics though, how did you get it off or didn't you need to? :teeth:

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New seat colour5ec404a302e42497cde31850af8ca8cf.jpg

 

Thats identical to my seats 😯 pictures tomorrow, doing the steering wheel and handbrake was daunting

 

 

Sent from my potato using duct tape

 

Can't wait to see the results Tuck, I've ordered more colour to do extra bits.

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Looks brilliant wouldn't mind trying this myself as mine are pretty tatty looking.

 

Great job

 

Give it a go bud, even after just cleaning them they looked 1,000 times better. Cleaning took around an hour once they were out of the car!

 

 

Sent from my potato using duct tape

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