Most of the leather seats I’ve noticed have a lighter middle with a darker outer part. Very few have the opposite, but they are out there. But none the less, dyeing them is no different.

Prepping the leather seat is of course one of the keys to your success, make sure you use your prepping solution to clean the seat thoroughly. You can find another article here for the solution I use to prep a seat. Now if your just going to do say a bolster, then you probably don’t have to clean the entire seat, but if the whole seat is being done then clean it thoroughly. This helps your leather dye adhere and less dye will be used because your not having to cover up dirt. I will usually clean the entire seat regardless, this ensures I have nothing to mess with my leather dyes, and when I’m done the leather seat looks new.

Lets just assume that the entire seat is being dyed…You’ve cleaned the entire seat and done the necessary repairs, you have your water based leather dyes mixed and ready to spray, and you have applied your grip base or sticky primer to the seat, now it’s time to dye the leather seat.

Here’s a big trick… I’ve seen a lot of guys not using this method and it’s definitely a time saver and saves on tape too which saves you money.

Don’t mask the seat off, yup don’t use tape. A lot of guys will mask off the sections one at a time and dye each section of the seat. Why….all you need is a piece of poster board or a plastic dealer license plate to use as a blocking card ( you know the ones that have the logo of the dealership on it, just tape up the holes and you have the perfect blocking card, and they flex too, so you can mold them around on the seat ). For those of you who don’t know what a blocking card is, a blocking card is just that, it blocks the paint from going where you don’t want it to. When taping off a seat it never fails either you don’t get it taped off right and you have lines or the worse thing that can happen and that is when you peel the tape off, dye lifts with the tape, arrrrrg, that is frustrating. By using a blocking card the lines are not as sharp and the leather dye blends nicely in the seams, and basically a no worry job can be achieved with one little license plate.

Now here’s where your talent comes in, you have to have good paint gun control to be able to do this. Just hold the blocking card up to the section you don’t want the dye to hit and spray the section you want dyed right up to the card, making sure to keep the card tight to the seam. If you get over spray on the section you don’t want dye to be on, take a little of your prepping solution spray it on your towel and carefully wipe it off. This assuming your using water based leather dyes, it won’t work with a solvent based dye, you will have to use lacquer thinner for solvents based dyes, but hopefully by now you have moved on to the water based leather dyes, they are so much more flexible and user friendly ( believe me been there done that ) and hold up a lot better, anyways they dye the leather from the factory with a water based dye, so why wouldn’t you want to use the same.

Not to go off on a rant but water based dyes are the best for automotive leather seats, period, they won’t crack or peel if applied the right way and if the right water based dye is being used you will have a guaranteeable job. If anyone would like to talk to me about the leather dyes I use in my daily routine, just drop me a comment or an email and I will HOOk you up with a leather dye that I feel is one of the best on the market today. When your done with a job the seat looks new, not painted or repaired, it just looks new. Lacquer based dyes are just a thing of the past, everything on the interior of todays vehicles are dyed with water based dyes, so why not use what the factory uses. I used lacquer when I first started back in 1999 and used them for about 3 years, and had a a lot of problems with leather seats turning out stiff and would crack after about a year after dyeing. I switched to water based and WOW! I was like a kid in a candy shop. My repairs were looking better, lasting longer, and the leather seats well just look new. Oh and one other thing no more headaches from the fumes. Okay done with my rant, on with it….

Start with the center section first, dyeing from the furthest point from you and working your way out. Spray light coats drying as you go. Once the center is done, move to outer portions of the seat, using your blocking card in the same manner. Now this part can be tricky, you have fresh dye that is a different color and you don’t want to get the darker dye onto the lighter dye, but if you do, wipe it before it’s dry, that way you won’t have to go back to the other color. I just use one paint gun, but if you want to save a little time use two paint guns, that way you can just go back and forth with your colors easily until you get the hang of using your blocking card.

There is one exception to the rule of the blocking card and that is the Ford Excursions rear seats. You may have noticed the light colored center sections, they crack and flake. I’m not sure if there is a problem with the leather in these rigs or the dye that is being used from the factory, but these things are terrible about cracking and flaking. Use your prepping solution and a 240 grit or even a 180 grit sandpaper and wet sand the sections, this will help to smooth out the leather before you fill. I have found it is easier to use a 1″ sponge brush to apply the leather dye instead of spraying and using a blocking card. The sections are just too small and it just seems easier to use a sponge brush. Just prep like you normally do, fill the cracked leather with your fillers, seal with your primer, then apply the leather dye with the sponge brush. Light coats as usual, drying between. The cool thing about this is the outer darker portion is vinyl and usually doesn’t need dyed, just cleaned. But the front seats do have leather outers and you can use a blocking card on those but I have used the sponge on those too, just dyed the outer with the blocking card and the spray gun.

Once your done dyeing the leather seat look it over good to see if there are any spots that you have missed or have any over spray. Nothing looks worse then colors bleeding together and parts dyed that weren’t meant to be dyed. If you don’t clean up your job you won’t have something you can be proud of or your customer can be proud of.

Topcoat with a low gloss urethane clear topcoat to give more durability and seal your job. Let dry thoroughly then condition. Cure time will vary depending on the weather conditions, usually 6-10 hours for optimal adhesion.

Keep in mind that dyeing two tone leather seats takes longer to do and can be tricky at times but good gun control, being able to position your blocking card correctly, and a lot of patience will pay off in the end. Just take your time and practice makes perfect.

Hope this helps you guys out and plan on hearing from me a little more. I’ve decided to start posting on individual jobs that I do on a daily basis if I can, there may be a few days that just don’t work out but I think this will help out a little more with getting the word out and help keep your automotive interior repairs the best you can put out. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to shoot me a comment or drop me an email and say hi, and don’t forget the forum, would love to get that going, it’s a great way for all of us repair craftsman to come together and strive to be the best at what we do by sharing ideas. Or if your a customer throw a question up and find a repair person in your area or get a tip from a professional.

Talk to ya soon,

Mike “TIG”

The process of resurfacing leather takes certain steps to follow, which if not followed correctly, will cause the dye to lift and peel from the seat. As I have always stressed in all my articles is the prepping process. The only way to make a dye job on a leather seat look, feel, and last is to clean it thoroughly and prep the surface for maximum adhesion of the dye. Let the leather dye do what it is designed to do, don’t cover up dirt.

The way to to do this is to clean the leather seat with a scrub brush, a mild soap, and warm water to start. Scrub the seat from top to bottom, paying close attention to the creases and crevices in the seat, these are places for the dye to lift if dirt and goo is there. Wipe it down with a clean towel, again getting down in the creases.

Now the prepping process goes on. In a spray bottle mix in equal parts, water, rubbing alcohol, acetone, ammonia, and TSP substitute. Spray the seat in sections starting at the lean back, and scrub the leather with a scotch brite pad to scuff the leather just enough for the dye to adhere and to remove any more goo hiding out on the leather wiping clean as you go with your towel. This solution will also open the pours to leather and soften up the original dye for better adhesion promotion.

Once clean and scuffed apply a thin coat of grip base or sticky primer to the seat with a damp Bounty paper towel. Apply a thin coat to whole surface of the seat, basically where your going to dye is where the primer will go. Dry it with your hair dryer. This will give you a good sticky base for the dye to adhere to and make your job last.

Dyeing the leather seat takes finesse and good gun control, the dye needs to be applied in thin coats drying between coats or the dye will not adhere properly. One way you can tell if your applying the dye to thick is when you spray you water borne dye on the seat and it “fish eyes”. What this means is you will see little bubble like places in the dye when you spray it on. So thin coats and dry between each coat. Start your dyeing process on the lean back furthest from you and work your way towards you, down, and out. This helps to keep from dragging your hoses and cords over your freshly dyed seat.

Paint gun choice is up to you, but I will say a small detail gun is choice. I have tried the airbrush, I have tried the Prevals, and I’ve tried the siphon feed guns, and the best gun in my eyes for dyeing a leather seat is a gravity feed touch-up gun. They are small enough to maneuver around in the vehicle and hold just the right amount of dye to finish the job. I use the Sharpe 7040 HVLP a small very reliable gun, in fact I bought 2, one for back up. It sprays a small enough pattern to control, but not to small like an airbrush, and lays the leather dye nicely onto the seat. Paint gun choice to me is pretty crucial to making your job a success, so make the right choice when you pick your paint gun for maximum results.

Once the leather seat is dyed, top coat with your water borne clear. I always like to add a little slip additive to the top coat to give it a soft feel. Don’t forget to crosslink the topcoat, this will help to give you more chemical resistance. This process helps to seal the dye and give you a longer lasting leather resurfacing job.

After the topcoat is dry, apply your conditioner and stand back an drool over how nice that seat looks.

Now you have the confidence to stand back and know your dye will stay and your job was done right. I have been dyeing leather seats for a long time and I would love to hear your input on Leather Resurfacing. There are so many different things you will run into when dyeing a leather seat, so drop me a question or 2.