Leather dye pictures (bandwith!)

[clint]

Here is a post I did on audizine-

It may need to be moved someplace else, so admin away..





My 97 a8 had some wear on the leather, mostly on the driver`s seat and a few blemishes here and there on the rest of the leather areas..



After web searching for a while, I found my situation would best be served with the leather dye kit sold by Leather Magic. It`s water based, a small minimum quantity and they custom color match that small quantity.



So 34.95 plus 7.95 shipping, and I got this-

Good instructions, a little piece of sandpaper, a foam paint brush thing, a pressurized atomiser, some `leather prep` (really strong alcohol), the dye, and some leather conditioner.







http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/kit.jpg

I cleaned the seats with clean white towels and bathroom tub and tile cleaner, then used the leather prep alcohol per the directions.

Here are some pictures of my seat `before`

http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/b1.jpg



http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/b3.jpg

http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/b4.jpg

http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/b5.jpg







During-Here is the worst area after only one light pass with the foam brush.



http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/a2.jpg





Note- don`t shake the assembled atomizer- it has a vent and it can leak..

Just take the top off and put the lid back on then shake..Here`s what happens if the atomizer vent is partially clogged.

http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/a3.jpg



Note mottled sort of splattering- I don`t like the sprayer no mo..



I went back to the brush for the rest of the coats, got the mottling out the the sprayer did.. it all better now!



http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/a6.jpg

http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/a7.jpg

http://webpages.smyrnacable.net/jaeder/general/audi/a8.jpg











and Finished!- well the driver`s seat anyway- the other stuff isn`t so dramatic.



It has to dry for 48 hours before use, then another 48 hours before leather conditioner (provided).



I couldn`t find a 1x1 inch scrap of leather to send to them for color matching, but their site suggested to go to a house paint store and try to match a paint `chip` to the leather. No luck at home depot, but lowes- dead on.



It matches so perfectly that I can`t tell where I`ve been with the brush/spray and not- except there are no spots where the original dye is gone..



This was really easy, not all that scary, considering you are having to spray paint (dye) inside of an expensive car, and it really worked well! Just don`t get any dye anywhere that you don`t want dye and it`s fine- I used kitchen trash bags as drop cloth shields for no-dye areas..



If you can, see if you can get it good enough without using the spray thing-

just use the brush. You have to mask for the spray thing, and it takes the skilz of having been a painter to prevent runs- so is a little more of a risk if all you`ve ever painted was a bar-b-q or something. The spray thing didn`t work too well for me- It cannot be shaken while the spray head is on so it settles and the color varied some.

The brush is fine, just takes longer because it has GOT to dry between coats, or else the dye will ball up kinda if you brush it on a coat that isn`t already dry. No big deal, just gotta wait for that to dry, sand it a little, then brush it again.. It dries pretty quick if you do thin coats- about twenty minutes or so.



The difference is amazing- the little dark strech mark looking things are totally gone, the generally kinda shiny yet dirty look where the grain seemed to hold discoloration is all back to new looking. Awesome..

[Jngrbrdman]

Wow! That is really pretty impressive. So it was pretty easy to use, yes? Sounds like it. I would really like to know how that stuff stacks up against leatherique. Great pictures there! :up Really well done.

[clint]

I almost got leatherique- But the minimum bottle was more than I needed..

I think they are both water based- so maybe they are nearly the same stuff. One brand charged extra for custom color matching, but leather magic did not.



It was amazingly easy- it is like painting with milk- about that thick. Multiple lite coats on both front seats covered them fine, and I still have over half the bottle of color left.



THe kit is supposed to do a whole car, and I think it would, as back seats are seldom as bad as front. There are some brush marks from the foam brush, maybe if I used a better brush device like a real brush, the marks would be less. The marks arent bad, and I think they might lessen when it dries all the way and I put leather conditioner on. You can see the worst of the brush marks in the after photo on the bolster above my fingers.



Great stuff.. I`m real happy- I hope it holds up now!

Here is the original post from audizine- it is the same but has a few more pictures.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11300&FORUM_ID=57&CAT_ID=11&Topic_Title=Dye+Job+%28psycho+bandwith%29&Forum_Title=4%2E+Auto+Detailing

[jfeliot]

I wonder how well it would work for a color change?



One thing I hate about my Camaro is the interior, too "monotone" for my liking. Was thinking of doing some trim pieces light grey metallic to break it up.



Now you got me thinking of doing the steering wheel, shifter knob and boot also.

[clint]

I remember seeing some color change before/after shots on a jaguar resoration page. I think the guy was using leatherique.



It`s easier to go from light to dark in color, just like when you paint a wall I guess. For the quantity to change the color- maybe leatherique is cheaper. Google searches for `leather dye` and `leather repair` is what I did.



Here`s a link to the jaguar guy using leatherique..

changing color on a jag seat (http://www.leathermotive.com/dye.html)

[69-912]

Great post