[staleg]

I purchased two leather seats at the local wrecking yard, but would like to change the color to dark brown.
They are from an Alfa Romeo 1999 model.



Several leather- and car equipment shops are selling different kinds of rattle can leather dye. On the producers homepages they claims that their dye will stand daily use even at seats, chairs etc.

What experiences do you have on this?

[S10Fan]

Perhaps one of the folks that do this everyday will respond, here's a start.....

Re-coloring leather

[79C10]

Never used leather dye , but the vinyl dye in a rattle can produced some super seats for me in a 65 Dart GT convertable . They lived up to everyday use for a year or so before I sold it. No cracking or peeling - nothing.
Good luck with the leather!

[DanTwoLakes]

SEM Classic Coat comes in aerosol cans and is recommended for re-coloring leather. Just remember that no dye will repair damage to the seats. Check it out here: http://www.sem.ws/product.php?product_id=242

You need to clean the seats with SEM Soap, followed by SEM Plastic/Leather prep. This stuff will not crack or peal when applied properly.

[WildBill]

Check out Leatherique and Colorplus. Both are excellent companies that specialize in providing leather restoration and dying products for the automotive industry.

As an aside, you will not want to use an aniline dye on leather today. The new latex dyes are far superior and are what you will get if you buy a new Rolls or Jaguar. Both of the companies I mentioned above can supply stock or custom dyes for your application.

[staleg]

Thanks for all your answers. I've sent a request to SEM to find out if they have any retailers in Europe.
To buy rattle can paint from The US is expensive and slow, as it has to be sent by boat.

I know there are several companies that offer these things, but I wanted to hear experiences from people that actually are using it and not only selling it.

[staleg]

One additional question:
The leather on the drivers seat are woren just where the driver slides in/out of the car. The outer edge of the back cushion (or what you would call it).

It is not a hole thru the leather, it's just look like the original painting is scrubbed off/cracked/scratched.
Because of his the surface in that area is more rough than the rest of the seat. What do I do with this? Just paint it like the rest, or are there any preparartion I should do in this area? Scrub it carefully with a fine sand paper?

[DanTwoLakes]

You can either replace the affected pieces before you re-color the seats, or take a chance that the leather won't fail further. My guess is that if you ignore the problem areas, you may regret it down the road.

One way or another, the leather needs to be cleaned with the SEM Soap and a scrubbing pad first, followed by cleaning with the Plastic /Leather Prep. Then scuff the leather with 400 to 600 grit sandpaper, re-clean with Plastic/Leather Prep, and then apply the finish coat. link

[staleg]

Thank you for the information.
I will not replace the area, as the leather still feels strong and solid.

[ft_shie25]

I found this leather dye website, they are offering leather repair. You can check them out, there's a lot of information about leather dyeing or restoration.

[DanTwoLakes]

check out this link: SEM Link

[jimchevy]

SEM is the only brand I have used that has a natural finish to it. It doesn't look shiney like the stuff at parts stores. Any good body supply shop will carry SEM.