Leather dye?

[reyes02]

Just picked up seats from the junkyard (~$30 for both pick n pull sale) out of an e30. super clean but they are tan can you dye leather? If so how did you go about it or what products do you recommend?

 

Gonna mount them into my 02 because the seats in it are crusty and gross

 

 

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[Stevenc22]

Absolutely those can be dyed. kit will probably cost you a $100. If it was me i would swing by my local upholstery shop, they will probably die the seats for $100 and save you alot of worry and effort.

[larryt]

+1 for getting someone else to do it. its a very tedious job and can get very messy if you start getting dye all over the house/garage/car/human.

 

 

[solo 2]

They will not dye the leather, only raw leather can be dyed. It will be a top coat much like paint, proper prep cannot be stressed enough. If you go to an upholstery shop they will probably use a product line called SEM, I've used it before and it works well but I would suggest looking up a product called Leatherique, nothing better. You can easily do this yourself if you're the least bit handy and can follow instructions well. Just like painting a car, prep is everything and will determine the results. Complete color changes are worst because of show through from scratches and wear over time, Leatherique has a top coat that helps with this, plus if you do it yourself you can touch it up yourself.

 

BTW if an upholstery shop will do a proper job for $100, go for it, but I'm sceptical. It's time consuming to do this properly. I'd be asking what they use and how they prep it.

 

The steering wheels were done with Leatherique, painted on with a brush. You can spray it too for larger stuff if you want.

Edited January 15, 2018 by solo 2

[solo 2]

If you are on a tight budget SEM is the one to use, I've done complete interiors with it. Did I mention prep is everything, the seats have to be stripped of all the old cleaning products/silicones (both companies sell products to do this) and also recommend a light scuff with some light emery cloth.

[bob02]

Aren't those seats vinyl???

 

Bob

['76mintgrün'02]

pleather

 

edit (meaning imitation leather)

 

I read something once that said that seats can be called leather, as long as the part you sit against is real, the rest can be imitation.  I cannot find that information again now though.

Edited January 15, 2018 by '76mintgrun'02

[esty]

the seats look like they are vinyl to me...you can dye leather or vinyl with SEM or any other brand of leather/vinyl dye available at any local auto parts store...SEM is twice the price and offers a lot of colors that you won't find over the counter at autozone

 

key to good results is cleaning the material before dying

[02fanatic]

Leatherique is tops in my book.  I re-dyed the black leather seats in a friend's 1986 Euro 635csi and they came out wonderfully.  It was lots of work though, as the prep work is where all the work is.  You could call leatherique and ask them about the vinyl.

[Hans]

What on earth was going on in those seats??

[reyes02]

What on earth was going on in those seats??

Not sure, that’s how I got it. The driver seat is worse. It’s just springs no cover or anything.


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[John_in_VA]

Is your car a '75?  They seemed to have the gummihaar pads front & back that disintegrated worse that other years.

The E30 seats you show are vinyl.  SEM makes some great products to clean & degrease them, an adhesion promoter, and great spray "dyes" - you can find the products at autobody supply shops & online. 

[Conserv]

5 hours ago, Hans said:

What on earth was going on in those seats??

 

I'd say the horsehair pads turned to dust about twenty years ago and owners continued to drive the car with seat covers but no pads, probably destroying the seat covers.

 

Those are 1974-only seats (widespread headrest supports, black painted-metal recliners, seven pleats on front seats, flat panel at top of backrest), but a material reduction in the quality of horsehair pads began with the square taillight cars (1974 model year) and, as John mentions, became even worse during the 1975-76 model years.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

Edited January 16, 2018 by Conserv

[repoman]

Be cautious of Leatherique.....I used their product on my 1985 300CD.  I had the common palomino leather, went by the book on their preparation and spent about two weeks soaking the leather with their products,  It came out great and looked perfect, only the leather was yellow and not tan.  Called them and ordered another supply of Palomino, spent another long time prepping the leather, this time it came out palomino, however, it was really shinny (looked like cheap vinyl) and tacky even after a month,  Called again, and this time sent them a sample of my leather,  and sent them about 50 pics of the crappy dye job, and after about 3+ months, they stated they probably did not put enough "drying" agent in the mix.  They finally sent me another bottle, did a sample on the headrest instead of trusting to do all the seats again, and this time, it came out yellow again!!!  I was not impressed with them or their customer service.  I used them as they had rave reviews and seemed like the 'go to' for DIY dyers.  I am sure I am probably the exception, however, I will never use them again.  Spent too much time and effort and ended up using a company locally that came out and sprayed the interior for about $400 and they matched it perfectly....

 

Note: I had to replace the driver seat bottom prior to dying, as well as the armrest.  I purchased a new leather driver seat bottom from GAHH (as MB does not make the leather seat covers any more for the W123, and this is who a MB dealer recommended), and the leather armrest from MB, and the two pieces matched perfectly in palomino!  Leatherique could not even match a common color after several attempts, even after sending them a sample of my NEW leather, and this color is listed on their website.  Their comment to me was that "Palomino" comes in different shades...yea right!  I'ved owned four MB w123's & W126's with all palomino leather and they were all the same shade......

Edited January 16, 2018 by repoman

[solo 2]

If the seats are vinyl go with the SEM and their cleaners etc.

 

As for having problems with Leatherique, all companies have some issues every now and then. If the leather in your MB was truly drum dyed natural leather then in my experience the color not matching perfectly would be the norm not the exception. All car leather has to have a top coating of some sort or the color would rub off on your clothes. Most vehicle leathers are "painted".