Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Dyeing Leather Succesfully DIY ??

DIY Black Dye Job Success ??

  • Safe

    Votes: 2 18.2%
  • Epic Fail

    Votes: 9 81.8%

  • Total voters
    11

jpk_NJ

One Too Many
Messages
1,213
Location
NJ
I’m thinking about turning a camel brown jacket into black. Is this possible on a finished leather jacket or will it just end up a blotchy mess. Like will the stitches,lining , leather all become different shades of black and just look horrible. Jacket in question is a vintage 70s Schott long coat.
 

Will Zach

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,415
Location
SoFlo
I voted Epic Fail because that's what it would be if I did it. I know that @handymike did an excellent job on his Chinese knockoff, judging from pics. I am still not sure if these dyes wouldn't run in the rain, though.
 
Messages
17,106
Location
Chicago
I tried this with a Carmel Bates and turned it purple. The key is adding lots of brown to the black. There’s a ton of purple in that Tandy black dye. I voted epic fail because I did epically fail.
 

Psant25

One Too Many
Messages
1,555
Someone on here did a light brown langlitz to dark brown looked awesome. Camel to black epic fail
 

Peacoat

*
Bartender
Messages
6,296
Location
South of Nashville
I dyed a JL from medium brown to a darker brown, and it turned out a nice rich dark brown. But I think your situation is different. Different finishes on hides take dye differently. I voted epic fail.
 

MagicMan

New in Town
Messages
25
Location
NC
I am a leather worker (tango_alpha_leather_goods on Instagram) and I would advise against attempting to red-eye it. Unless you are particularly careful, you will probably run into problems with the dye bleeding over into the lining. If you do attempt it, I would recommend using only one very specific dye and that is Fiebing's Pro Dye. I would use foam brushes to apply the dye....carefully.
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,638
Reminds me of trying to paint a car. Probably all depends on the prep. Bad prep...bad paint.
Just a thought.
B
 
Messages
10,977
Location
SoCal
Be careful when dyeing something black! @ton312 has a great point about the purple. Have you ever tried to dye anything with straight black RIT dye? You need to mix in brown to warm it up. I tend to stick in similar color families when re-dying a jacket. I have not had any issues with bleed once the jacket is dry and sealed. A little does come off in the first rub down, but after a few days you should be good if you use a quality dye.
 

Jin431

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,912
Location
Bay Area CA
Be careful when dyeing something black! @ton312 has a great point about the purple. Have you ever tried to dye anything with straight black RIT dye? You need to mix in brown to warm it up. I tend to stick in similar color families when re-dying a jacket. I have not had any issues with bleed once the jacket is dry and sealed. A little does come off in the first rub down, but after a few days you should be good if you use a quality dye.

Oh boy this sounds like an interesting read! Hope to read a how to thread from you! What brand is a good quality btw?
 

jonesy86

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,610
Location
Kauai
Wipe down with alcohol, use cotton swab and Feiblings, a couple coats, finish with Resolene.
IMG_5844.JPG
IMG_5849.JPG
 

jpk_NJ

One Too Many
Messages
1,213
Location
NJ
Jacket just arrived and I'm cleaning it up / conditioning first before I make a decision. I was actually expecting the poll to be closer to 50/50 and just a simple stick it in plastic bin with black liquid dye. Will post up a couple fit pics for feedback. My closet is probably 80% black jackets so maybe having a unique brown one isn't a bad idea.
 

Peacoat

*
Bartender
Messages
6,296
Location
South of Nashville
I am always curious as to how the redye ages and wears. Does it rub off easily, revealing the original color? Almost like a teacore?
My dye job is permanent. After a few days, and after it was completely dry, I wiped it down with a damp cloth to get any excess dye off the leather. After a few wipes, nothing more came off. Four or five years later, no more dye has come off.
 

navetsea

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,711
Location
East Java
depend on the finish of the leather, you have to strip its "varnish" off first, like @jonesy86 did, with alcohol, or acetone, or lighter fluid, then perhaps wash it with detergent to get rid of wax and oil buildup and then probably you have better result in darkening color in the same tone, not something drastic like tan to black, unless you use opaque paint/ pigment and spray it with airbrush.

tldr, epic fail
 

Forum statistics

Threads
107,029
Messages
3,026,704
Members
52,533
Latest member
RacerJ
Top