I dye'd my seats with Leatherique dye (1 Viewer)

[john_eckels]

John, just as an informational, it is not practicle to count on codes; the ONLY way to work this is to send something such as a headrest or something similar that has had its life IN the vehicle. Leatherique will then make a match that is totally perfect for you. Its just like painting a car; after awhile the color changes due to the elements and you really cannot count on color codes unless the paint is factory fresh. I know that leatherique will make this right for you but I would suggest that prior to pursuing this project any further you stop and send a headrest to them to match 100%. I'm afraid you will work round and round to get it right otherwise. Just some hopefully friendly help.

I got the Ivory #05 and I think I needed the #375. Actually, the yellow hugh is going away and it is starting to look like a really nice rich tan shade. When a week is up, I will post pictures showing both the original color and new color for opinions. My wife prefers it over the original color and she is very particular about colors. She used to be a manager in a womens clothing store. The problem with color sampling is when a vehicle is 10+ years old, the color is faded and sort of sick looking. Krysti has offered to send tint, do a color match etc. She is a great person to do business with and she appears to do anyting within reason to satisfy her customers. If others decide to try a dye job, it is important that they know that there will be a series of color changes over the first week. Finally, if I decide to re-do the job, no big deal. IT IS SO EASY. The hardest part is parking the cuiser for 2 days for the dye to cure.

 

[john_eckels]

you think it'd go on OK brushing?

Brushing with a high quality synthetic brush is actually the recommend method of applying the dye. I am thinking that one of those foam brushes may be ok too. If you get a run (I did get one with my spray gun) simply take your figer and wipe it up. If you can paint with Latex paint, you can do this. The only difference is you want this to go on thin. I used about 7 ounces on both front seats. Finally if do happen to get a bad spot, you can sand it out.

 

[cartercd]

I dyed my front seats with Leatherique last week and though I would add my comments. Thanks John for your write-up on this (as well as the Magic Mender write-up).

1. I sent in a small sample of leather to get an exact color match - this is the best way to go.
2. I got the Restoration Kit #2 that included 16oz of Rejuvenator Oil, 16oz of Pristine Clean, 16oz of Prepping Agent, and 16oz of custom dye. I added 4oz of crack filler. Total with shipping was $120. I had enough dye left over that I could have done my back seats and tons of crack filler left. If I had done my back seats I would have needed another bottle of the cleaner and prepping agent.
3. I rubbed the rejuvenator oil into the seats daily for 3 days until it wouldn't absorb any more. You can cover the seats with garbage bags and still drive.
4. After allowing the oil to penetrate for 48 hours I removed the seats and did all the prep work per the Leatherique instructions. This is basically cleaning, wet sanding, and crack filling.
5. I applied the dye with a brush. I would recommend thinning at least 15%. My biggest problem was getting a consistent color because the dye separates very quickly. You should stir your container every time you reload your paint brush. The other issue was the tiny air bubbles that were entrained in the dye. You have to make sure you brush these out before the dye dries. I applied 3 coats.
6.
7. I allowed the dye to dry untouched for 48 hours and then wet sanded any imperfections out with 600 grit. Plan on your seats being out of your truck for at least 72 hours for this job.

Overall I was pleased with the look. Be warned that wherever you apply crack filler the final finish will have a vinyl-like look. If I had to do it over again I would have been more conservative with the crack filler. There are quite a few areas where the leather grain is not as prominent as it was before. I also had some color inconsistencies and brush strokes in the final finish that could have been avoided had I sprayed the finish on instead of brushed it on. My bolsters, which had the cracks typical of so many 80s, look much better.

 

[turbocruiser]

Excellent work! As you noted, sending a sample in for matching is the only way to work this job. One thing that I have found for larger areas (like the seats) is I spray the finish on with a touch up air gun. It is much easier to evenly apply and you can essentially shake the dye up as you spray to maintain the color consistency. Excellent work again!

 

[tominator]

Nice!!!

This is why 'mud rules! I never even knew this was possible..wow...nice job. Maybe there is hope for my seats after all! So this also helps with the cardboard leather syndrome???

 

[cartercd]

The "cardboard leather syndrome" can be addressed with the leather rejuvenator. You rub it, let it sit (preferably in hot weather) and repeat until the leather won't absorb any more. This should make the leather a lot more pliabe. My leather was in pretty good shape, but a there is a lot of testimony that the Leatherique product is the way to go to restore badly damaged leather.

 

[Nonobeez]

looks very good

 

[clubted]

I did a kind of quick application of the Leatherique products on my new to me 97 last weekend and the results were outstanding. My front seats had the typical cracking and "cardboard" feel after living outside although the miles were very low. I watched a few YouTube videos and dived in, using gloves for the application. Let it soak in for most of the day, used the cleanser, and the seats were noticably softer. It's been a few days now and they seem to be getting even bettter. I'm definitely going to do another application on a hotter day, maybe even wrap the seats in black garbage bags to increase the sauna effect. A great product I'll continue to use.