advice on dying leather?

[kaberett]

HELLO FOLK.

I have an item that is leather and is currently "forest green". I would like to do it an after-market treatment to make it more teal. I think, from poking around the internet, that what I want is something like Angelus leather dye or Fiebing's leather dye. Does this... work? Is there other stuff I need to get? I keep trying to look it up and getting overwhelmed and closing the browser window, you see...

Comments

[madgastronomer]

I have a leather worker friend, and will inquire for you... Is it currently dyed through and through, or is only one surface colored?

[madgastronomer]

Leather worker friend says that you can't overdye to a lighter shade, so a forest green won't go to a teal, and that greens are really hard to change in the best of circumstance, since hide is a brown base to start with. "Start with undyed hide, go direct to a teal from there. Anything else is mad science and results cannot be predicted and probably won't be what you want."

[kaberett]

Thank you lots for getting input from your friend!

I am in principle happy with an actual-duck-style dark teal rather than the brighter colour of vernacular usage, so given that I have inconspicuous (removable!) internal spots to test on, I think I am going to get myself a blue dye and see if I can shift the general leaning from "forest" to "very dark green blue", and if I can't then ah well I've learned something!

I am willing to take a punt on mad science at this point (the photographs of the item made it look like a much bluer "forest green" than it is in the flesh) -- had I managed to think things through slightly more (and rather earlier) I would in fact have gone for one of the lighter/more neutral colours and worked it out from there, but as it is I have a silly A5 zippered folio that got shipped to me from Istanbul and I am interested in bringing it slightly more closely in line with my aesthetic >_>

[madgastronomer]

Good luck with the mad science!

[crazyscot]

Some difficult questions that may need an expert's eye: Is the item real leather or faux? Is it dyed or pigmented (painted)?

Leather colouration is a tricky subject and I'm no expert.

Dyes are, strictly, subtractive colour: you cannot dye a fabric ​to a lighter shade without bleaching out the existing dye (i.e. denaturing the chromophores), or removing or overpainting the dyed layer altogether. If the piece has been thoroughly dyed through, removing a layer is of course not going to get you anywhere.

Broadly speaking I think you have two options:

1. (Only if the piece has been dyed, not painted, in the first place.) Lighten the current colour, overdye, then (when you're happy) apply a leather conditioner. There are multiple lightening techniques including various bleaching agents, sun, even abrasion with fine sandpaper.

2. Apply a leather paint of your chosen colour. Check the paint instructions for suitability for the material (true/faux leather) and whether you need a clear sealer coat on top.

If at all possible, test on an inconspicuous (internal?) spot first...!

[kaberett]

Okay, so the item in question is definitely leather and is definitely explicitly dyed leather (and is visibly dyed all the way through) AND conveniently there are removable inconspicuous internal spots :) I am not very good at knowing what I'm doing here but that much at least I am sure of!

I am happy with an actual-duck-style dark teal rather than the brighter colour of vernacular usage, so I think my question is then "okay, so if I go over a green with a blue is that... likely to work to shift the tint, or no?" which is, of course, what inconspicuous test spots are for :)

I have a mild preference for avoiding acrylics, but this gives me lots to work with -- thank you <3

[crazyscot]

That sounds worth a shot. As you said up-thread, a very dark green-blue seems a plausible outcome. Happy mad sciencing :-)

[momijizukamori]

What others have said about not being able to do lighter, just darker, is spot on. I will add two things to that:

1) Angelus leather paints (not dyes) will work on both faux and real leather, are acrylic-based, and fairly durable - they won't hold up to super heavy wear, but I've used them on shoes for cosplay and they still look good.

2) There are three main kinds of leather dyes - water-based, alcohol-based, and oil-based. Water-based are simplest and are the least noxious, but they don't penetrate deeply, and will bleed if the item gets wet again. Oil- and alcohol-based both penetrate more deeply, but are more toxic and smell significantly more. Alcohol-based can dry out leather a bit and generally needs a conditioner after; oil-based is less drying but you have to do more work to get all the excess cleaned off or it *will* rub off and stain stuff in contact with it.

[kaberett]

Thank you lots for your additions! I am in principle happy with an actual-duck-style dark teal rather than the brighter colour of vernacular usage, so given that I have inconspicuous (removable!) internal spots to test on -- I have a silly A5 zippered folio that got shipped to me from Istanbul (... yes it's Galen Leather) and the photos of their "forest green" made it look much bluer than it actually is, so I am interested in bringing it slightly more closely in line with my aesthetic >_>

The stuff about types of dye is EXACTLY the information my brain was not letting me glean from the internet, thank you -- so I think I am going to get myself a blue dye (as yet shrug emoji about alcohol vs oil) and see if I can shift the general leaning from "forest" to "very dark green blue", and if I can't then ah well I've learned something!