Post subject: Leather refinishing vs. leather re-dyeing.
Leather refinishing is a rather odd field to work in. When asked what I do for a living, I reply that I am a leather repair and restoration specialist. The most common response to this is, "Oh. So you re-dye leather?”
No, the vast majority of my work has nothing to do with leather dyes, but rather leather finishes.
After the initial coloration of hides at the tannery using dyes (most often aniline dyes), there is seldom any necessity for subsequent dye applications to already-dyed leather.
There are a couple of reasons why dyes are not commonly used by a professional leather refinisher.
First and foremost, most dyes are heat-set, where the leather is immersed in a high-temperature dye solution to make the dye penetrate the fiber structure. Since it is rather tricky to find a pot that your sofa will fit in, it is impossible to heat-lock dye applications once the leather is on a piece of furniture.
“What’s so important about setting the dye?”, you ask. Well, the first time that you sit down on your re-dyed sofa in a pair of light colored pants you will have the answer…the dye simply transfers off onto what ever comes in contact with it. Not really a desirable feature.
Secondly, dyes are very translucent, and have essentially no covering capability when it comes to trying to disguise staining or repair sites. Dyes tint, but don’t cover.
Thirdly, dyes are not particularly UV stable. They fade and lose their color when exposed to direct and even ambient natural light. Considering that one of the biggest issues that bring people to look for a means to restore their leather furniture is sun fading, it is easy to see why re-dying your leather sofa is not a good plan.
If you want to restore the color on your leather chair or loveseat, or even the leather in your automobile, you need to use a leather finish, which is designed specifically for re-coloring leather.
I am fortunate to be involved in a R&D department here at ADVLeather.com that creates the leather repair and restoration products that make my job a lot easier. Ease of use and superior performance mean faster production abilities for the leather refinishing side of our business, and a better end result on all of our projects.
It is these same leather refinishing products that we sell to other leather repair and restoration professionals, and also to consumers who wish to take on their leather restoration projects themselves, to avoid the fees of using a specialist leather refinisher, or in areas where there are no competent local leather refinishers.
Leather finishes have many beneficial characteristics over leather dyes when it comes to a coloration method for leather.
Leather finishes offer significant protection from liquid spills, color loss from sun exposure is substantially reduced, and having a surface film in the form of a finish makes leather cleanable. Try taking a wet cloth to an un-finished, full-aniline sofa (a leather that has only been dyed, with no additional finishing) to clean up a drip from a beverage and you will rapidly see a small problem become much bigger. With no surface film in the form of a leather finish to protect the leather, any moisture will soak in, and is very susceptible to discoloration and staining. Stains and color damage to this type of leather are not surface issues to be wiped away with leather cleaner. These affect the fiber structure itself, and require professional attention to resolve. Despite what that endlessly assuring sales-person said, your very expensive, Un-finished, aniline-dyed sofa or chair is not very cleanable. For more clarification on finished/unfinished leather differences, click here.
A pigmented coating (leather finish) can be applied to such a piece to make it much more utilitarian. The down side is typically some degree of change in the feel of the leather, compared to its original “naked” leather feel. The upside is, now it’s cleanable, stain- and wear-resistant, and UV-stable.
Dyes show all of the natural markings and characteristics of the leather, most leather finishes disguise or mute these characteristics. A leather finish does not, however, have to make the leather look “painted”, or no longer natural. There are many effects that can be used with leather finishes to replicate the natural look of a dyed leather, while gaining the advantages of a finished leather.
If all the other problems were not the case with re-dying leather, there would still be one trump that a leather finish has over a dye when it comes to coloring leather. A pigmented finish can be used to change the color of the leather to essentially anything you want. Try using a leather dye to make a chocolate brown piece of leather avocado green. Not going to happen. Now, try the same task with a leather finish. Success is much more likely. We do it all the time.
So, when you call up to purchase products to recolor your leather furniture just remember to not say, “I want to re-dye my leather couch.”, because if the company you’re purchasing the necessary products from doesn’t know any better, or worse, doesn’t care, they’ll probably just sell you the stuff to do it. And then you will have to call me to fix it. Oh,…wait a minute….