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How To Dye A Leather Sofa

5 November 2022

Maybe your leather couch needs leather dye to restore it to its former glory, or maybe you're hoping to completely transform it - taking it from a lighter color to a dark color, or vice versa.

Whether it's to simply breathe life back into leather sofas or a complete colour change you're looking for, you'll need to know exactly how to dye your leather for the best finish and results.

Thankfully, we here at The Leather Colour Doctor have everything you need. Below, we'll talk you through the dyeing process, all of the leather dye products you will need, and provide tips and tricks along the way that will ensure success.

Ready to dye your leather sofa? Then follow our guide today!

When To Dye Your Leather Furniture

If you've seen our recent post about How To Dye Leather Car Seats, where we discussed dyeing leather car seats and your car interior, then the process we're about to talk about won't be too dissimilar. But the products you'll need and the way you use them will be, so make sure you stick around to hear more.

As for knowing when the entire leather surface of the leather sofa needs work, it's easy enough to tell. That's because really, there are only a few reasons why you would need to dye your leather couch, and some reasons why you might want to.

When You Need To Dye Your Sofa...

You will need to dye your leather couch if it is:

  • damaged and needs repair
  • has obvious signs of wear
  • the colour has faded and become unsightly

When You Might Want To...

  • if you're tired of the original colour and want to re dye the leather to something fabulous

Leather Sofa 1

Products For Dyeing Leather Sofas

WHY you want to dye your leather sofa doesn't really matter, but knowing HOW to do it certainly does. Below we'll cover all of the products you need to complete the process, and thankfully we here at The Leather Colour Doctor have everything you need in one handy place!

So, what do you need?

  • Leather cleaner to ensure the entire surface is free of debris and dirt
  • Leather prep fluid to get the leather chair ready for products
  • Leather primer to get the leather ready before applying dye and remove the old leather sealant and dyed leather
  • Leather dye to evenly coat the leather to achieve the desired colour change
  • Leather sealer to protect your furniture and provide a great finish

You could buy these products separately if you preferred, or else just buy our leather sofa repair kit which has everything you need for a brilliant price, and will be more than enough to transform your leather sofa, and maybe even additional leather furniture too!

Other Items You'll Need

Besides the products for transforming your leather sofa, you will also need a few additional household items to help apply the products or protect your surrounding area. This just makes sure you have everything you need in one place ahead of time.

You will also need:

  • drop cloths or a tarp to protect the surrounding areas from excess dye
  • soft plastic cleaning brush to help remove debris and dirt
  • a clean cloth, in fact, multiple cloths would be useful because you will need to apply several coats of some products
  • a general household sponge, applicator sponge, or wool dauber
  • heat gun or hair dryer
  • you might also want to wear gloves - our leather sofa repair kit comes with a pair of protective gloves included

Armed with all of that, you'll be ready to start dyeing your leather sofa!

The Leather Sofa Dyeing Process

Now it's time to get to the nitty gritty - the real reason you're all here - to find out how to dye your leather sofa. Below, we will completely cover the whole process with our step by step instructions. Follow these, stick to the advice, and you will find that you can transform your entire couch in a day (so long as drying time is kind to you, of course)...

Before getting started, make sure you've put down protective sheets or drop cloths, you're wearing clothes you don't mind potentially getting products on, and you're in a well ventilated area. Oh, and don't forget to wear gloves.

1. Leather Cleaning

The very first thing you will need to do is apply our leather cleaner to your sofa. Take your soft plastic brush and a small amount of the cleaner and work it into the surface of the leather. Make sure you cover the entire area.

Once the foaming cleaner has been applied, leave it for 5 minutes. This works much better than rubbing alcohol or soapy water, because it's designed to lift the dirt and debris right off the surface, and it's able to really work its way into the leather itself, cleaning deeply.

After 5 minutes, wipe over the surface. A second coat might be required if the cloth isn't coming away clean. More coats are necessary with older furniture, but new furniture will probably only need one application of the cleaner.

As soon as the cloth wipes away clean, you can move on to the second step.

Leather Cleaning

2. Leather Prep

This next stage is crucial. Using our leather prep fluid will mean you can break through the old sealant and dye, allowing you to use the remaining products in our kit to transform the colour of your couch.

Apply light pressure and a thin coat of our leather prep fluid using a clean cloth. Pay special attention to all the areas that are faded or worn the most - headrests, backrests, etc. Simply rub the product onto the surface until a small amount of pigment is visible on your cloth. This is a good sign.

When the pigment starts showing, you know you have used the proper amount of prep solvent and elbow grease to remove the old sealant layer, and have got the couch ready for new products. You can see this as a leather deglazer, removing the old products so it can be replaced with the new.

A Note On Tears Or Damage

If you happen to notice at this stage that there is damage to your sofa, then now is the time to fix it. You can read our post: How To Restore A Leather Sofa for more information about the products and process you will need to fix any noticeable damage.

This stage is the perfect time to fix any damage, because then you can colour match any repair work you complete for the perfect finish.




Damage on Leather Sofa

3. Leather Primer

Next up is the leather primer. This is essentially an adhesion promoter designed to allow you to build more layers on top of it to create the best colour match for the look you're trying to achieve. Perhaps you want a light colour, a new colour altogether, or you want to match the old look of your furniture before it grew faded.

Whatever the case, it's our leather primer that will allow you to achieve this.

Using a sponge, apply one coat of the leather primer thinly to the surface, wiping in the same direction. Use a hair dryer until it is completely dry and then repeat the same process, but wipe in a different direction to the first coat. Then allow to dry completely, using your hair dryer to speed things up, and then repeat.

It might seem odd, but applying in different directions each time when you rub the thin layer of primer in, ensures that the dye will stick to the surface easily.

In total, you should apply 4 coats of primer. Once the last one is dry, you can start the colour change process.

4. Leather Dye

Now it's time to re dye the sofa. Using our leather dye, you will be able to find the perfect colour match - whether it's a light brown, tan brown, dark brown, or any other colour - whatever the colour is you're looking for, you should be able to find an appropriate dye with us. Just choose the colour you're looking for when purchasing our leather sofa repair kit.

Once you have the leather dye you're looking for, we can start the colour change. Of course, you should patch test this product to ensure it's the colour you want.

When satisfied, wipe or spray the dye on to the sofa. DO NOT RUB - it's important that you apply a gentle, even coat here.

Then dry with your hair dryer. If it looks patchy at this stage, don't worry.

5. Building The Leather Colourant

To continue, simply apply as many layers of dye as necessary until the leather looks the way you want it to. Simply spray or wipe the product on to the leather and dry between coats. Keep building the colour with the sponge or spray until the leather is dyed perfectly.

The colour change may take a while to achieve, especially if you're trying to build a darker colour. This is fine. Just keep at it until it's looking great.

Once satisfied, simply dry the dye for the final time. At this point, the colour change is complete, but you will still need a nice leather finish to complete the whole job and protect all your hard work.

6. Leather Finish

Now, our standard top finish is usually matte. However, you can purchase products that provide a gloss finish or satin finish instead - what you want will come down to personal preference.

The reason we recommend matte finishes is because it allows the leather to be the star of the show, and after a re dye job, customers usually like it to be. With gloss or satin, the sheen and shine can often take away from the new color you have just dyed.

If you want to apply the top finish from our kit, then you'll be able to protect the dyed leather and let it speak for itself.

To apply it, simply use a sponge or spray to apply thin coats, drying in between each one. The hair dryer is key here, because otherwise you would have to wait a few hours between each coat before you could spray or gently wipe another layer of sealant on to the leather, and it would just take too long.

Make sure you apply at a 45 degree angle and alternate directions each layer. This will limit light reflection and ensure an even finish.

Once the final spray or sponge application is complete, you will need to leave the leather sofa to set for a whole 24 hours before using it. This will ensure there is no dye transfer from the leather to your clothes, and also make sure the finish isn't ruined before it has had time to set.

Leather Care Tips Moving Forward

To keep your new leather look looking like new, you'll need to do a few additional things. Our leather cleaning and protection kit can be a great way to help the leather hold on to its colour for longer. With monthly cleaning and protection, your sofa will stay looking great for a long while.

Just stay on top of leather maintenance, and you won't need to dye your sofa again! But if you ever do - you know where to find us...

Final Thoughts

We hope that today's post has shown you that dyeing your leather sofa is not complicated. With the right products and advice from your friendly leather experts at The Leather Colour Doctor, you can't go wrong. So follow the advice in today's guide, and we're confident you can transform your sofa from drab to fab in no time at all!

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