How to Clean Leather Before Dyeing It
Leather is a natural material made from animal hides. Because leather is a porous material, it can easily be dyed to change the color of the leather. In order for the dye to be evenly absorbed by the leather, you must prepare the leather surface with a proper cleaning. A leather surface that has been properly cleaned, moisturized and maintained will not only look nice when dyed, it will last for many years to come. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Fill a bucket with warm water and a couple capfuls of liquid saddle soap. Mix to create a mild soapy solution.
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Old, soft towels are useful for cleaning leather goods. Dip a clean cloth in the saddle soap solution and scrub the leather surface. Work the soapy solution into the leather so it can remove dirt hiding in the pores. Replenish the soapy solution on your cleaning cloth and continue to scrub the leather surface.
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Dampen a clean sponge with cool water. Wipe the leather surface to remove the saddle soap solution and any remaining traces of dirt.
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Pour a small amount of leather deglazer onto a clean, white cloth. Wipe the leather surface, moving in one direction, to remove any existing finish or dye on the leather. Move to a clean portion of the cloth or change cloths as the leather finish transfers to the cleaning cloth.
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Let your leather good air dry for 24 hours, to ensure all moisture is gone, before you begin the process of dying it a new color.
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Tips & Warnings
Stains and dirt adhere more to leather that's not properly moisturized. Use a leather conditioner on your leather good once a month to keep the leather moist.
Wear gloves and put down newspaper or a drop cloth when using leather deglazer so the finish you remove doesn't transfer onto your skin or something else.
References
- Photo Credit leather shoes image by Steve Lovegrove from Fotolia.com towels image by Ekaterina Lozanova from Fotolia.com
