Can leather be darkened?
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Tourer
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 372
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From: Rhode Island
Can leather be darkened?
Here's my problem
I bought a set ofKuryakyn Black & Turquoise Braided Levers with Fringe on ebay,I thought the colors would go ok with my Teal Roadking. (what was I thinking?) The turquise is too light so does anyone know if there is any way I can darken the turquise to a darker green? I have allready installed them on bike, can't send them back and don't want to buy another pair. Any help will be greatly appreciated
Thanks
I bought a set ofKuryakyn Black & Turquoise Braided Levers with Fringe on ebay,I thought the colors would go ok with my Teal Roadking. (what was I thinking?) The turquise is too light so does anyone know if there is any way I can darken the turquise to a darker green? I have allready installed them on bike, can't send them back and don't want to buy another pair. Any help will be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Thread Starter
|
Tourer
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 372
Likes: 0
From: Rhode Island
RE: Can leather be darkened?
I will check into those possibilities and see what I come up with. I tried auto part stores and tailor shop but that didn't work out.
Thanks
Thanks
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Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 11,317
Likes: 11
From: Tucson, Az
RE: Can leather be darkened?
Don't spray on any product that's applied like paint. It will only come off eventually. See your shoe repair man and find out where you can buy dye and that will take care of it.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2007
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RE: Can leather be darkened?
Leather my be tricky.
You may use leather dye, that will darken it, but you must take into account that, for your leather to last, you'll have to maintain it, and conditioners slightly darken the hue of the leather.
So, first and foremost, try some leather conditioner and see how it turns out: maybe that with the conditioner the color will be ok.
If it's still too light, dye it with the appropriate product, but keep in mind two things: when dying, the color will appear DARKER than when the dye dries. When given conditioner, the leather will darken. Conditioned leather color will be somewhat between wet dye and dried dye.
Use LIGHT dying and see how it turns out. You may always apply more dye if it's still too light, but you can't easily remove dye once it's on.
A bottle of acetone comes in handy for removing conditioner or color, but be VERY careful: you can't treat just a patch, you must treat the whole manufact and you must remove conditioner uniformly, and all of it, or you'll end up with a blotchy finish.
Once blotchy, forever blotchy.
This is true even when applying dye: try to be as uniform and smooth as possible.
The best way is applying several light dyes, until you get the color you want, keeping a little lighter to take conditioner into account and then applying conditioner.
Light dyes applied with a paper towel dab are less likely to get blotchy.
Whatever the color tone, a blotchy finish on your leather is by far the crappiest thing you can get. [:'(]
You may use leather dye, that will darken it, but you must take into account that, for your leather to last, you'll have to maintain it, and conditioners slightly darken the hue of the leather.
So, first and foremost, try some leather conditioner and see how it turns out: maybe that with the conditioner the color will be ok.
If it's still too light, dye it with the appropriate product, but keep in mind two things: when dying, the color will appear DARKER than when the dye dries. When given conditioner, the leather will darken. Conditioned leather color will be somewhat between wet dye and dried dye.
Use LIGHT dying and see how it turns out. You may always apply more dye if it's still too light, but you can't easily remove dye once it's on.
A bottle of acetone comes in handy for removing conditioner or color, but be VERY careful: you can't treat just a patch, you must treat the whole manufact and you must remove conditioner uniformly, and all of it, or you'll end up with a blotchy finish.
Once blotchy, forever blotchy.
This is true even when applying dye: try to be as uniform and smooth as possible.
The best way is applying several light dyes, until you get the color you want, keeping a little lighter to take conditioner into account and then applying conditioner.
Light dyes applied with a paper towel dab are less likely to get blotchy.
Whatever the color tone, a blotchy finish on your leather is by far the crappiest thing you can get. [:'(]
Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 29,598
Likes: 19
From: Oregon
RE: Can leather be darkened?
I did a similar thing some years ago. I boughta Corbin seatwith red piping thinking it would look good on my red Heritage but then I didn't like it.
First, please think twice about using any conditioners right now. They mightrepel any dye. Some actually have silicone in them. Others may have oils.
I liked the seat so I decided to just dye it black. I cleaned it well with acetone (any paint store) which I'm sure wasn't the best for the leather but I was desperate.
Next I dyed the whole thing black with Kiwi shoe dye. That's not liquid shoe polish, but actual liquid dye. Next I polished it well with Kiwi neutral shoe wax and brushed it with a shoe brush.
It turned out really nice and I had no problems with fading or peeling or anything else.
Since then I've "renewed" older saddlebags etc. with the same method. It's done well for me.
I know this doesn't answer your question about getting the teal darker, but if all else fails...
PS I just remembered, leather hobbyist stores and suppliers carry all kinds of colors of leather dye. People actually "paint" designs on leather. You might try that instead. You might have to mix two colors to get what you want.