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Post by p5rover on Apr 1, 2015 12:30:47 GMT
I will be re colouring my leather interior, but would like to know the best place to buy a kit from? should I go for water based or solvent based? do any of the places that sell the colouring kits have the right colour match for a p5(buckskin) also doe's anyone have any pictures of there interior (in buck skin) that they have re-coloured?
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Post by Welsh Warlock on Apr 1, 2015 13:28:37 GMT
The recolourant, I am led to understand, is produced for most if not all of the manufacturers by a place near Leicester. A complete recolourant kit is available from Woolies : www.woolies-trim.co.uk/c-117-leather-renovation.aspxI have used this and so have a few others on the forum to good effect. I found after more than 10 years of use the colur began to fade so I am in the (long term distracted due to house move) process of completely overhauling the seats (including replacing all the crunbling foam) and I will be using the spirit based recolourant as I understand it goes on better and lasts longer. Woolies and most other mail order companies won't send out the spirt based recolourant as it is a "hazardous cargo" and can't be sent by courier except by special expansive arrangement. I'll PM you the details of the colourant supplier. I have found the furniture clinic prodicts to be excellent as well and could but it cheaper via local leather restorer/trimmer than directly via the 'net. The local trimmer was very helpful and understood that I wanted the satisfaction of doing the job myself.
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Post by David on Apr 1, 2015 13:44:43 GMT
Here is another option. Have used this before and found it very good.
/www.carleatherdye.com/
Instructions for use
Clean the leather. Preferably with our cleaner, contact us for information. Use a small brush such as one you would clean underneath your finger nails. The cleaner may become dry whilst cleaning the seat so re-agitate by brushing again with a wet brush.
Wipe clean with paper towel and repeat until satisfied. This process will ensure the closest match possible by bringing the seat colour to as original a colour as possible. Do not be fooled by what looks clean, it may have a film of “something” all over it.
If the leather is dry then condition them by applying our conditioner, available with and without the “smell of traditional English leather”. Massage in with a cloth or by hand and leave overnight. Then wipe with a damp cloth to remove excess conditioner.
You can now apply colour with the sponge or with a spray gun. LIGHT applications and several hours between each application. DO NOT be too keen to cover the damage, the colour will cover the damage eventually.
You can apply to the “bruise” or to the whole panel for whatever is felt the best effect.
In cracks you can apply the colour into the crack and then leave for a few minutes and then wipe over with a damp cloth. This will remove new colour from good leather and leave it in the crack. Leave for a few hours and re-apply, thus filling the unsightly crack into a natural “crease”.
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Post by Simon H on Apr 1, 2015 19:54:23 GMT
Gliptone in Todmorden are also highly recommended. Like most places they can make a custom re-colouring kit matched to a sample piece of trim.
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Post by p5rover on Apr 1, 2015 20:05:18 GMT
Thanks, I just wondered weather anyone had ordered buck skin colourant from one of the suppliers and they may(should) have the colour code saved in there database, which would save having to send off a sample of leather.
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Post by Simon H on Apr 1, 2015 20:31:41 GMT
Gliptone made me a small custom Buckskin kit matched to a sample headrest I took to them. I intended recolouring a pair of Saddle Tan headrests that I had bought but in the end I couldn't bring myself to touch them as they were just like new (I believe they were NOS) and I ended up selling them on.
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Post by djm16 on Apr 1, 2015 23:36:41 GMT
I am in the process of restoring heavily damaged front seats from my 3 litre. They are after all 60y old and have been in the Australian sun.
The leather is mostly intact, but quite hard. The surface is finely crazed and brittle. There are numerous deep cracks and a couple of tears.
The door cards are just faded with much of the colour coat worn through to the canvas backing.
A quick rub with coloured "restorer" and a waxy top coat are not going to do it.
I am using a fairly expensive set of all water based urethane materials from TheFurnitureClinic.co.uk, to wit, iin the order in which they are used:
leather softener / restorer (lyophilised oils) cleaner - I make up myself, 50% Shellite / 50% meths leather binder heavy filler light filler adhesion promoter colour (1 litre for whole of interior) satin finish top coat (helps reduce that "just sprayed" look) cross linker (catalyst for all the liquid coats)
For colour matching you need to send them a sample of your interior, easily removed from the rear of a door card. It is pointless looking for a colour code fo an interior, they varied too much.
Yes, this road cost a moderate amount of money, and yes it is a huge amount of work (around 10-15 hours per seat base), much less for undamaged door cards. But the finished result is outstanding (when you get the hang of it!).
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Post by p5rover on Apr 2, 2015 10:47:38 GMT
Thanks for your help, your right it will be a big job doing a full interior, but that doesn't bother me, as I would like to do it once and do it properly. I would prefer to use the solvent based colourant if I can get hold of some, as I believe that's what was used from the factory, the water based stuff that they use on vehicles today looks good but as it's water based it just sits on top of the leather and has a life of about 5 years before it starts wearing off(fine if you don't mind re doing it), whereas the solvent based stuff soaks into the leather for a much longer lasting finish.
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Post by p5rover on Apr 2, 2015 11:16:47 GMT
Just had a reply from woolies saying that they don't do solvent based colourant and that the water based colourant they sell cannot be used on vinyl.
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Post by p5rover on Apr 2, 2015 23:35:54 GMT
Also does anyone know if the vinyl on the backs of the seats and door panels is one solid colour? as mine looks a bit similar to the headlining with a slight speckled look to it(like a antique look) if that makes any sense. But not sure if its just dirt in the grain?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2015 0:45:40 GMT
Also does anyone know if the vinyl on the backs of the seats and door panels is one solid colour? as mine looks a bit similar to the headlining with a slight speckled look to it(like a antique look) if that makes any sense. But not sure if its just dirt in the grain? Yes,, its a solid colour, its just muck in the grain that makes it look duel ingrained. The only way that you can successfully lift it completely is by using thinners on a cloth and gently get into the grain but you must be gentle and wipe the excess thinners off quicly as it will start to disolve the vinyl, (and stay away from the leather with thinners) when you're finished you'll see that its left the vinyl a bit tacky, but that is easy to overcome, the remedy is 'shoepolish',, yep, you're a bit unlucky that yours is buckskin colour so you will have to use either clear shoe polish or try and find some 'meltonian' creme shoe polish as it will also add some colour back to it. Dont buff it too much as you dont want it too shiny, and dont worry about it coming off onto your clothes, it doesnt !.. ( if you ever come accross shoe dye the same colour as your interior, buy it ! You can do the whole car in it, leather and vinyl and it will last ages.!)
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Post by johnwp5bcoupe on Apr 3, 2015 10:51:36 GMT
Also does anyone know if the vinyl on the backs of the seats and door panels is one solid colour? as mine looks a bit similar to the headlining with a slight speckled look to it(like a antique look) if that makes any sense. But not sure if its just dirt in the grain? Yes,, its a solid colour, its just muck in the grain that makes it look duel ingrained. The only way that you can successfully lift it completely is by using thinners on a cloth and gently get into the grain but you must be gentle and wipe the excess thinners off quicly as it will start to disolve the vinyl, (and stay away from the leather with thinners) when you're finished you'll see that its left the vinyl a bit tacky, but that is easy to overcome, the remedy is 'shoepolish',, yep, you're a bit unlucky that yours is buckskin colour so you will have to use either clear shoe polish or try and find some 'meltonian' creme shoe polish as it will also add some colour back to it. Dont buff it too much as you dont want it too shiny, and dont worry about it coming off onto your clothes, it doesnt !.. ( if you ever come accross shoe dye the same colour as your interior, buy it ! You can do the whole car in it, leather and vinyl and it will last ages.!) I "personally" wouldn't use thinners its a bit risky you could end up with a none textured sticky smooth mess "if your not careful" as some thinners will be far too aggressive and you may not be quick enough!! I would use a good Industrial Alcohol it will remove the dirt and not damage the Vinyl, if this doesn't remove the dirt it may not be dirt!! If your not sure what the original grain/colour should look like find a piece under a seat I have some original Vinyl and this is a close as you can get sold by Woolies VINYL
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Post by p5rover on Apr 3, 2015 12:13:45 GMT
I "personally" wouldn't use thinners its a bit risky you could end up with a none textured sticky smooth mess "if your not careful" as some thinners will be far too aggressive and you may not be quick enough!! I would use a good Industrial Alcohol it will remove the dirt and not damage the Vinyl, if this doesn't remove the dirt it may not be dirt!! If your not sure what the original grain/colour should look like find a piece under a seat I have some original Vinyl and this is a close as you can get sold by Woolies VINYLThanks for the link, that vinyl looks exactly the same. Don't worry I won't be splashing any thinners on the seats just yet! sounds a bit to risky, my initial thought was to use alcohol so I will definitely give that a try now you have recommended it.
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Post by guidedog on Apr 3, 2015 12:25:05 GMT
When I rang Gliptone about marking on the back of my armchair (headrest) they recommended methylated spirits
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Post by p5rover on Apr 3, 2015 12:35:03 GMT
I have some Isopropanol handy, I am guessing its the same stuff?
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Post by Warwick on Apr 3, 2015 12:51:38 GMT
I have some Isopropanol handy, I am guessing its the same stuff? Different stuff. Methylated spirits is basically ethanol which has been poisoned to make it undrinkable. They used to add some methanol (hence methylated), but now it's usually something else, of petrochemical origin.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2015 14:30:23 GMT
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Post by johnwp5bcoupe on Apr 3, 2015 14:33:58 GMT
I have some Isopropanol handy, I am guessing its the same stuff? Yes that is as good
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Post by p5rover on Apr 3, 2015 20:14:26 GMT
I have some Isopropanol handy, I am guessing its the same stuff? Yes that is as good Thanks, I had a close look at the vinyl under the seat and its definitely not one solid colour, it does in fact have a very slight aged effect to it like the woolies link you posted, so I will definitely go easy on the cleaning and resist using thinners to get it spotless, as clearly it wasn't when it was new!
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Post by johnwp5bcoupe on Apr 3, 2015 20:43:47 GMT
Yes that is as good Thanks, I had a close look at the vinyl under the seat and its definitely not one solid colour, it does in fact have a very slight aged effect to it like the woolies link you posted, so I will definitely go easy on the cleaning and resist using thinners to get it spotless, as clearly it wasn't when it was new! I agree
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Post by djm16 on Apr 4, 2015 3:08:52 GMT
OK, lots of points need an answer here.
1) "original colour is solvent based and soaks in". Not so. I have been removing the original colour from my 60y old seats with 240 grit glass paper, so I can assure you it is a surface coating though well attached.
2) "water based treatments sit on the surface". Not the leather binder from TFC. It soaks in to the leather binding together fragile cracking fibres. It does eventually form a partly surface layer to which the colour adheres.
3) "the same kit cannot be used on vinyl". I cannot vouch for modern vinyl, but the door cards on mine are now refinished using the same products as I am using on the leather. Mind you though the originsl material was worn almost through to the backing material in places. I will let you know in 5 years time how it holds up.
4) how to clean. On good but dirty vinyl I have used a orange smelling kitchen cleaner and a toothbrush. Believe me I tried a lot of other things first before hitting on this, including white spirit and meths. For old vinyl that is about to be refinished I used dish soap in solution with 10% meths and a final wipe down with either meths alone for fragile parts or naptha for relatively good parts. The naptha / meths 50/50 will lift the surface coating as well and leave a slightly tacky finish. Good for bonding to a new colour coat. Note that I am also using a spray on coat of adhesion promoter.
5) lastly: methanol: CH3OH ethanol: C2H5OH propanol / isopropyl alcohol: C3H7OH
"meths": as someone has already said, ethanol with toxic methanol added.
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Post by p5rover on Apr 4, 2015 12:15:17 GMT
Thanks for your advice, firstly any coating can be removed with sand paper! so that does not tell you that the dye has not soaked in. When I said "soaks in" I probably should have said "adheres better" as I don't mean the dye literally soaks right into the leather and becomes one. The fact that you never see any old cars (with original leather) with the colour rubbed completely off, you see them cracked,faded,ripped,etc.. but the colour is most always intact, whereas most modern vehicles you see after about 5 years the colour is starting to rub off! this is FACT. I am not trying to knock water based dyes, as I was thinking of using some myself, if there was a much tougher not so environmentally friendly one available that is comparable to the old solvent based stuff then yes I would use it, but I don't think there is? Also regarding the use of the woolies leather dye on vinyl, I emailed them to find out if it can be used on vinyl and this is what they said, Thanks for your enquiry, our kit is a water based product. You can read all about it on our web site www.woolies-trim.co.uk/c-108-featured-products.aspxBeing water based the kit will not work on vinyl. Regards Duncan Allen Woolies
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Post by djm16 on Apr 4, 2015 14:51:31 GMT
You may well be right that the older solvent based dyes adhere better. I am only sanding it as solvents supposed to lift the dye do not touch it.
I certainly do not recommend using Woolies stuff on vinyl. However, a quick internet search for "vinyl recolouring" reveals many sites selling the same colourant kit for both vinyl and leather. Some with the possible substitution of a solvent to remove silicone traces from vinyl.
I have not specifically asked The Furniture Clinic about this, but I will do so.
Uuumm? That is what has happened to my leather in places. But I agree, top coat on old leather is pretty touch stuff.
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Post by Warwick on Apr 5, 2015 11:13:22 GMT
I've spent quite a bit of time in tanneries and leather finishing works; about 20 to 25 years ago. (The finishing processes are much more pleasant than the beginning processes - especially on a hot day.)
What you see, feel, and sit on is plastic. The leather is underneath. The colour coating is applied to new upholstery leather with a spray gun in a spray booth, just like car painting. One of the finishing factories that I visited produced both furniture leather, and leather for BMW interiors.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2015 12:41:08 GMT
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