The Couch: Leather Dying Tutorial

My leather couch re-do was featured on the blog Better After and several people asked me to show how I dyed the couch. I wasn't anticipating making a tutorial so I don't have great pictures of the process, but hopefully I can give a general idea of how it was done. I am by no means a professional, and my entire experience was a happy accident, so please be careful and do your research before tackling your own project. :)

Supplies List: 

-disposable gloves

-leather deglazer (purchased or homemade)

-leather dye

-leather cleaner/protectant

-multiple lint-free cloths

The couch cushions were extremely dry, and most of the previous leather finish or "glaze" had worn off. What remained were the patterns from the mattress pads worn into the cushions. 

I purchased a leather deglazer for $8.99 from Amazon.com (found here), but it smelled strangely similar to rubbing alcohol. I did a little internet research and found that I could make my own (free!) deglazer with rubbing alcohol and a squirt of lemon juice (something about the acidity of the lemon makes everything work).

Scrubbing the cushions using my homemade concoction and a lint-free cloth worked just as well if not better than the actual deglazer in removing the marks from the mattress pads. Deglazing also helped make the "mystery stain" on the back of the couch less obvious.

Two of the cushions and the couch back after deglazing.

Now for the stain!

I bought Fiebing's Leather Dye in Meduim Brown from Amazon.com (found here). I began dying the cushions outside, and was disappointed to see that the dye looked more orange than brown. However, once I brought them inside and applied more coats, the color looked much nicer.

Wear gloves! I wore disposable latex gloves with the first cushion and still got dye on one hand. I wore two pairs of gloves for the remainder of the couch and had no problems at all.

To dye the leather, I put a small amount of dye onto a lint-free cloth and, using care not to drip, applied the stain in a fast, circular motion (think Karate Kid- wax on, wax off...) The leather on the cushions was extremely dry, so it absorbed the dye quickly. To avoid an uneven application, I worked in sections and then blended them together. My cloth became pretty saturated with dye as the project wore on, but this helped make blending easier.

The cushions took the longest amount of time to dye. I had to buff and scrub to really get the finish to look the way I wanted. Less-worn areas of the couch (the back and sides) required less elbow grease and the dye went on beautifully. I applied additional coats of dye until everything reached the desired color.

The whole couch took me about 5 hours total to finish (I worked during naptime over a few days and was interrupted on a regular basis). It took about 2 1/2 bottles (approx. 10 oz.) of dye. 

After finishing dying, I used a new lint-free cloth to apply ArmorAll Leather Care Protectant (something I had lying around, but you can find it at most big stores in the auto department) to the entire couch. This gave the leather a nice glossy sheen and also made it softer. See the difference between the dyed cushion above and the picture below?

Though it was immediately dry to the touch, rubbing the couch left small traces of dye on my bare hand. I kept all small children and objects off of it for about 12 hours. After that, I have had no issues with the dye rubbing of or getting onto clothing. In fact, I just folded a load of white laundry on it today. :)

As far as durability is concerned, time will tell. It's only been a few weeks and it still looks as good as new. I kept an extra bottle of dye around just in case I need to do any touch-ups.

Hopefully I answered most of your questions. If not, leave me a comment and I'll answer it as best as I can. Happy dying!