This is not for the Corvette, but I figured someone here would know and it might help somebody down the road...

I have some leather/fabric seats pulled for an interior update. The leather is old, but still in very nice shape...still soft, pliable and the surface is smooth. The fabric inserts and foam are shot so they will definitely be replaced. In addition, the leather needs to change from a light blue to a turquoise.

I'm hoping I can change the color and then condition the leather before the upholstery shop gets their hands on them. Then have the shop save and reuse the leather with the new materials. I was concerned about stitching over a previous seam area (as far as looks), but the majority of the stitching in the leather is hidden behind piping.

The turquoise is such an odd color that I will need to have it custom ordered if purchasing new leather so I think this could save me a ton in time and materials. Here's my main question...will the SEM paints work on leather that has been 'finished' albeit decades ago. Anyone done this or seen the results?

Oh yeah. The local Dupont supplier says he can color match and provide the SEM Vinyl paints, but no experience with its use on leather.

Thanks,
Rob

 

I've sprayed SEM ColorCoat [liquid] dye on my leather-wrapped steering wheel. It covered well and has had no problems with bleeding, peeling, fading or cracking over 4 years time. I prepped the surface by wiping it down with a cloth dampened with lacquer thinner. Leather products have 'oils' in them, and oil is not very compatible with application of elastomeric dyes. So, I wiped down the surface and shot the dye.

Worked fine. Now, the surface of a steering wheel doesn't flex like a seat cover; but it does get sweaty hands on it all the time...and sits in the sun.

You might want to contact a leather-goods store or a leather-goods repair shop, just to ask them their opinions on what would be the best course of action. But, I think spraying SEM liquid dye on your seat covers would be very 'doable'.

 

My experience with these "dyes" is that you need many coats of very thin applications. They don't work like paint. Try to use a paint like coating and, my experience, you'll just make a mess. Thin coat, coat after coat.

 

Yes many thin coats we used it on airplane plastic parts years ago and it's like using lacquer but soaks in well .
Good luck

 

I spoke directly with SEM on the color change of some leather seats from tan to black. Prep was important (SEM soap), then adhesion promoter, followed by multiple light coats. Then more coats to get around and under the piping. They recommended classic coat for leather. The dye encapsulates the leather, you no longer even need to use leather cleaner or treatment on it (according to the SEM tech line). The dye looks like it will hold up and the leather has a good final texture. That said, don't get any thinner products on it (lacquer, rubbing alcohol, etc) as it will come right off.

For all the work it was to properly dye them, I would probably just go new seat covers next time.

 

SEM liquid dye is very thin (almost watery), but has very dense pigment. So, you can't really spray a THICK layer, as it would just create runs. Light, covering coats is how you do it. More than two coats of SEM [liquid] ColorCoat would be fine...but probably unnecessary. I've never needed more than two covering coats on any interior item that I've ever dyed. It won't hurt anything, if you do; it's just a waste of your dye.

And yes, paint of any kind would be the wrong product for recoloring interior parts. Paint fills in the surface grain of the interior parts; dye won't....regardless of how many times you spray it.

 

Thanks for all the feedback on this guys. I misspoke yesterday. The Dupont paint supplier carries SEM products, but when he was speaking of custom color matching he was referring to a Dupont product...apparently very similar or the same as SEM Color Coat. He said it is actually a very thin (very reduced type of paint).

Honestly not sure how I'll go with this...? I've also seen refurb/repair/recolor kits specifically for leather, but all are mail order which kind of defeats the purpose of doing this because of the unique color... Color chip books are approx. $80 (intended for pros I suppose) and the repair kits are approx. $100. For reference, a full finished cow hide is approx. $300.

It might just be easier to have new leather used. There is not a lot of leather in actual material, but all of the intricate and complex areas are leather so I was thinking I'd save more on labor than material cost...?

Back to the topic of the OP... the rep was not sure about longevity, but he did recommend to use the SEM prep products followed by the custom matched Dupont product color... With that said, I have read online posts from folks who do interior refurb work and state the both the SEM and Dupont products work well on both leather and vinyl...and they also state "prep is key" and "several thin coats"...