Springfield Leather Company's Helpful Hints: Dyeing Leather Black 

It's possible that you could, though we don't recommend it. Acrylic clear coats are ideal. There are some clear coats on the market that have polyurethane in them, but we can't say for certain how plain old polyurethane would work out on your project.

I would like to know this too. Im making a tooled purse and would like to use the chocolate brown dye with the bick 4

Hi Jerico, The white leather jacket has acrylic color, so you may not be able to successfully dye the jacket black. The best way to attempt it will be to apply a deglazer to this jacket, like this one: springfieldleather.com/Deglazer-32oz . Then, apply a black dye, like Fiebing's black dye. Again, because of the white color, you probably won't have a lot of luck, but this is the process if you want to give it a shot. :) Thanks for your question, and good luck!

It depends on what dye you have, but it can be achieved with a multitude of things. There is a Dye Reducer, Spirits, or Rubbing Alcohol/

Hi, again! As far as we know, the high VOC solvent-based dyes cannot be sold in California. Since we are based in Missouri, we can ship it to you, but you cannot resell it. You can also consider Fiebing's water-based or low VOC leather dyes. As long as it's a leather dye, it should work alright, especially if you deglaze the shoes! As for the color, if you deglaze the leather well and allow the dye to saturate, it will likely not fade in color, at least not for awhile. However, every leather is a little different! The dye will also scuff like a regular shoe would.

Hi, Erik! If you apply paint to your shoes, it will likely wear off quickly. Instead, consider dyeing the shoes. If you do, you will need to deglaze the shoes first so that anything that would prevent the dye penetration is removed. Then, apply dye, let it dry, and buff the shoes. Repeat these three steps, then apply shoe polish or a clear coat finish. Hope this helps and that you find something that works for you! Let us know if you have any more questions. :)

Hi, Carni! Yes, you could use black dye and black leather balm. Make sure to clean the boots really well, and you may want to use a deglazer, such as Fiebing's Deglazer. The dye probably won't bleed through; however, we can't guarantee that! Thanks for your question. :)

LaTour High End Audio If they are black, there won't be much you can do to change the color. If they were a light color you could possibly make them a darker color but going from black to anything else usually doesn't work.

Hello! Hmmm it can depend on your project, leather, and desired color...but doing light coats of dye in the conditioner should work in many cases. Here's an example of a deglazer you can use: springfieldleather.com/Deglazer-4oz. Hope this helps!

To get a good deep black you can dye the project a dark Navy blue first and then dye it black with the second coat. Another way is to use some vinegaroon, iron dissolved in vinegar. The gent on the left mentions the blue first, which has always worked well for me.

supersniperjimmy When it comes to dying leather the type of leather plays a huge roll, it really should be what is called Vegetable Tanned leather. If you don't know the tannage that you're working with you can send us a pic and we can help you from there! Liz@springfieldleather.com

before I make any suggestions about refinishing your boots, it would be nice to have some pictures to go off of. if you would like to email: liz@springfieldleather.com with some images of your shoes and the finish I will be more than happy to help!

I should probably specify, I'm trying to dye a white leather jacket blavk

Jason I dye book cover designs on veg tan and found 1. making a beveled line to seperate areas is a necessity. Then...2. I use a good flat tipped brush and not soak it, but get some on tip areas only, then brush light applications from the line into the main area.The main area can get the sponge or dobber, etc. If I use a resist on the line it helps as well, of course that also makes the line more apparent, but can enhance the design. The only abrupt color change line possible that I know of thus far ( student to student ) is simply go to an Angelus acrylic paint on one or both sides. I've never tried it. Usually I resist part of my design and dye the rest with slightly darker color than natural tan. Hope this helps a bit. Try it out on scraps beforehand; even a wierd strip allows making line experiments.

Just realized that if you mean one color on the grain side and another on the leather flesh side, I've never tried it, but would experiment with very light coats on some pretty thick leather. Or can maybe use thin leather independently dyed on one of the sides and contact cement them together into one piece. ?

Hello Jason, you really need to find a way to spray it. Kevin

Hello Hannah! Great question. Denny's advice is to clean it, deglaze it and use your dye (keeping in mind that no matter the color, it will get darker), go over your dye with neatsfoot oil after it's had some time to dry and then use tan-kote -- skip the acrylic resolene. The best way to know if resolene is dry is to give it time. Denny suggests waiting overnight for each layer of product when dyeing things to be completely sure that they're dry and that they have the smallest chance of transferring. Best of luck with your saddle.

Kevin Hopkins thank you so much for the help! I’ve heard you can use nail polish remover instead of deglazed, do you know if this true? :)

Sorry for the delay, Hannah. Nail polish remover will most likely remove the glaze from your leather since it does have acetone in it, but we cannot say for sure to what degree or comment on the effects it may have on your leather. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!

Thanks for watching our videos! I'm glad you've found them helpful. :) Yes, oiling the leather would be a good idea. Olive oil or neatsfoot oil will work well. However, you do not want to use beeswax, because it will seal the leather, and you will not be able to stain or dye the leather. Hope this helps!

YES this Helped me a lot! Thank you for the important tip about the Beeswax oil..wen i read it made TTINK* inside my head...now i know why i had some trouble dyeing my leather! from now on i always will put the beeswax after every things. one last question i already saw your video about finish the edges, but wen should i use the gum tragacant before or after the fiebings Edge Kote? and Thank you again ( :

I>mean i saw the video with Rusty about = Finish edges....

***** I'm glad you found it helpful! Generally, you will want to put on gum trag before Fiebing's Edge Kote. Gum trag smooths edges, and Edge Kote is more of a finish. Thanks again for your question!

+Bill Tracy it depends on the leather that is on the seat. Going to black will be the easiest option, but you will have to get the finish off that is on the seat now, re-dye, then refinish so that the black doesn't come off on your cloths.

+Kevin Hopkins Ok thanks! It turns out when the seat arrived it looked pretty black already so I'm happy with how it is. It's a very old bicycle seat with lots of character: tinyurl.com/nm2rqbq and tinyurl.com/nuyenkq

Nathan Garza yeah I just got some from Tandy leather

FraeuleinMKitka Diluting the dye allows you to get more usage from bottle of dye you purchased, not necessarily "deeper" penetration of the dye into the leather. When it comes to diluting the dye, we usually say start with a half/half mixture and do some testing, if you are wanting more color add some dye or if you are wanting a lighter pigment dilute more. However, when it comes to coverage it's all about application. We prefer to spray our dye on, it gives you more control over the amount of dye your using and where you put it aka- more even coverage. When using a sponge for application it is a little harder to control the amount of dye your applying, but it always good to start light and build the color.

Kevin Hopkins Thanks for the reply.

K.S. Hughes I forgot to mention theses boots are not leather, the upper material is described by the manufacturer as " a synthetic leather, called Technomicro (functionally the same as Lorica used in other Sidi styles"

K.S. Hughes What would most likely work the best will be acrylic paint. Since it is not leather, I don't know that I would recommend any dye that is meant for leather. But a paint like Angelus Acrylic paint would be a good choice. It is flexible which is great for shoes and covers well. You would probably want to use a few coats. Hope this helps! Liz

Thanks, I appreciate the input, I'll give it a shot

Hello! What kind of leather services are you looking for? This link provides a list of the services we offer: springfieldleather.com/manufacturingshop . You can also give us a call at 1-800-668-8518, and we'll see if we can help or direct you to someone else! Thanks for your interest :)

Hi, Steve! Thanks for your question. We would recommend a black oil dye for leather, like Fiebing's Professional Oil Dye, finished with some saddle soap. Here are the links to our suggestions: Fiebing's Oil Dye: springfieldleather.com/Dye-Fieb-Oil-Black-4oz Saddle Soap: springfieldleather.com/Saddle-Soap-White-3-5oz Thanks for watching!

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