How to Dye Automotive Leather

In these times when a car is somewhat considered a man's best friend, it's only prudent for one to take good care of his automobile. Grooming your car is not only a sign of a clean and organized lifestyle but it also promotes a certain positive "flair" on your character. One of the biggest problems in grooming your automobile is the expensive leather maintenance and repainting. Dye your automotive leather to restore it to its former beauty.

• 1

  Place some old cardboard or newspapers behind the area you are working on. You do not want any color to spill on your floor. Also, wear a mask to avoid inhaling the fumes of the chemicals.

• 2

  Pour a small amount of water on a piece of cloth and wipe the surface of the leather until it is clean. Apply the leather prep onto the car leather using the scuff pads and scrub off mold, dirt, small cracks and creases, and smudges off the leather. Once the surface area is clean, wipe off the prep with a clean cloth.

• 3

  Pour alcohol on a clean cloth and wipe the cloth on the leather surface. Then, rub off the alcohol with a dry cloth.

• 4

  Pour leather dye on a sponge and wipe it gently and evenly on the surface of the leather. You may use the dye's bottle cap as means of measuring how much dye you should use. Three to four capfulls of dye should do the trick. Let the dye dry for 15 to 20 minutes. Apply a second base coat of dye on the surface using the sponge. Do this in the same manner in which you applied the first base coat of dye, covering all possible surface areas. Use small circular strokes in applying the leather dye.

• 5

  Pour the same dye color in a glass jar attachment of the airbrush. Shut the jar tightly and attach the airbrush. Position the airbrush approximately 6 to 8 inches away from the surface and spray a thin base color on the leather. Do this just once and let it dry for 15 to 20 minutes. After the first spray color has dried, apply a second spray of dye on the surface. Slowly spray the paint evenly and smoothly along the leather lines to cover minute, hard-to-reach areas.

• 6

  Dry the surface with the hair dryer. Slowly run the dryer along the leather to dry the entire surface evenly.

• 7

  Wipe the surface of the leather gently with a clean cloth to rid it of of dried-up excess dye. Then using the airbrush with the leather polish, slowly spray the surface of the leather. You may have to do this two or three times over to achieve the kind of gloss you want.