Leather Care & Repair Specialists

Leather Furniture Restoration & Re-Colouring Guide
 

In this guide we will restore the two seater sofa shown in the photo on the left. The leather is badly cracked and so we will also be using the leather repair compound as well as the leather colourant kit.

Preparing The Leather As Instructed Can Reduce Crease & Cracks

The first step is preparing the leather ready for applications of colour. We do this to remove any waxes, oils or silicones that may be present on the leather, not removing these could cause adhesion problems. Prepping the leather also removes the manufactured finish. If the leather is very dirty, clean it first with the leather ultra clean or warm soapy water.

Different prepping techniques can be employed with similar results but we will show you the most thorough way in this guide and explain the reasons for doing so along the way.

1. Do the back & sides first. A lot of furniture these days have finished splits on the back & sides and using a strong cleaner like the leather prep would strip the colour off so we won't be using it on the sides. For the sides all you need to do is wipe them down with some alcohol cleaner on a cloth. Not prepping the back and sides as thoroughly as the rest of the leather won't affect the end results, this is because the back and sides aren't really used and so come under no, or very little stress.

2. Because the seating cushions and other areas come under more stress (wear & tear) it is more important to prepare them. To do this it is best to rub them with the leather prep and an abrasive pad, this application removes the leather finish. However, because this leather is very badly worn, it is best to just wipe the leather down with the leather prep and a cloth. The abrasive pad would make the cracking even worse in this case.

The leather is correctly prepped when you start to see colour transfer from the leather onto the abrasive pad or cloth. This indicates that the finish has been removed exposing the colour beneath.

3. The above process will have removed the manufacturers finish and any silicones that are soluble in solvents. There are however some silicones like spray on polish and waxes that aren't soluble in solvents, and so to remove these we need to use the alcohol cleaner. After using the leather prep wipe the leather down with a cloth dampened in the alcohol cleaner and for ease of use you could also spray the alcohol cleaner directly onto the leather. Now wait 30 minutes for the prep to evaporate.

Repairing the cracks & worn areas

The above two photos show the seating cushion in very bad condition. The photo to the right is an up-close photo of a section of the cushion. The cracks have occurred over 20 years of wear and tear on the leathers surface causing the pigment to 'crack' as the leather flexes. Regular applications of protection cream could have prevented this!!!!!!!!

The process will be to fill the cracks and then colour the leather.

	Applying Light Filler The first process is to stick the leather down and hold it tightly together to prevent future cracking. The light filler is applied by sponge and is absorbed by the leather holding all the worn leather fibres together. A light coat is applied and then left to dry for 5 minutes. The leather is then sanded with fine sandpaper (600+) to remove any excess filler.
	You can see the light filler has been applied as it makes the leather slightly matt & streaky. It looks as though it has coloured the cracks. All it has done is darken them as they absorbed the filler. Do not think this has sorted the problem! NOTE: It is not 100% crucial to use the light filler, you could just use the repair compound on its own as shown below.
	Applying the leather repair compound The light filler is only suitable for hair line cracking and so any cracks with a bit of depth need to be filled with the repair compound. The compound has been smoothed out all over the seating cushion using a palette knife and then left to dry for 30 minutes. It is then sanded down (600+) to create a lovely smooth finish.
	To the left is a photo showing a close up as before. This time you will notice where the light filler has filled in some areas and the repair compound others. NOTE: It is fine to apply another coat of light filler on top of the repair compound if necessary. Even if you apply colour and think it could be re-filled, it is ok to apply the fillers on top of the colour. This helps to achieve a smooth finish.
Applying the Colourant
	Shake the bottle of colourant for about 3 minutes to make sure it is well mixed. Pour a small amount onto a sponge and rub into the leather. The idea is to sponge on a thin coat of colour working it into any gaps, creases and hard to reach areas. Apply light pressure here to work the colourant into the grain. If you apply too much pressure you may get a foam of colour on the surface, this is not a problem, just wipe it away with the sponge (gently).
	The image to the left is the before close up with a coat of colour sponged on. After applying one base coat of colour a thin spray coat can then be applied to further enhance the finish on the leather. The colourant dries naturally or you can speed it up with a hair drier.

Spraying the colour

Wait 30 minutes for the colourant to thoroughly dry and then proceed to spray the leather. Set up your spray gun or airbrush and then spray the leather at a comfortable distance, not to over apply the colour. It is best to practice a bit on a piece of paper to get the hang of spraying first. Spray the colourant on in thin layers. This avoids runs and so makes for a nicer finish.

Because the colourant we're using is water based it takes a few minutes to dry. We therefore advise you to spray one area and then dry it using a hair drier. Doing it this way reduces the chance of runs. If you do see a run, just wipe it off with a cloth or sponge and then re-spray the area.

There is no right number of coats that should be applied to the leather. Spray on one coat and dry it off, then just keep spraying on a coat at a time until all the base colour is hidden.

Spraying the Finish

The leather finish is then applied in the exact same way as the colourant. Thin layers are the key! We recommend spraying on 2 layers of sealant (glossy), and then 2 layers of finish as this gives a very strong coating guaranteeing a very long life span of your job! The leather finish further enhances the feel and texture of the leather, it gives you a lovely soft and delicate touch, even if the leather was rough beforehand!

Finished Work

The above two images are of the seat thoroughly coloured. As standard the leather has a slight shine to it. This can be either increased using a gloss finish, matted down using a matt finish or kept the same using a satin finish. In this case we used a satin finish to match the original sheen.

Return to Leather Colourant Kit