Restoring faded color on leather  

Yes, black is especially easy to do. You will need to re-dye all the leather. Don't even think about spot dying it. And you will need to get a leather de-glazer, and wipe the leather down with that first. It is basically acetone, which you can use also.

Then you need a black alcohol based dye. Wipe it one.

Then you need a leather glaze. Wipe it one.

Hi Leif,

indeed, I was thinking to recolor only the faded part. Do you have any kit or product brand to suggest?

Then, if I apply acetone, will it remove the original black color? I hope not!

Cheers,

Ernest

No special kit. I just get the stuff from a local leather house.

You should identify which kind of leather is on this chair before you proceed. Is it chrome tanned or vegetable tanned? The Danes used a lot of vegetable tanned leather, and I don't think I would follow exactly this routine on vegetable tanne leather.

This is the challenge with leather. The different leather are extremely different things, but the same word is used.

Is there anywhere you can see the back of the leather? Or where you could slice off a tiny sliver which you could test In oiling water?

Some photos would help.

Hi Leif,

thank you for the suggestions. What I find difficult is that these leather products are not so easy to find in a shop, and therefore I had a look on the internet but as you say, it is necessary to know what kind of leather the pillows are made of.

Here some pictures, any suggestion or brand for products is welcome.

So if you take a little sliver of the leather from inside the zipper and drop it in boiling water, you will see one of two things happen pretty quickly: basically nothing (chrome tanned leather), or it will curl and shrink (vegetable tanned leather).

I am pretty sure from the photos that it is chrome tanned leather, but it would be good to know for certain.

This is the leather dye I have used before:

https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/fiebing-s-leather-dye

Hi Leif, I have bought the product you indicated.

Do you think it is ok if I clean the leather with a classical product for couches, and then after drying, I apply the color?

Thank you

Ernest.

I have no idea what a classical product for couches means?

A leather cream, one that you would find at a generical goods store to maintain and clean any kind of leather... sorry for not being more precise.

There are a ton of videos on YouTube about this... take this one and then go down the rabbit hole from there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7TpohPD9M8

I would start with this:

https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/fiebing-s-deglazer-4-oz

Then the dye.

Then something like this:

https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/eco-flo-satin-shene

Did you ever confirm that it is chrome tanned leather? If it were vegetable tanned leather, I would do something very different. And I would use a oil based dye probably.

Leather is complicated. And fragile. Read up on this stuff a lot before you do anything. Don't use random cleaning products on it. And don't use soap; it is alkaline almost always and leather is acidic, the slow reaction will destroy the leather.

For what it is worth, I think that the leather looks very, very nice as is. I think vintage leather should look a bit worn-in.

My dear Ernest,

I also like the leather as-is (patina).

I do,

Aunt Mark

Hi leif! I did not try to cut out a small piece of leather and put in boiling water, because I was afraid to demage the leather pillow. But I can try, of course.

Thank you mgee76 for posting the video, I think this is the procedure I will follow as soon as I order as well the deglazed and the finisher. But I have another question: I have got a set of Moller chairs with a leather seat too, which I think it would be worth to be recolored in black - altought the leather has lost its robustness and it's a bit flat. See pictures. Do you think I can use the same products?

Thank you,

Ernest.

You do not need much leather to do the tannage test. Just a tiny sliver from the seam allowance beside the zipper.

Based on the "cognac" color of the leather on the M

Dear all,

thank you for all the very good suggestions. I had finally time to work on the Moller chairs, using the Fiebings products (oil dye) for the leather and start brite teak oil and steel wool for the rest.

Despite the rather bad conditions of the leather, the results are not so bad. The teak was of very light color and had layers of dirt, which came out very nicely using the oil and steel wool. I think the chairs are in reasonable conditions now.

I still do not know whether I will re-do the Wikkelso leather, maybe not. For sure, I now need to redo the rubber bands under the seat at first, then we will see.

All the best,

Ernest.