Plenty of leather products have been dyed at some point in their finishing process, and many people often choose to dye their own leather products at home.
But once dyed, there is often an issue with leather dye rubbing off. With leather clothing like shoes, belts and even a leather coat, dye transfer on the flesh side can be really noticeable and can look like staining. With dark dyes like black dye, this can be really alarming!
Luckily, with thanks to The Leather Colour Doctor there is plenty that can be done to dyed leather in order to prevent the dye transfer. It all starts by trying to seal the dye.
Why does leather dye rub off?
There are a few things that might cause leather dye transfer, and how to fix the issue will depend on what is causing the transfer.
Insufficient adherence to the fabric
Many leather surfaces have a finish on them, and if you dye a leather product without correctly moving the finish first, you are likely to find that the dye will rub off. This will cause dye bleeding onto skin, other fabric and even other dyed leather which is not ideal if you’re going to be sitting on your leather sofa anytime soon.
Wet leather
Like many things, if you get dye wet too soon after using it, the dye will bleed or transfer. This will happen with leather, but typically will stop within a few weeks of the dye drying on the material.
Excess dye
When leather gets dyed, there should be a couple coats of the dye applied to the material. However, sometimes people go overboard and apply a few coats too many. This leads to residue excess dye sitting on top of the surface.
How to keep your leather dye from rubbing off
There are plenty of ways to keep your leather dye from rubbing off, and most of the methods to keep your leather dye looking prim and proper are relatively easy and only require products most people have within the home. Some of the best methods to keep your dye rubbing off are:
1. Seal your dyed leather
You can seal your dyed leather easily. Doing so will essentially dry and glue the dye down onto the leather, preventing it from rubbing off when you touch it or when it rubs against another material. There are two main ways to seal leather.
Seal leather with vaseline and a clean cloth
Vaseline, a moisturising cosmetic product that most people have at home, works well as a leather sealer. To use it on your leather surface, simply apply a reasonably generous amount of vaseline to a clean cloth (make sure it is a soft cloth too) and then rub it into the leather in a circular motion to provide a coating.
Once you’ve applied it, leave it to dry for 24 hours, and then wipe away any excess. You can then give your leather a buff to make the material a little bit shinier and to deepen the colour of your dye.
Leather sealer
The other option is to use a bottle of acrylic resolene (a leather sealer). A couple coats of this product will do the job to keep your leather looking as perfect as it should be. Simply follow the instructions on the label of the sealer and paint the sealer onto your dyed leather with a small brush, painting on thin layers and leaving it to dry between each coat. Using a leather sealer will make it much harder for the dye to rub off.
2. Stop the dye from bleeding
If your dye is leaking onto your skin or onto connecting fabrics, you need to apply some sort of coating in order to stop the dye from bleeding. The best and easiest way to do this is to spray a small amount of hairspray on the inside and outside of the leather (or wherever the dye is transferring). Use a cloth to spread the spray around the surface and then leave to dry for 24 hours.
3. Remove excess dye
If your leather has been doused with too much dye, then it is very likely to leak dye onto skin and surrounding materials. Dye is staining, and so this usually needs to be dealt with by removing the additional dye so that it doesn’t rub off any longer. You can remove the additional dye by rubbing away the dye with a damp cloth (a cotton cloth works well). Continue to wipe away the dye until the cloth comes back clean.
4. Suede protection
Suede, a specific type of leather, is more prone to dye transfer. And yet, it is one of the most commonly dyed materials, and people aren’t going to stop dyeing it anytime soon! If you’ve dyed or you’re thinking of dyeing a piece of suede, you should be sure to apply a suede protector on after the dye has dried.
Once the protector is done, you can scrub away any excess and your leather should be ready to go.
The top three suede protectors available at the moment are:
- Hendlex Nano Suede Protector Spray
- 2 Woly 3×3 Suede/Leather Handbag Shoes Protector
- Dasco Leather Protector
Any one of these products will keep your dyed suede looking lush and colourful without letting it dye you or the rest of your belongings.
5. Give it time
If you’ve recently dyed your leather and it seems to bleed quite often, you might want to just give it a week or two before you decide to take further action. Typically, you should have used a sealer anyway, but often a sealer will not prevent bleeding and transfer when the dye gets wet for the first few weeks. So give it time, and if the transfer does not stop, then you should begin to tackle the issue.
