In this post, I will show you exactly how you can dye faux leather items without damaging them, and even better, while giving them a “genuine” look.
Faux leather is a very resistant material, it can last you for years, if you know how to maintain it, without ever showing signs of tearing or stress, but sometimes the color can start fading and weakening, this is why dyeing faux leather can be very important and may even save you a lot of money instead of buying new faux leather items, convenient and also very cheap.
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However in dyeing faux leather, you are going to be faced with two issues, the first one is that faux leather is not real leather, this means that it’s totally different in texture and in chemical composition, this also means that what will work for real leather will not necessarily work for faux leather!
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The second issue is that most faux leather does not absorb coloring chemicals very well!
This is a huge problem when dyeing faux leather because the color is not absorbed, this will mean one thing, the color is going to come off quickly!
This is true, when dyeing faux leather, you must be aware that the color is not going to be permanent and you are going to have , again, fading and weakening color issues later on.
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However, personally I find this to be totally normal because dyeing faux leather can simply mean giving it another chance to be used, instead of buying a new faux leather object again, even better, sometimes, some items may be rare and you may not be able to find them easily, so, there is no harm in trying to give them a second life, and let me tell you that dyeing a faux leather item is an excellent alternative to buying a new one which will only cost you money and use up space in your house.
The first step to dyeing faux leather is to clean the surface perfectly.
The process I’m going to describe to you here is very efficient and will help you dye faux leather quickly and easily, but for it to work, you need to clean the surface perfectly, you must understand that dirt and dusts are going to block the color from being adhered to the surface, which will make it come off very quickly.
A great way to clean faux leather surfaces is to use alcohol or a cleaning product.
Personally, I prefer using alcohol, it is not only very affordable, but it is also very efficient.
However don’t think that applying scotch or whiskey is going to solve the problem, the alcohol I’m talking about is pure alcohol, the one you can only buy from drug stores.
However, you need to be very careful because sometimes, when you are dealing with weak faux leather fabric, applying too much alcohol is going to damage it, so, as a rule of thumb, start with as little as possible, only use a few drops, test your fabric first and see whether it’s going to come out clean or not, if the fabric holds up and is intact, then, proceed with much more alcohol.
After cleaning your faux leather surface, the next step is to use upholstery paint.
This product is very versatile and can be used wonderfully to color and to dye faux leather objects, however it is a bit expensive, it can even cost more than fifty dollars sometimes, but for the majority of situations, you are only going to require a small spray, which usually costs around ten dollars.
This is all you need to know about dyeing faux leather, the next thing for you is to get the upholstery paint and start testing it on small areas, the hidden ones, for example the inside of a faux leather purse, this is the best way to guarantee that the upholstery paint is not going to wreck your faux leather objects.
Thanks for the tips, but I don’t think i’ll use them because my shoes are already in very bad shape and even if I color them, theyll look bad
Can the dye come off and stain other materials?
If it’s applied well, as indicated in the post, and given enough time to dry, then the answer is no.
Hello Jean THanks for the info!
Could you please give me some names of the products That you like to use when dying faux leather. I’m very confuse about what kind of paint is the best.
Chalk paint, acrilic paint, vynil or….
My sofa is a soft brown and I want to paint it white.
THanks Aguinaga for this informative blog
Fiebing’s is a great brand, but it may not work with some brands of faux leather, get your suitable color from amazon and try it on a hidden part of your sofa. Good luck
Hello. I plan on changing the color of my faux leather sandals is there a specific sort of dye you recommend that way my sandal wont look cheaply painted.
I sincerely don’t recommend it! Nevertheless, you can use a brand called Fiebing’s.
How soon will the faux leather needed re-painting? I’m considering painting a purse.
Thank you for this valuable info.
When it starts losing its brightness and good looks, that’s when you need to dye it, although I don’t recommend it.
Hi Jean-Marc
Thanks for your helpful tips, I too have 2 white faux rocking chairs and I had placed a pair or my black faux pants on top of the chair and has left black ink or penetratings on the chair, I tried cleaning it with water and soap and then with windex, even tried alcohol and the mr. clean sponges. It lighten it up a bit but it is still there. I will try your tips too. but if it doesn’t work because so much time has gone by do you think If i dye the whole chair it will cover up those inked areas leaving it looking the same color every where. Also are there companies that come out to do this for you if so who? I’m in Mahopac New York? Any chance you can come over Jean-Marc 😉 ?
Hello Lisa, yes, I think it will be great, hehhe, sorry, I live in Toulouse, France. Try to look for leather repair shops nearby, they will help you with this a lot.