How to Repair Stained Leather in 3 Easy Steps
Many things can stain car and truck leather seats. Dirt, oil, ink, and fruit juice are common culprits. While some stains can be removed with a good leather cleaner, others may be permanent. Leaving you wondering how to repair stained leather. Painting the seats with ColorBond LVP Refinisher may just be the answer.
First Try Cleaning the Leather
Before taking steps to refinish the leather, it’s best to ensure the stain won’t come out by cleaning. Store bought leather cleaners contain ingredients that remove a variety of leather stains; however, leather can also be cleaned using materials that can be found around the house.
Ink stains may be removed with rubbing alcohol. Dip a cotton swab in the alcohol and then gently rub the stained area in a circular motion. After, wipe it clean with a white cotton cloth wetted with alcohol. If the stain remains wet the area with acetone and let it sit for several hours. Then wipe down with a white cotton cloth dampened with water.
Oil and grease stains can be removed with vinegar. Soak a white cotton cloth in the vinegar and gently rub the stain. Best results are often achieved by rubbing in the direction of the grain of the leather.
General dark stains can often be removed with lemon juice and cream of tartar. Combine the ingredients in a 50-50 mix and apply it to the stain. After letting it sit for 15 minutes, wipe it off with a white cotton cloth dampened with water and a mild soap, like baby shampoo. If the stain remains, repeat the procedure.
No matter which method is used, for best results the stain should be removed as soon as possible. If the stain refuses to go away it’s time to move onto how to repair stained leather with leather paint.
How to Repair Stained Leather, ColorBond Style
Jacob Ramirez, owner of JM Reconditioning, is a professional user of ColorBond and was featured in an earlier post which can be found here. Recently, Jacob brought to our attention a job he performed to correct stains caused by wet blue jeans. Here he shows how to repair stained leather in 3 easy steps with ColorBond LVP Refinisher.
The dye from a wet pair of blue jeans has leached into the leather. Permanently staining it.
3 Easy Steps to Repair Stained Leather with ColorBond
- Clean the leather – For the best result, proper preparation is key when painting a surface, including leather. Dirt, grease, oils, skin lotions and other contaminants need to be removed for best paint adhesion. This can be done with materials like rubbing alcohol or Windex, which won’t leave residue. We recommend ColorBond Prep Cleaner, which is a liquid non-solvent, aqueous-based cleaner. It removes dirt, grime, and oil and is used on everything from leather to soft plastics.
How to use: Apply ColorBond Prep Cleaner with a clean, tack free cloth. Wipe of the excess cleaner. Allow five minutes dry time.
- Masking – Mask off areas which are not to be painted using masking tape.
- Painting – ColorBond LVP Refinisher is a revolutionary molecular bonding paint that penetrates deep into plastic, vinyl, and leather. It easily restores or changes the color of leather, carpet, plastics with fantastic results. LVP Refinisher is great for the DIY or professional. The finish looks natural and allows the leather grain texture to show through.
How to use: Apply a light mist coat 12” holding the can 12” from the surface. Add additional coats as necessary, allowing 2 minutes dry time between coats. The paint bonds in 10 minutes.
After use of ColorBond, the seat looks good as new.
ColorBond LVP Refinisher can be the best way how to repair stained leather with results that look like the original leather finish.
