Ink stained leather coverup

[KrustyKruser]

Hello all, first thank you all for the solid advice on the forum, I’m a lurker but have made some simple belts with the knowledge from this forum.

As for my situation. My wife dropped a pen in her purse which has soaked though the leather from the inside out. I would tell her to buy a new one but it’s her favorite and a Louis Vuitton. I tried an ink remover which didn’t work. I’m thinking of using some Fiebings pro dye in black and just dyeing the whole bag. The bag is a light tan color and the ink stains are a dark blue. I don’t know what kind of leather it is. Possibly chrome tanned of some sort. Would using the Fiebings deglazer be a good idea before applying the dye? I don’t want to dry out the leather too much.

I plan to coat the leather with obenoufs leather protectant after dyeing 

thoughts or ideas?

thanks all!

[Ed in Tx]

Have you tried using oxalic acid (leather bleach) to remove the ink? Also consider Goof Off, it is sold at Walmart, Home Depot etc.

[KrustyKruser]

Thanks for the info. I have goof off and it didn’t do anything yet. Gonna let some soak over night and see what happens. I ordered a bottle of Oxalic acid. Will give that a try. Thanks for the tips!

[tsunkasapa]

If it is ball point ink it will be alcohol soluble.

[KrustyKruser]

Soaking in rubbing alcohol? Vodka or whiskey? Hmm. I will do some research on this. Reccomendation for rehydrating the leather after using alcohol? I will give this a shot before the oxalic acid shows up. Thanks!

[KrustyKruser]

Bought some goof off and Oxalic acid. Tried the goof off first, no luck. Tried letting it set for a couple hours with no luck. Then tried rubbing alcohol. No luck either using it with a q-tip and a cotton ball. Just hardened the leather. Then tried the Oxalic Acid. Covered the stains with some powder crystals and dripped some hot water on it. Once for a 1/2 hour and again for an hour with no results, except it removed the wrinkle/grain finish off the leather and logo embossing from the leather.I’m kind of guessing on that I used the products corrrectly as there weren’t really any detailed descriptions and most info with the Oxalic acid was for wood working. 

Don’t know what kind of ink leaked as my wife threw out the pen before I could see. Seems like I will be dying the purse black to try and save it. 
 

I’ll update after I dye the purse for some closure at least. Thanks all for the suggestions. Was worth a shot.

[TonyV]

If you want to stain it black, first stain it blue.  The whole thing.  Then put black on top of the blue.  It will give you a deeper black tone.  Find an inconspicuous spot to test it on first.  Bonus pint, you get to utilize the spilled ink!

[KrustyKruser]

Huh. I will see if I can source the blue dye. I had to have my brother in Nevada buy me some Fiebings black pro dye. As it’s not available here in the free people’s state of CA. Ha! I won’t be seeing him for a while. Maybe he can mail a couple bottles. Didn’t know about using the blue dye but searching online shows this is a common combo. 

[Northmount]

8 hours ago, KrustyKruser said:

I’m kind of guessing on that I used the products incorrectly

Late to the show here, but 1/2 teaspoon to 1 pint of water for next time you use it.

 

[lisanclark]

It seems like you got many options here but still I recommend that you first try a mild soap and water solution to remove the ink stain before using a deglazer. Deglazers are designed to strip away any existing finish, so it's best to only use them after you've tried other methods of removing the stain first. If you're still having trouble removing the stain, then using Fiebings deglazer may be an option. I also recommend that you test it on an inconspicuous part of the leather first before applying it over the entire surface. Good luck

[KrustyKruser]

So I tried the mild soap to remove the stain and no change. I decided to take the plunge and use the Fiebings deglazer to clean the leather to prep for the dye. I used three bottles as this leather was painted, had some type of coating. I removed as much as I could.

 

I then applied about three coats of Fiebings Pro Dye black on the leather. It looks great, unfortunately the leather came out a dark navy blue (which my wife loves) and I am not thrilled about. I’m thinking this may be due to the leather being chrome tanned vs Veg. Tanned. The leather also is softer and lost its rigidity so it no longer stands up on its own as well as before dye treatment.
 

Thanks for all the suggestions and just wanted everyone to know my experiences with this. 

[Handstitched]

Looks pretty good to me  well done, you've saved a bag and gave it a new life  

HS

[PastorBob]

Nicely done. It does look good, and unless you look closely, you can't even tell where the logos fade in that area.

[KrustyKruser]

Thanks for the feedback. I’m happy with it for now. Maybe later I can try more black dye or the USMC black to get it darker if my wife decides to try it.

[Northmount]

3 hours ago, KrustyKruser said:

USMC black

Has lots of rub off.  May take a few hours of buffing.  Feibings Pro dye is better as it uses an oil based dye.

[SUP]

It looks really beautiful in dark blue. Are you sure you want to dye it black?

[dikman]

Colour looks great (better than the original imo). I think I'd leave well enough alone, if wifey is happy consider it a win! 

[KrustyKruser]

Glad many people think it turned out well. If it was my item I would definitely dye it black. Wife is very happy with the color so it is gonna stay this way. I don’t want to chance ruining her clothes using the USMC black trying to darken it. I’ll leave well enough alone. I’ll get to work on making a gun belt. 

[AlZilla]

5 hours ago, KrustyKruser said:

I don’t want to chance ruining her clothes using the USMC black

Oh yeah, wouldn't THAT be a disaster. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!

[toxo]

Bit late now but maybe a makers mark type lozenge to cover it. I think that blue/grey is a cool colour. Well done.