Deglazing Leather

[kwelna]

Do all of you deglaze your leather before you dye? I was just onthe fiebings site and they talk about deglazing the leather before dying. Sounds like a bit of a sales gimmic to me. Yep, i am still trying to put all the pieces togeather to get a "great" dye job on my leather.

[TwinOaks]

You don't have to "deglaze", but it certainly helps to clean the leather before dyeing. You have probably left some hand oils on it from handling, and you don't know how many people put their hands on it before you got it. I use 90% isopropyl alcohol from Wally world and just give it a nice wipe down to pull off any dirt/oil which will block the dye. This also has the tendency to open the pores a bit, resulting in better penetration of the dye. Too much alcohol and you dry the leather out, so as said, just a little on a cloth and wipe. Try to avoid leaving burnishing streaks from rubbing too hard.