Fix Excess Dye On Black Jacket

[mastermender]

I've got a black soft leather jacket, a mens' blazer, which has too much dye on it. How do I get it off or seal it?

The jacket was fading, I got it re-dyed while traveling in India. The worst problem is the inside collar, which leaves black marks on my shirt collars. But anywhere on the coat, if I rub firmly with a moist cloth, a little black will come off. The bleed is only slight, not much comes off, but enough to mark any clothes it comes in prolonged contact with.

I'm new to leather work; can someone kindly guide me in what I need to do? There seem to be several possibilities:

--- dry cleaning (expensive here in the UK, more than the cost of the jacket, which was secondhand)

--- wipe or soak in some other solvent

--- I'm learning that I in any case need to seal the surface, but I'm not sure what with or how, and whether I need to dry clean first.

If someone could enlighten me it would be appreciated!

Many thanks

Andy

Bristol, UK

[Sylvia]

Hi Andy:

you are learning why I hate black leather now.

Only solution is to get a soft cloth like an old t-shirt and buff until your arms fall off..... then buff some more until no more black comes off on the cloth.

[mastermender]

Well, I could get a buffing wheel on an electric drill, HOWEVER the inside collar, which is the main problem, is slightly roughened, maybe as a result of rought handing by the guy who dyed it, and I doubt if buffing will work. I'm holding out for magic chemicals!

Hi Andy:

you are learning why I hate black leather now.

Only solution is to get a soft cloth like an old t-shirt and buff until your arms fall off..... then buff some more until no more black comes off on the cloth.

[Northmount]

The roughness inside the collar is likely due to age and sweat and oil from your skin, breaking down the leather itself. Most leather coats and jackets show degradation in the collar after a few years of wear. One fellow told me to always wear a scarf of some sort to protect the leather in the collar.

CTG