Suede - Stop The Bleeding

[Matt Alsaker]

I've never used suede before, but chose to use it inside of a recent badge wallet. All of the veg-tanned leather used inside the wallet was sealed, but I didn't do anything to seal the suede. Within two days I was getting "bleeding" from the suede onto the veg-tanned surfaces. Is there something I can use on the suede to prevent this? Will the spray sealer used on suede shoes work?

[goldenstonebazaar]

No personal experience, but I have seen at Springfield Leather spray for protecting suede from moisture, maybe it could work for keeping the dye in too.

[BigJake]

Matt, I don't have an answer for your problem. I posted a similar question here: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=40124&hl= and so far none of the suggestions have worked. None of the suedes I have tried seem to have the dye "fixed" and are prone to bleed. It could be the suede in question is cheap but I tend to believe it's just the nature of suede. Some colors may be more prone than others since the ones I've used for my testing are in the brown to rust colors.

In addition to the suggestions from my previous post, I've tried hair spray and one coat of Resolene with no succes. Resolene may work if applied in three or four coats which would make the suede totally stiff.

If anyone has a solution, I'd sure like to hear it.

[TwinOaks]

Suede is typically analine tanned, and is struck (drum dyed) during the process. There are some specific dyes for suede, but on most of my dyes, I've seen the little warning " not for use on suede leathers".

[BigJake]

I remember back in the late 50's when blue suede shoes were popular, I managed to talk my parents into buy me a pair of Blue suede loafers. Of course I wore white socks which was the rage back then and I still remember my Mom complaining about the dye bleed on my socks and she had a difficult time trying to cleam my socks. Needless to say I only oned one pair of suede shoes.

I had hoped that the dying process had improved somewhat since then, but I guess not. Suede will just transfer, nothing one can do about it so I just learn to live with it or go to pigskin, or deerskin in natural colors.

[Matt Alsaker]

Thanks for all the input. I've settled on dyeing the veg-tanned leather on the inside of the wallet black, so you don't notice any dye transfer. I tried using the spray you can get to seal suede shoes. It did not work.

[BigJake]

Matt,

I understand your frustration but since I have posted this very question on this forum before with very limited response, I have to assume no one has the answer and it's just the characteristic of suede and we will just have to learn to live with it. I've been think about trying pigskin or deerskin with the flesh side out in natural colors. I have not seen suede in natural color but it may be available and if I could fine it I'd try dying it myself using Feibings Oil Dye. I guess this will be an on-going experiment searching for the solution. If you find a solution please post on the forum for the benefit of everyone else with the same problem.

[RLdave]

OK, with all the views on this topic there seems to be an inherent problem with factory dyed suede. Is there no way to stop the color from transfering to items, clothing & such?

For as long as suede has been around I would think that the coloring process would have been mastered by now.

I hope somebody has found a working solution for this problem because I sure would love to hear it.

Thank you!

[traice]

I am no a leather worker , but I've recently bought a vintage pair of kidskin suede opera gloves. Very delicate and lovely , but they are black and bleed badly.I found a suggested fix in a German article from the 30's on glove care , but I am reluctant to try it on an item this nice without testing it first. If someone in this forum has some scrap suede to test on i would be so very greatfull . The article said to soak them briefly in a gasoline bath then  put them on a towel and fold over the top and press them until the gasoline is removed and then let dry and treat as desired. I would appreciate any help in testing this idea and any information from  anyone who has experience with using gasoline on leather. 

[NVLeatherWorx]

The gasoline will never be truly out of the leather, it is like any other petroleum based product, once it is there it ain't goin' anywhere else.  Another side effect from using gasoline is that the other chemicals contained in the formula will dry the leather out to a point where the amount of conditioning you would need to replenish the leather would make it unusable for anything.  Sorry.  Suede has always, and will always, have the inherent issue of not holding all of the color that has been infused into it during the dyeing process.  Over time it will release that amount which has never really taken hold and it will eventually quit leaving residual dye behind.  Going forward, I would recommend that you use a thin pigskin lining as your liner of choice and make sure that the grain side is faced out (just like your base leather is).  There are several options for pigskin which include dyed as well as veg-tan (I use the veg-tan and dye it whatever color I want) that can help you with this.  By merely dyeing the flesh of the leather you might find that it too will bleed some if the flesh side has a little more fuzzy suede looking appearance than normal, the fuzzy fiber structure is the cause of this issue as there is only so much space for the dye to soak into and once it is full it has nowhere else to go.

[traice]

Thank you for your help . Is there anyway you know of to get rid of the extra dye on the outside of the gloves . As they are, black residue is left on everything I touch while wearing them. I got them for a special event and can not afford to replace them.I'm no fashion snob , but the suede gloves and shoes make the dress, and it is such an important night for me I've spent months putting together this outfit on a small budget. I just can't go around leaving black marks on every hand i shake.

[NVLeatherWorx]

You could try a piece of old denim; wet it up a bit (not too much) and then wipe them down a bit if you can.  Try this while wearing them and see how much, if any, residue that you can pull off from the leather.  You can also try giving them a good brush down with a stiff bristle brush (like a scrub brush or firm fingernail brush) and get all of that excess fiber that is hanging around among the rest of them; that sometimes helps a lot to cut down on the leftovers.  Like I indicated earlier, suede is an animal all unto itself and there are a different set of rules for it.  One of the biggest reasons that suede isn't used much is because the looseness of the fibers allows for all of the dirt and oils that come from the environment and hands/skin to get trapped in the fibers which then turns into slick spots (ever noticed the "wear" spots on old suede shoes or jackets? It isn't wear, it is dirt and oils that can't come out) and can also lead to potentially making everything else it touches dirty and grimy as well.  

Give the two methods above a try and see if it helps.  Good luck and hope you have a great special event.

[Desiree1]

I've just dyed my first pair of suede shoes and was looking up how to seal them. My joy is sinking fast as I realise how difficult it will be to not have colour transfer. They are a bright Teal. I've also dyed my suede handbag the same colour. Question: I have a can of Joseph Lyddy Camping and outdoor waterproofer. Could I use this to seal the suede shoes and bag? The can says it's for lightweight canvas fabric, synthetics, and leather but does not mention suede. But stranger things have happened so..... Has anyone used this to seal suede effectively? 

[Stag352]

Well, just stumbled upon this thread, and I must say, this is disconcerting.  I just dyed a pair of suede military boots using Angelus Suede Dye (as opposed to their regular dye for smooth leathers).  Had to mix and match, but the color came out great.  At least, for now... the realization that "suede dye" is not guaranteed to NOT run has me wondering.  Now, I have had experience ironing suede or nubuck leather boots (these were Civil War reenactor's boots, reproductions of the 1859 pattern) with a regular clothes iron, the effect of which was to smooth out the suede til it's close to just regular, smooth leather.  The heat of the iron also locked the dye into the leather, so that even when worn in stormy weather, very little dye soaked the wearer's socks.  I realize this idea is not feasible for finer suede/nubuck items, especially if they are any color other than black... my recent boot project was to get them to a color today's army calls "foliage green", so it doesn't even work for me in this instance.  Still, the idea that applying a hot iron to black suede smooths it out and locks in the black dye might be helpful to someone out there.  

There is another idea I'm considering: it's more important to me that the boots don't run, at least not perceptibly, than it is to retain the fuzzy suede look.  So with that in mind, I may just go over the green suede with a clear shoe polish, and really work it into the leather, buffing it off after.  True, I'll lose the cool fuzziness, but at least the leather will no longer bleed all over the place, and I'll retain the color I wanted... even better than before, actually, since suede scuffs and discolors faster than smooth leathers in my experience.

Gil