How to recolor a leather chair to cover up stains

[Guest Laurie]

I have an old leather chair natural color with a lot of stains. Can I just stain over the old stains or will they just become darker and not cover?

 

 

[Rockoboy]

I am guessing that would depend on how the leather was sealed before the staining happened and most importantly, what the stain was caused by.

Ordinarily, I would expect you would have a better outcome if you could reduce the staining as much as possible, but as I already suggested, maybe nothing will work. Maybe take it to have it accessed by a professional, even if you want to sort it by yourself. At least you will have an indication of whether or not its possible..

[Wizcrafts]

This is always a crap shoot. You could try using saddle soap on a sponge to clean up the stains. If they remain, you could over-dye the seat with a related leather dye (e.g., Saddle Tan, Tan, light brown). This is penetrating dye and needs to be smoothed on with a tight sponge. But, the surface finish, oils and waxes need to be stripped first with acetone.

Sometimes the easiest path to follow with seat covers is to use "Leather Refinish" to cover dye the entire surface to a new color. This dye is formulated for upholstery and comes in 4 ounce jars. It can be spread in wide circular patterns with a tight sponge. They also have a dye preparer and a final conditioner in 2 ounce bottles. You can find this product on eBay.

[Northmount]

Stains that have penetrated the finish might be able to be removed or lightened using oxalic acid.  Always try on a less visible area to see how it behaves.  Stains on the surface should come off easily too, other than there may be colour variations due to sunlight exposure.  Good luck.

Tom