Dyeing the seats?
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Joined: Aug 2016
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2002 CLK55 AMG
Dyeing the seats?
Black interior. Leather faded on side of seat but not cracked yet. Who has actually done this and been happy? What did you use? Liquid shoe polish? Paste shoe polish? Easy but will it stain clothes? Leather dye from a leather hobby shop? I want it to soak in and look good (OEM if possible) and not painted on. Also want to finish up with quality leather treatment. I was thinking of mink oil.
What worked for you and what was a bad idea?
2002 CLK55 AMG.
What worked for you and what was a bad idea?
2002 CLK55 AMG.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,784
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From: SCV SoCal
2002 CLK430
Black interior. Leather faded on side of seat but not cracked yet. Who has actually done this and been happy? What did you use? Liquid shoe polish? Paste shoe polish? Easy but will it stain clothes? Leather dye from a leather hobby shop? I want it to soak in and look good (OEM if possible) and not painted on. Also want to finish up with quality leather treatment. I was thinking of mink oil.
What worked for you and what was a bad idea?
2002 CLK55 AMG.
What worked for you and what was a bad idea?
2002 CLK55 AMG.
I stopped at shoe polish. Really I kept going, but for the purposes of the Samuel L Jackson death stare, I stopped at shoe polish. Mercedes-Benz arguably makes the finest automobiles on the planet. To the best of my knowledge, Mercedes-Benz interiors were not colored with shoe polish.
I’m recommending something I personally have used. The results are so good that I’ve had people ask me if I do this for a living (absolutely not). You want Surflex colorant. I wrote about it here, and that link will disappear the article is stuffed into a future issue of the Southwest Star magazine.
No the color won’t come off. Yes, you can make a two tone interior. Yes, you can do a color change. Yes, you can get custom colors.
Here's a famous Surflex before/after photo.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 128
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2002 CLK55 AMG
LMAO great reply!!!
Okay Samuel, I won't use shoe polish but you would be surprised - it works great on wood and also I restored some old 1920's cameras that had leather.
our seats look great. I also am reading up on Leatherique. Sounds time consuming but I don't mind. I just don't want to mess it up.I think the most important thing is to oil/treat the leather so it does not dry out and end up cracking.
Okay Samuel, I won't use shoe polish but you would be surprised - it works great on wood and also I restored some old 1920's cameras that had leather.
our seats look great. I also am reading up on Leatherique. Sounds time consuming but I don't mind. I just don't want to mess it up.I think the most important thing is to oil/treat the leather so it does not dry out and end up cracking.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 128
Likes: 3
2002 CLK55 AMG
I read up about washing and dying seats on your other web page. I am so surprised at using detergent and water to prewash the leather, and also the laquer thinner. I thought both of these were bad for leather. I trust that it works for you but I guess my thinking was wrong on these...
