Dying a white steerhide schott.

[Bunyip]

Gday guys,
I read some time ago on this forum about a fellah that dyed his legendary hh from brown to an almost cordovan colour.....i have an option on a white jacket, at a great price....i dont do muh Elvis kareoki, and would love for this jacket to be brown.....is it worth a punt?

 

[majormajor]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmwLWGDWuDw

 

[Sloan1874]

Hmmm, could end up with a disaster akin to the guy who tried to break his jacket in by soaking it and then sticking it in the oven. Unfortunately, he forgot the important rule: don't let it touch the elements...

 

[Interbak]

I have dyed a leather jacket using Fiebing's leather dye. That was from a faded out OX blood to a dark brown and it came out looking great, going from white to brown you'll have to be careful to blend it smoothly so it doesn't come out streaky.
Roll of the dice on the outcome.

 

[Bunyip]

They make it look easy major. White to tan or brown is all Im after.......
I would never whack a jacket in the oven.......no way jose!

 

[Bunyip]

I have dyed a leather jacket using Fiebing's leather dye. That was from a faded out OX blood to a dark brown and it came out looking great, going from white to brown you'll have to be careful to blend it smoothly so it doesn't come out streaky.
Roll of the dice on the outcome.

Yeah.....it could come out looking unique and vintaged? Or it could like poo with a zipper....

 

[GoodTimesGone]

I bought a "black" Schott I-S-674-M-S flight jacket off ebay a couple of years ago. When I received it I noticed by looking under the pocket flaps that it had originally been a caramel brown color. Then I noticed they had dyed the knits as well, turning them a darker color. Whoever applied the dye did a good job. The jacket looks good so I didn't complain to the seller. It is possible to dye a jacket for an improvement.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tom

 

[Bunyip]

Cheers Tom.....very curious about it. I wouldnt touch a new jacket with dye, but its a few years old, a silly price and a great fit......got me thinking.....

 

[ButteMT61]

 

[Bunyip]

The jacket formerly known as?

 

[Dr H]

Austin Powers...International Man of Mystery?

Going to have to be a carefully chosen wardrobe to complement a lavender jacket...

Might want to think that one through...

 

[Bunyip]

Anyone here consider wearing a white perfecto? I actually dig it, ive got 2 Harleys, ones black, the other one is black. ones gloss, ones satin. I feel a bit evil kenievel in the white, or Elvis....getting it for a good price anyway.....very tough to find a nice brown perfecto....so that was the aim...

 

[Tony B]

Dyeing the leather would be a peice of cake ....feibings medium brown would be a nice rich reddish brownto use.

The problem is ,assuming they use bonded nylon thread, you would end up with a brown leather jacket with white stitching and zip tapes.

Regards Tony

 

[Bunyip]

Thanks mate, still, I reckon that could be worn, and I wouldnt have to be that good a street fighter to get home in one peice....
S, the thread wont change colour, can I do the zip tape?

 

[Edward]

I've seen this sort of thing go wrong once too often. I would leave it and wait for the right jacket you like to come along.

 

[Plumbline]

SO easy to go wrong ... HOWEVER ... I have seen two jackets dyed black ( one mustard originally and one blue originally ) to GREAT effect ..... there are two fiundamental considerations.

1. If the jacket is an aniline finish ( good for dyeing as the topcoat is water soluable) - semi aniline ( less good as the top finish is usualy not very water permeable) - topcoated ( usually VERY difficult to dye but can be re-surfaced ... think painted !!!)

2. The quality of the leather ....... given that only the very best leathers can take a white dye and colourant you should be fine here.

- The first and simplest method it to "paint" on a reputable shoe dye ... this should cover well but is a TOPCOAT ONLY and depending on the compatibillity with the current basecoat (urethane, polyester, silicone base) will depend on the level of penetration and "take" ..... do it carefully and the cover is generally good.

- The second method is more scary but much more permenant and involves "soaking and heating" .... i.e. heasting the jacket in a pot / vat with dye so that it soaks into the leather .... NOTE THIS WILL ONLY WORK EFFECTIVELY IN MY EXPERIENCE WITH LEATHERS FINISHED WITH WATER SOLUABLE TOP FINISHES ( and this excludes most motorcycle jackets I'm afraid)

- The third method is to have it recoloured professionally and there are various organisations / dry cleaners etc. who will take this on .... worth asking, if nothing else they will give you a professional opinion re. feasibillity.


HTH

 

[Bunyip]

Good idea Plumbline.....hire someone else and sue them if they butcher it......if I go ahead with it, I will make it a picture heavy FL project and we can do it as a team. No jacket stands a chance against the wealth of passion and experiance in this forum!

 

[ButteMT61]

I saw one that a guy used shoe polish on. Sounds awful, right? It was beautiful, and had that "shine" to it that looks vintage. Dunno, I'd be tempted to try this on a beater, but not a good new jacket...

 

[Bunyip]

Yeah, it will be tough.....