Junior Member
Well this was far more involved than I thought, acetone is great for this but way tedious, evaporates in seconds..The blue began to wipe off & the black was not the black I applied & wiping lighter & lighter. I think that means the clear is gone. Anyways, I can't strip more from this seat(I have 3 more to go..OMG!!). I guess that means on to the next step...Degrease? But how could any grease remain..? No spots at all so...Ready for the next procedure?
Junior Member
In review, the seats probably are not as stripped as suggested. The problem is I do not know what the "leather crust" is or the color/condition the leather should be when the crust is revealed. I've read that just the original clear needs removal for recoloring can begin. If all of existing color needs removal, that could be to much to finish.
Junior Member
After hrs & hrs & hundreds of paper towels & a lot of acetone, I got them to this point....Which is to the recoloring stage..It was a busy night! I did the steps proceeding coloring, stripping as much as I could do(PIA, PIA, PIA, PIA!!!). Then some degreasing(still don't know if the chemical reactions happened or not) + a cpl acid baths. Then the Hydrate stage, which was about 3 hrs dwell but only the bolster was covered(tricky to set up & difficult to know if done properly) the rest of the seat got a 10 min dwell hydrate which led to...Finally adding some fat. I did 2 fat apps to help it saturate better(please clarify how long the dwell time is before the rehydrate rinse??) which made it softer & feel much better but I then read: "with a moisture meter to read the moisture content". I couldn't do this, I don't have one so I hope it's not to important to the process. And then a wipe down w/ a 3rd rehydrate step & that would lead to recoloring(how much distilled water can be mixed w/ Micro color & Micro top coat? 10%? I will need to stretch these out to make this happen..no room for errors...1 kit=1 seat
Anyways, I attached pics of the waiting seat & would like to hear back if she looks ready (eerr ready enough) to go...?
More ?'s...Thickener, how much is 10% by weight? How many adhesor coats are recommended? Color coats? Top coats? Would a rub in of the first color coat w/ sponge brush help adhesion?
Thanks & hope to hear from ya today? G
Senior Member
From pictures, it still looks that you are still in step #1 - stripping with sanding combination to reduce the blue finishes.
Junior Member
I was trying to pull a fast one(harry carry smiley face insert here)..Hows the latest iteration? Yes, progress but what I need to know what to look for in terms of surface texture, coloring, a sign as to stripped enough or to the leather crust..Please, maybe a picture of some you've done? A before and after would really help me gauge this. Looking ahead, as I often do, when I reach the desired level of removal, just follow your instructions to finish? I would imagine but I never imagined the stripping involved so...Also the questions I've asked would you reply to these tonight? Just the last cpl post because I can see another late one & don't want to get hung up on another issue. I really need these (a total of 4 seats) done here soon so a little help with that suggestions & I'm set. I'll keep you posted. Thnx
PS I almost forgot & this may seem obvious but does the black need same degree of stripping as the blue?
Last edited by shelbynook; 03-24-2014 at 04:42 PM.
Senior Member
Good to see your progress!
Keep it up!
From the first picture, the dept or the lighter is good enough.
Only work on the blue to even out the appearance.
Understand to remove is tougher but is still the most important step.
Show picture before you move on to the next step.
Roger Koh
Leather Care Consultant.
www.LeatherDoctor.com
Junior Member
Hey there! So I just added the fat & finished w/ a Hydrate rinse. Of course the proceeding steps after stripping were done also, except degrease, I had done that twice before. Recoloring (adhesor, coloring, top coat are next. To reiterate, is it recommended that any of those be deluded w/ distilled water? Maybe 10%? I need as much product as possible for any probs that may arise...For the top coat gloss level, whats the best way to test whatever ratio is mixed? I like the gloss in the first pics, the ones showing the drips on the bolsters..What ratio...? I have 2 gloss & 1 dull 60ml each. Apply adhesor w/ foam brush0? I'm ready, I think, let me know if the seats are. Thnx
