You have noticed the color of your leather furniture, jacket, bag or even shoes has started to fade. What do you do? Well, you can put that item aside or just change its appearance by dying it. How do I do that, you may ask? Fortunately, it’s possible and all you need is the best leather dye to get things started.
There are a number of leather dyes for sale and we know it might be tricky to choose the right out. But hey! That should not worry you. All you need to know is the different types of leather dyes there are in the market.
But wait a minute, before you try to figure out the types of dyes we are talking about, we will make it easier for you by reviewing the top 10 leather dyes. This list is meant to help you know which leather dye is ideal for your material and the pros and cons of using it.
The Best Leather Dyes Reviews
01. Rit All-Purpose Black Liquid Dye
If you are looking for a versatile dye, Rit All-Purpose Black Liquid Dye is the one for you. More than 100 years in the market, this brand is known to work on different fabrics such as wool, nylon, cotton, among others. Also, the liquid dye is great since it brings new life to your black faded clothes, shoes, or accessories.
Aside from that, you can use the dye on old furniture or stain unfinished wood and wicker chairs as well as your flower baskets. Color curtains are also not left behind and all you have to do is dye them using a washing machine, plastic bucket, or a stainless steel sink.
- It is easy to use
- Used in different fabrics
- Comes with 500+color recipes on its website
- Suitable for leather and fabric
- Versatile
- Budget-friendly dye
- It is non- toxic
- Great for dying fiber blends such as nylon with cotton or rayon.
- It’s a popular brand
- Not suitable for 100% polyester, acrylic or acetate
- Most fabrics once diluted with the dye produces only different shades of gray colors.
- It cannot be shipped to California
- You must wear gloves at all times while dying your leather item.
- Needs multiple bottles to each dark colors
02. Fiebing’s Leather Dye, 4 oz
One of the most acknowledged alcohol-based leather dye all over the world; Fiebing’s Leather Dye comes in many colors. From navy blue, light blue, purple, green, yellow among other colors the dye is used on vegetable-tanned or unfinished leather. With every 4 ounce bottle including one wool dauber, the dye is 113 grams in weight.
The dye is meant to be used for dyeing vegan leather shoes, belts, boots, handbags, saddles, athletic equipment, and many more. In addition, you can use it on smooth leather surfaces such as furniture. Don’t forget, the dye is flexible and water-resistant.
- Available in 26 different colors
- The leather item will not crack, peel, or rub off once it’s fully dry.
- It is easy to apply as well as dries quickly
- Dries uniformly
- It can be easily mixed for unique middle tones
- Affordable price
- Easy to clean off from your skin
- The dye also works well even when applied with a dry sponge.
- Can cause eyes and skin irritation
- It is a highly flammable liquid and vapor
- Some bottles are not screwed tightly and tend to leak.
- Not all the dye bottles come with a wool dauber
- Known to run a bit dark
03. Rit Charcoal Grey Liquid Dye
Like other Rit Liquid Dyes, Rit Charcoal Grey Liquid Dye works well with a variety of fabrics. The dye is ideal for restoring old faded clothes, shoes, handbags, or just changing the color of your home décor. Other than that, the dye can be used as a stain on unfinished wood and wicker, or use on an antique or stencil.
Known to be non-toxic as well as safe for disposal and septic system, the dye coordinates well with other neutral colors. These colors are white, brown, aqua, or shades of blue. One of the best on-trend colors, the dye is easily used for home dyeing since it works best for cotton, linens, rayon, ramie, and blends.
Even dried floral, nylon, plastic, and silk, as well as your favorite golf balls, would look new once you use Rit Charcoal Grey on them. However, to enable you to get the best results when dying it’s recommended to use a Rit Color Remover, which will definitely lighten up your leather.
- Easy to use
- Great quality
- Good value
- Has no complicated dyeing process
- It is non –toxic
- Not to be used in polyester, acrylic, acetate, or fibers such as fiberglass and metallic fibers.
- It’s only washable in cold water
- Must wear gloves when dying the clothes
04. Angelus Brand Leather Dye w/Applicator 3 ounces
Just as the name suggests, this incredible dye is one of the Angelus famous leather dyes. A great liquid dye is suitable for use in smooth leather shoes, belts, purses, saddles, and much more. Made in the USA, the dye penetrates the leather and forms a lasting color that makes sure the item does not crack or peel off when it dries or after being washed.
Other than that, apart from being a highly pigmented dye, it spreads through the leather without putting any scratch on it. Only 109 grams in weight, the leather dye is also suitable at staining or decorating vinyl or other dye absorbent fabrics. Note that, you can prepare leather with a Deglazer for better results but don’t use it on vinyl fabric.
- Very easy to apply with a dauber
- Great packaging
- The color does not peel, crack off or rub off after being washed.
- Perfect for decorating and staining smooth leather, vinyl, or other permeable items.
- Great for re-coloring bonded leather such as shoes, belts, purses, and much more.
- The 3-ounce bottle comes with a cotton applicator.
- It might not be enough to re-color a pair of taller boots.
- A little pricey for such a small bottle
05. GRIFFIN Leather Dye (2.5 oz)
The best leather dyes for furniture, GRIFFIN Leather Dye has been there for 125 years in the market. Great at repairing scratches, scuffs, or any other damage to your furniture in no time, it is also a multi-purposed dye. This means it can also be used to restore your old stuff such as boots, jackets, wallets, and even your auto interiors among other stuff.
Made from a high-quality premium formula, GRIFFIN Leather dye has a rich formula that goes through the leather and permanently changes its color. This enables your item to look new again without any cracks or peel offs. Furthermore, once it’s completely dry, it won’t mistakenly rub off to other items or come out when washed in water. Keep in mind; it can also be used on any smooth suede material.
- It is a multipurpose dye
- Has a permanent color change
- Known to be of exceptional quality
- Great for repairing scratches and scuffs
- Easy to apply and dries quickly
- It is too thin and watery for some people’s liking
- Several coats have to be applied to get the desired results.
- The bottle does not have enough thorough instructions
- Unfortunately, it’s only ideal on smooth leather
06. Tandy Leather, Eco-Flo Leather Dye 8 Pack
Another water-based dye Eco- Flo is great for use on natural vegetable-tanned tooling leather. Manufactured by Tandy Leather, the dye is great for solid color dying as well as background dyeing. Also used for dying unfinished leather, it is also ideal for wood and furniture.
What’s great about the dye pack is that it includes 8 of the most Tandy Leather dye colors used by consumers. These colors usually contain bison brown, timber brown, coal-black, yellow, deep violet, evening blue, deep violet, and scarlet red. Furthermore, the colors are also perfect for using in floral, pictorial, and figure coloring.
In addition, the pack is also known to have the best leather kit such as a kaps preparer, a sponge, brush, and a primer to prepare leather for dying.
- It’s a great quality
- Comes with a complete kit with primer
- Versatile dye
- Great scratch cover and recolor leather accessories.
- Dyes and restores color permanently
- Its quite affordable
- Consist of beautiful colors
- Not okay to use on suede
- Need to use gloves to avoid the dye sticking on your hands
- It requires you to apply several times until you achieve the desired results.
- You need to wash your hands immediately after use.
07. TRG Easy Dye
Looking for the leather dye? Then look no further than TRG Easy Dye. An easy quality leather dye, it is designed to be used on leather, fabric, or synthetic surfaces. This means it’s not only suitable for belts, or handbags, it’s also the Perfect leather dye for shoes, sofas, and other leather accessories.
Made in Spain by the family business Tarrago, the dye comes in a 25 ml bottle of tincture, 0.85 fluid ounces. Great for fixing an existing color or just replacing it with a new one, there is a variety of colors to choose from. Furthermore, it’s the perfect leather dye for sofas as it deals with the scratched or worn out edges. Also, it’s perfect for car interiors including seats, hand brakes, door cards, and headrests.
- It is available in many colors
- The bottle comes with a sponge
- Leaves a great finishing touch, meaning no topcoat is required.
- Does not rub off on any other material
- It dries quickly
- The dye does not crack or peel off when it dries
- Not suitable for suede or nubuck skin
- The bottle is small compared to other leather dyes.
- The sponge is tiny making it impossible not to dye your hands.
08. Fiebing’s Leather Dye,32 ounces
Fiebing’s Leather Dye is also a top-quality dye like the Fiebing’s Leather Dye, 4 oz. Considered the best alcohol-based dye; it comes with a range of colors such as black, brown which is either, dark, medium or light brown, maroon among others. Mostly used on veg-tanned or PU unfinished leather, the dye does not crack or peel off once applied to the item.
Ideal because you only apply once, you can also mix the colors together to create intermediate colors. For instance, you can mix yellow and blue to get a shaded green belt or purse. Another one is a red dye with blue for deep purple or lavender.
Additionally, the leather dye is best for restoring high-quality stuff and also worn out pieces. The dye is easy to apply using a sponge with the end result will leaving you with a soft-crack-free surface that will enable your piece to last for longer.
- Dries uniformly
- Excellent penetration and color depth
- Have multiple colors such as black, brown, maroon, etc.
- Flexible
- Alcohol-based
- Does not peel or crack when it dries up
- Suitable for spot repairs
- Provides a good finish
- Needs to wear gloves when using the dye
- It is messy when applying
- Cannot be shipped to California or outside the continental United States
- Not permitted to be shipped by air, therefore, might take longer to be delivered.
09. ZeliPro Leather Dyeing Kit
A great professional leather dye kit, ZeliPro Leather Dyeing Kit includes first and foremost a Zeli-Prep Deglazer, which is used to remove the old finish. Secondly, it has a water-based pigment leather dye that has 22 colors to choose from. Thirdly, there is a Satin Finish topcoat and also applicators.
With the 22 leather dyes to choose from, each bottle contains 32 ounces which cover approximately 16 square feet. The colors are mostly, white, black, black cherry, grey, navy blue, purple, pink, royal blue, bright red, yellow, red, plum, camel, dark brown, and medium brown. Other colors include tan, green, burgundy, midnight blue, mahogany, and lastly French vanilla.
Keep in mind, when using yellow dye to color your item; it is best you put first down a coat of white dye. This will ensure you apply the yellow dye smoothly on the surface.
- Have many colors to choose from
- It is a great product
- Great instructions
- The leather dye kit has applicators
- Requires more than one coat in most dye colors
- Cannot use the yellow color alone
- The water-based pigment dyes are mostly ideal for re-dyeing jobs
- It might be time-consuming because of its 3 step process of re-dyeing the leather.
10. Rit ColorStay Dye Fixative, 8 ounces
Made in the USA, Rit ColorStay Dye Fixation is great for personal dyeing as well as for profit-oriented businesses. Known to work best on several fabrics such as cotton, linen, ramie, or rayon, the dye basically locks in color to reduce fading, or bleeding. Note that, when it comes to bleeding, it’s possible to prevent this by using the tie and die method. What this method does is shield the tied areas of the material to get any dye in it thus producing unique patterns.
With the 8 ounces having a spray bottle applicator, you will easily be able to spray the dye fixation on the dyed fabric. However, this is only possible for a small dyed item such as a belt, wallet, or a pair of shoes. For larger items, you can use a washing machine, sink, or bucket. Don’t forget to use the fixation immediately after you dye your item to achieve the best results.
- It is budget-friendly
- It’s a famous brand
- Relatively easy to obtain
- No complicated fixation process
- Has a spray bottle applicator
- Works best in specific fabrics
- Must follow the directions carefully for best results
- Some fabrics still fade off after a few washes
- Requires gloves to avoid dye staying on your hands.
- It can be a bit messy especially for first-timers of dye fixation.
Things to Consider Before Buying Leather Dye
The Cost
When it comes to dyes, each one of them costs differently. Therefore, before making your choice, you need to know how much you are likely to spend. Remember that, you are going for the best leather dye so it’s important to be willing to spend a little more for great quality.
Manufacturer
There are so many dye manufacturers in the market and that’s why it’s essential to know which one suits you. Depending on the product type to be dyed and the type of dye you choose will enable you to know which dye manufacturer to go with. Note that, one way to choose the best is by checking the list of dyes different manufacturer’s offers. Other than that, you can also check their years in business as well as customer reviews to determine if their dye products are the best.
Time
Another thing to consider before purchasing your dye is the time it takes to apply and also to dry. If it’s for personal use, you might not mind a lot if a particular dye takes longer to apply and dry out too. However, if it’s for business purposes, you might need to consider how long the whole applying and drying process takes. This is to ensure you don’t take too long finishing up on furniture or any other item.
Product Specification
To get the most effective type of dye you need, first, know the type of fabric or textile you want to dye. Just as mentioned above, there are many types of dyes but not all share the same specifications. For example, there are dyes made only for cotton while others are meant for nylon or leather. Therefore, ensure you know your actual material and its components before buying the leather dye. This will enable you to save on cost as well as time when applying the dye.
Environmental Impact
Last but not least, dying is a good way of recycling which is helpful to the environment. Nonetheless, you might end up doing more harm than good if you use the wrong type of dye. Even if it’s a one-time thing or you own a company that deals with re-coloring, you should always be cautious of the environment. Always go for eco-friendly dye products that cause minimal harm to the environment. Don’t forget, it’s our responsibility to take care of our environment.
Leather Dyes FAQs
What Can I Use to Dye Leather?
There are several essentials you need to use when dyeing your leather item. These basically include:
- Sandpaper
- Leather preparer and deglazed.
- A wood brush- wool dauber
- Small dye sponge/dye brush
- Latex or nitrile gloves to avoid getting all over your hands and clothes.
- Leather oil/conditioner
- Leather sealer
- Water and soap
- Quality masking tape
- Lastly, your preferred leather dye
What’s the Difference Between Leather Dye and Leather Paint?
The difference between leather dye and leather paint is that leather dye is known to go through the fiber of the leather forming a chemical bond. This means once you dye the leather it’s impossible to un-dye it. However, when it comes to leather paint, it does not go through the fiber but rather stays on the surface and forms a physical bond. That’s why leather paint is usually used to remove patches of stains or discoloration.
How Long Does it Take Leather Dye to Dry?
It all depends on which kind of dyed leather you have. For example, a leather shoe can take 20 minutes to dry before you apply another coating. However, a leather sofa should be given 30 minutes to dry in between coating then about 1 hour to completely dry before applying the surface with a leather finisher. The finisher usually takes 3 hours to dry off. Keep this in mind; there are also other great methods that Make your Leather Soft which ensures your leather material remains durable for longer.
Can You Dye Leather with Shoe Polish?
Not necessarily, although wax shoe polish is said to be an alternative, it’s unlikely you will get satisfactory results. However, if you go with the wax shoe polish, you can use a topcoat or sealer to prevent the wax from wearing off. Another shoe polish to use should be the liquid shoe polish since it won’t leave any streaks. Just ensure you clean the leather carefully to get rid of any dirt or oils before applying it.
But don’t forget, it’s advisable not to use shoe polish on non-leather items. Therefore, if your item such as a handbag has a combination of leather and non-leather, use the shoe polish on the leather areas only. Note that, if your furniture can’t just be cleaned with soap and water, check out this Quality Leather Cleaners. for the best cleaning supplies on the market.
Final Words
We truly hope you have enjoyed reading through the above 10 best leather dyes. Don’t forget, no matter the leather item you want to dye, dyeing leather isn’t too complicated. Being a great way to change the color of your home décor or clothes, you only need to find the right dye. Secondly, carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions and avoid messing up too much.
For instance, do not use hot water dye recipes for cold water dyes and vice versa especially on All-Purpose dyes. In addition, to be able to achieve the best result, you can first do a dye test on a piece of leather before dyeing the actual leather piece.