How to remove dye transfer from leather

Dye Transfer Removal is all about cleaning dyes transferred to leather from:

  • Clothing (particularly Jeans but most dark coloured clothing can cause the problem)
  • Newsprint
  • Curry
  • Throws
  • Cushions
  • Hair dyes
  • Fake tan

It is more usually seen on light coloured, protected, leathers but it can occur on any leather, though not as noticeably

If noticed early enough it can be successfully removed from most pigment coated leather with a specialist dye transfer removal kit (see below for recommended products)

The longer the dye sits on your leather the further the dyes will travel into the finish on the leather making it much harder to remove.  How easily it is removed will depend on how strong the dyes are and how absorbent the finish is on the leather (both of these in most cases cannot be easily identified)

Dye Transfer Removal

It is essential to use correctly formulated products to try to resolve a dye transfer problem so that it is removed with the least amount of damage to the coatings on the leather
Please do not use Magic Erasers to remove dye transfer as these will only do so by damaging the surface coatings

If the dye remover kit does not fully resolve the problem the leather may need to be refinished with pigments and top coatings

Once the dye transfer has been removed use a high-quality protector to help stop the problem from occurring again and then adopt a regular maintenance cleaning and protecting regime with a deep clean or professional clean once a year

If the grey/blue tinge remains after cleaning, contact us to find a technician

Recommended Products

Auto
Jean & Dye Transfer Remover Kit (Auto)
Auto LeatherGuard
Auto Maintain
Auto Foam

Furniture
Jean & Dye Transfer Remover Kit
Ultra Leather Shampoo
Ultra Leather Protect
Lazy Leather

Read all about it
Cleaning Leather Car Interiors
Using Magic Erasers to Clean Leather

©LTTLeathercare2011