Zelikovitz Professional Pigment Dye.

Permanent water-based pigment dye for all types of leather projects. It will dye evenly and uniformly. Easy cleanup. Outstanding coverage in usually just one coat. Available in many colors.

Best applied using a sponge, brush or cloth. DO NOT USE A DAUBER. (The fine fibers of the dauber will absorb the pigment.) It is permanent, dries quick and is water resistant. Can be used as a spray.

Note: When using yellow dye, due to the light and slightly translucent nature of the formula, it is best to first put down a coat of white. This allows the yellow to go on smoothly and vibrantly.

There are three main steps to any leather dying project.

1. Preparing the Leather for Dying.

2. Applying the Dye.

3. Finishing with a Top Coat. 

Leather is a substance of nature and varying composition... Differing in porosity and fibre structure... No two leathers will always accept a given dye giving uniform results. Therefore, it is  suggested that the colour chart be used as a guide only and that you should always test a swatch before attempting your finished product.

Zelikovitz Professional Leather dye is a water base pigment. Think of it much as you would a water base house paint. You can wash your hands and tools with water and once dried it is colour fast.

1. Preparing the Leather for Dying.

In the tanning process, various protective surface finishes are given to leather hides. Over the course of the life of the project, you may have applied conditioners and protectors and no doubt dirt has accumulated on the surface of the leather. You must remove all this prior to any dye job. This will give you a clean surface and create the byte required for the dye to attach to the leather properly. The best product to use for this is ZeliPREP deglazer.

This is applied with a damp sponge or rag. You will notice that the finish will be removed as well as some of the color. Make sure to use a rag with no color so that it doesn't run on to your project.

2. Applying the Dye.

After the leather has been cleaned and prepared as recommended above, you need to make sure you mix the dye well before use.  Try turning the bottle upside down and shaking. You may have to give it a little stir with a stick to loosen the pigment at the bottom of the bottle. You can apply with a cloth however a sponge brush works best. An alternate method for covering large areas evenly is to spray with a spray-gun or air brush. A second coat of dye may be applied if required. Do not use a wool dauber or shearling, as they tend to hold back the pigments. Allow to dry between coats. If you want a lighter shade, try a coat of white first. If you want a darker shade, apply a coat of black. You can change the colour of leather and some vinyl. It is best to try a test in a small area first.

Dye Mixing: Because Zelikovitz Professional Pigment Dye is water based, it is very easy to mix colours. The dye applied full strength will go on opaque. If you want a translucent finish or stain you can mix with 50% water and 50% dye. You should do some trials on a swatch first. You can comfortably do a 75% water and 25% dye mixture. An infinite number of colours and shades are possible by combining existing dyes to create your own colours. The basic rules of any colour mixing apply.

For example:

Yellow and Blue = varying shades of Green 

Yellow and  Red = varying shades of Orange to re

Red and Blue = shades of Deep Purple to Lavender

Red and Purple = Wine

Brown and Yellow = Golden Brown or Tan

Grown and Red = Maroon to Dark Brown

An infinite number of color shades are possible. Mixtures should always be tested on swatches until the desired color is achieved.

3. Finishing with a Top Coat

After you finished the first two steps and the dye is completely dry, it is recommended that you finish the project with some sort of top coat. Although it is not always necessary with our pigment dyes, it is with the solvent based dye.

Zelikovitz Professional Acrylic Leather Top Coat is available in the following formats: Matt Finish, Satin Finish, Gloss Finish with Carnauba Wax.

Alternatively, you may want to finish the project with a mink oil cream for waterproofing or one of our other fine products available in our e-store.

Zelikovitz Professional Pigment Dye... For dyeing leather shoes, boots, handbags, belts, hand carving projects ..