Has anyone on here ever dyed their brooks saddle? I have a brown B67 that I may dye black. I plan to deglaze the saddle with acetone and then apply Feibings black dye. Any info or advice is appreciated.
Dye a brooks saddle?
- Thread starter crazydave58
- Start date
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My wife had a clothing piece that was hard saddle type leather that she dyed a deep red. She used a dye that specifically called out that it was for leather. I can't remember the name, but the packaging looks like it hasn't changed since 1952. Some Google searches may find something.
First, she dyed the leather. Then, she used a clear polish which helped smooth out the slightly inconsistent results of the dye, making it very nice looking. The piece was very thick stiff leather, so I don't see why it wouldn't work for a saddle.
EDIT: My wife found it for me. It's called Angelus. Buy the reducer, the finish, and some daubers. She bought them from Dharma Trading Co., and the whole thing came to about $7. It was very cheap, and worked well.
First, she dyed the leather. Then, she used a clear polish which helped smooth out the slightly inconsistent results of the dye, making it very nice looking. The piece was very thick stiff leather, so I don't see why it wouldn't work for a saddle.
EDIT: My wife found it for me. It's called Angelus. Buy the reducer, the finish, and some daubers. She bought them from Dharma Trading Co., and the whole thing came to about $7. It was very cheap, and worked well.
Here is a possible lead: Simon Firth,trained by Brooks and (only?) Brooks Authorized service in North America. Recently partnered a new shop in Philly- Firth & Wilson Transportation Cycles ph # 267-318-7285. The shop is on Facebook too.Frame builds too.
Well..after much research and concern and apprehension about dyeing my new brown B67 saddle black I decided I would do it. Could not find much info on the internet about people who have done it, so I did a lot of research on how to dye leather. I decided to first give the saddle a good rubbing with acetone to remove any finish, I noticed some of the brown dye came off onto my cloth. I purchased Fiebings dye as it was highly recommended by what I read. After rubbing with acetone, I dampened the saddle with a wet cloth and started applying the dye. I applied three coats and let dry. Dried to a flat black. I took a length of soft cloth and proceeded to give the saddle a good buffing for about 10 or 15 minutes. The saddle buffed to a nice, glossy shine. I bought a real leather lace at the craft store and relaced the saddle... I have to say I am very pleased with the way it turned out!..Looks perfectly natural and beautiful...was not difficult at all..What do you guys think?
Looks great!
When I buffed out the freshly dyed saddle a little dye came off onto the towel,however I applied proofide the next day ,more dye seemed to come off when buffing. I am hoping in a couple more days it will dry out more and less dye will come off with more buffing. I will repost in a week or so about my final results. The saddle looks great but I certainly don't want any dye coming off on my clothes.
So, for the past 4 or 5 days I have been buffing the saddle for 5 or 10 minutes each day, there is still some dye coming off onto the white buffing towel, but not alot. I took the bike for a ride yesterday wearing an older pair of pants that were 60% cotton and 30% nylon. After the ride there was a little dye on my pants, so I gave the saddle another vigorous buffing. The next day I went for a good hour ride wearing a pair of shorts that I usually wear when riding. These shorts are 100% nylon and when I got back from my ride I checked the seat of my pants and there was no dye whatsoever on the shorts, so I was happy about that. There is less friction with nylon, that could be why no dye rubbed off. I will probably stick to riding pants that are 100% nylon for a while. There is also a leather sealer that I could apply but I didn't really want to do that. Overall, I am happy with the results.
So after about a week there is no dye coming off the saddle at all. I took a look at the booklet that came with the saddle and it warns you that dye could come off the saddle onto your clothes. So I guess it is normal for brooks saddles. This saddle I got was an aged saddle and the directions said not to apply proofide on the top, only apply it on the bottom. The B190 I had I applied the proofide to the top and never had a problem with dye coming off. My B190 was a comfortable saddle but I definitely like this B67 aged better, it seems to fit my sit bones better and would get another one for sure.
It looks like it came out great! I think I may give this a go myself in the very near future. Anything else we should be concerned about when applying the Fiebings dye? I'm guessing you applyied it over the rivets, then just wiped them clean, yes? I'm wondering how well some of the other colors would work on a Brooks saddle. If the results are the same as the black, it would be killer!
Cheers,
Volt
Cheers,
Volt
Hey Volt...Yeah the dye just buffed off the rivets with no problem..I think you you could dye any light colour saddle darker without a problem...only thing different I would do is not apply proofide on the top, just the bottom. The saddle looks like I bought it black, you can't tell it was a different colour and was dyed...turned out great..
Just ordered some dye, thanks crazydave.
Just applied the second coat and am sure it will be plenty. I almost stopped at one coat, but decided to put two on to ensure it looks good after applying my poor man's proofide. Pics when I get it on the bike.
