Saddle Cognac
Dying reddish leather black? Would it work?
I know some of you aren't familiar with horse tack but I wanted to know more about dying leather because I am curious about dying my saddle. I have always wanted a black saddle, but mine is a reddish kind of oakbark, I guess you could say cognac. It is used, but not a ton as I got it new in December and didn't start using it regularly until February. My question is, could I still dye it or is it too late? And would it look funny or fade ever? Would it rub off on my pants. I would like my saddle black but am very hesitant about taking a risk because it was a big investment. It cost over $500 on sale, the retail price is over $800. And if I did decide to dye it, I would have a professional do it, not me.
MizzyBoo- leather actually absorbs oils very well And they make special leather dye.
Most of the saddle makers I know do not seal the leather so conditioners can be absorbed easily. With that in mind a good spirit (alcohol) dye or an oil dye should not have any problem penetrating the leather and giving you a nice even color. (Sorry Tandy Leather, but I cannot recommend your new water based dye until it is improved).
When overdyeing red to black I usually have to neutralize the red so it does not pull the black to a brownish tint. This is done by first dyeing the red with green then dyeing with the black. If you want to test dye the saddle, try a spot in the gullet or pull a finder up and try around the stirrup Dee, this will be hidden to everyone else if it doesn't work the way you want. A saddle shop should buff the dye to remove all of the unattached pigment so no color will come off on your pants but I would wear black pants for the first 3 or 4 rides just to be sure.
If you do take it in for redyeing talk to the shop owner about everything before you commit to the job. One thing that should save you some money is taking the saddle apart for them -you DO pull the skirts and straps off for cleaning/conditioning don't you? And I would take it to a SADDLE shop. A leather shop not familiar with saddles might be happy to do the work but give you back something that never had the horn wrap removed (or at least protected) and it is now soaked with dye, smears around the conchos, horn cap, and cantle plate because these were never removed, etc.
One other thing to keep in mind, if the saddle is stitched with white thread and you LIKE the stitching showing; it will come back black too.
Good luck, have fun, and remember; while riding always try to keep the mane up and the hooves down!
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