I need a recommendation here, guys...... I chose SEM Cl***ic Coat Midnight Black to dye my saddle tan leather back seat in my '95 Mustang Convertible.........I bought a nice set of mint black front seats on the Bay and need to dye my rear seat to match....... So I followed the directions to the letter using the SEM spray material and my seat came out a dark gray after three coats!!! I call them up and talk to some ******** *tech guy* who tells me that there are 2500 shades of black.......this color they call Midnight Black isn't even close..... So, the question is can anybody recommend a brand of leather spray that will dye my seats BLACK......as in really dark black black? I don't think I want to deal with SEM again......they advertise their Cl***ic Coat as able to *change or restore color* of leather and vinyl..........well their Midnight Black isn't black at all.......any help?? Thanks in advance guys..... Brucie
PRODUCT 40 !!! I covered metallic blue with Light Gray 11 years ago using a foam brush.. it is used to restore Jags! I bought it from some place in New York that I found it Hemmings.
Brucie, SEM shouldn't have dealt with you like that. Any good company will tell you that to match a set of factory dyed seats, you need an actual sample (1x1 inch leather from a hidden area/excess). This is because over a run of seats the same color, there will be different lots that vary. Also, I am ***uming that the container was poured into another one and was well mixed, as the heavier pigments tend to settle in the container. I had this problem with some dark red seats (dyeing the rear to match some great Bay fronts). The first batch was off (too pink) and they remixed it, just a total PITA to sand off (14 hours for my rear seat!). Supposedly due to EPA regs, red is the hardest to match of any color. The second run was within a shade and close enough. Do this. Contact Leatherique at www.leatherique.com . DO send a sample (underside works well) to get a custom match. George (the owner) is a car guy and stands besides his stuff. Also, use the entire system of oil, cleaner, prep - these are great products. The oil turned my cardboard leather convertible leather (the top of the seat back) ****er soft after repeated applications. Finally, I used an airbrush from HF - no brushstrokes on my seats. Good luck!
I have only used SEM black dye. I have used it over green, light blue and white. I never had any issues and didnt know they made different shades of black. I always just picked up the can that said black.
Slate.....thanks for the info.....very reasonable.....I will explore what you've suggested......this can't be *Rocket Science*.... CB
Brucie, 1st - try to get SEM to fix it - email a photo comparing the color differences. I did and it made all the difference. 2nd - see if they will custom match on a sample. 3rd - if no satisfaction, try another company, such as leatherique using a custom match.
****in' A, 47Bob!!! My thought exactly......black is black! It is the absence of hue, tint, or color! It is black! CB
Duplicolor vinyl paint. Black is BLACK!!! Used it on a dash. Prepped with wax/grease remover and painted. Was blacker than nighttime. Nice gloss, too.
Any Dupont jobber can mix you black vinyl paint. Good old code 99 black is a good true black and they can get the sheen you want depending on which vinyl additive they add.
I've had great luck with SEM's Landau black (not too shiny or dull) over a pair of tan vinyl seats in a G***er 41 Willys i built a little while back. The significance of the G***er is that the car being so high, i had to rub my jeans pretty good against the dye getting in and out of the car for 3 years and not a bit rubbed off. And they were BLACK w/2 coats. I like to wipe the seats with a soaked rag with laquer thinner first
Used SEM's black on my tan ****** wagon seat I usta have in my roadster. Very black, covered in two coats, and held up for years with no top. Maybe a formula change?
The Jalopy Journal
