What's a safe way to remove overspray from leather?

First, I want to make it clear that I'm not the dumb*** who got overspray on leather!

I got this pair of 1980s Jaguar sedan seats on Ebay -- for only $34.50 a piece! They'll fit perfectly with some new bracketry, and they look great in a deep red with a traditional enough look.

The seller, of course, forgot to mention that there's a light mist of silver overspray on some parts of the seats. The worst section is on the headrests. Since I'm not using them, I can use them for Guinea pigs for different solutions.

So far, laquer thinner removed the overspray, but also removed some of the red dye. I don't really know how much it effected the leather. It also didn't clean the overspray out of deeper cracks, and I didn't want to really saturate the leather.

Soaps of various kinds did nothing, including GoJo. I haven't tried a clay bar, because I couldn't figure out what to lubricate it with.

If I can't clean 'em off, I'll still use them, but I'd appreciate any help getting them to look better.

Thanks,

--Matt

(These are the pictures from Ebay. I'll post picts of them in position soon.)

 

Try the thinner, and go back over it w/ saddlesoap. You might lose some dye but I think conditioning it will make it all better.

 

Thanks, Go-rilla, but saddle soap isn't a conditioner.
That stuff is tough on leather ulphostery.

 

Have you tried lightly scratching it with your fingernail? How firmly is it adheared? You don't want to desolve it if you can lift it with light scrubbing.

Try this also: http://www.autobarn.net/ch1115-.html

And after use this: http://www.autobarn.net/ch1015.html

If the cleaner doesn't remove it, you might have to try the more drastic approach of acetone.

 

Thanks, Kilroy. That Lexol's good stuff for conditioning, although I'm pretty skeptical that the Lexol cleaner will remove what GoJO didn't.

Also, isn't acetone a little more of an agressive solvent than lacquer thinner?

Maybe my question should be: what solvents are safe on (what I ***ume is) vat-dyed leather, but will remove spray paint?

 

I've had good luck using a cleaner called "GOO-GONE". It has a orange smell and I've used it with good results on vinyl. You can get it anywhere.

 

Acetone works and dries faster than thinner. It also will leave less residue.

You have to look at what you're working with. Essentially the sprayed seat is ****ed. If the paint imbedded itself in the grain, chances are you're going to end up with some discoloration no matter how successfull you are. My experience with overspray on leather is that it doesn't stick that well but if you have a really adheared job there, you are gonna have to get aggressive.

There is no solvent that I know of that is 'safe' for leather. If you are at a point that Solvent is needed, you're in trouble. If you can't wait for normal wear and tear to rub off most of the spray, then I would soak a rag in acetone. Remove all the excess untill it's just slightly damp, and rub the spray off. I wouldn't let the leather get real wet, and I wouldn't let the rag sit on the seat anywhere but if you can get the stuff to lift by moving quickly, I don't think you'll do too much damage. If you have some spots that won't desolve or lift by lightly attacking it, you might have to live with them.

Follow with copious ammounts of lexol cleaner and conditioner and you should be set.

 

****, I gotta quit skimming threads....

I just read that you tried thinner and it discolored the leather. Is the dye removed or is the paint smeared?

I wouldn't think the dye would come off that easy but what do I know.

I got some primer on the leather seats of my T-Bird once and used the acetone method to get it off. It worked for me without removing any dye, but I can't garauntee that I wasn't just lucky. I used the conditioner afterword with success.

That's about my only guess. Good luck.

 

Thanks, Paul, that's a good alternative that I hadn't thought of!

 

Thanks, Kilroy, for slowing down and giving some more consideration to my question.

I like the idea that acetone evaporates more quickly. I have some, so I can certainly try it. I'll use it on a nearly dry cloth like you suggest.

The laquer thinner didn't remove much of the dye. It's not like I saw a color other than red on the leather, although some red came off on the paper towel I was using. But it did seem to alter the surface a little.

Basically, I'm at the "testing on an incon****uous spot first" stage. I thought if I went over the whole seat with thinner, it might get botchy or uneven, in which case I'd rather have the small overspray.

Thanks for you suggestions.

--Matt

 

For what it's worth, I remember somone saying than an old sports car had a nice leather interior, but had some "visible solvent stains." I'm not sure exactly what that meant, but for some reason that stuck with me, and it makes me cautious about using too much solvent here.

 

Is THAT what that stuff is supposed to smell like? I use that all the time on metal/gl***/etc. but had no idea that nasty smell was supposed to be orange. LOL I agree that it might be worth a try in an 'incon****uous' spot.

It DOES tend to dry things out after use so definitely go with the Lexol cleaner and then the Lexol conditioner afterwards if the Goo Gone succeeds. Also, Lexol works really well and gets deeper into the leather if you use a sheepskin pad to apply it. The soft but plentiful fibers help work it in and you don't waste as much as you would with paper towels or a rag. Try a boot or shoe shop for those if you want to give them a try. I have also seen the little sample sized bottles of Lexol at shoe repair places if you just want to try the product without a big investment.

You guys may not want to know WHY I know so much about leather but you can trust me on this. LOL

 

Old leather seats have a lacquer-based dye that is easy to apply but is susceptible to cracking and comes off with thinner. I have refinished leather and it's not very difficult if you have the right materials. Take a look at this site: http://www.leatherique.com/ These guys are great and really know leather finishing. If you call them and tell them what you have then they will tell you exactly what you need to correct your problem. Here's a pic of the Cadillac seats I did, it was my first attempt and it came out great...

 

A friend has a can of Acrasol (sp?) that he uses on most anything. Says it's safe for lots of materials. Think he got it from and interior guy. Says it's safe for most interiors and works good.

Read the label as always. Good luck.

 

I ussually use a leather cleaner or watered down degreaser with a green scotch bright pad to clean the leather. I've never tried a clay bar on leather but in a pich I have used soap as a lubricant for the clay bar (does mess up the clay bar though)

 

Thanks, guys.

Thanks for the link, Charlie. Those Caddy seats look really good. Do you have any tips on using the Leatherique stuff? Should you follow their instructions to the letter, or did you figure out any other helpful tips?

LurkinII, can you think of a better spelling for Acrasol? I can't find anything similar.

Thanks, locklahn, too.

I'm glad I have these headrests to experiment on!

 

You Might Want To Try Some "rit" Fabric Dye On A S**** Piece That Has Been Discolored With Your Removal Attempts.

 

I've been the idiot getting paint/primer on my white leather and white vinyl seats a couple of times. I used westeys bleach white with a wire brush, then used a white vinyl dye in an aerosol can from Auto Zone, and then used a TON of leather conditioner by Meguires (sp?). I still have some dark areas, and I developed some cracking on the arm rests, but the rest has done pretty good.

I've luckily got black cloth everywhere I don't have the white leather and vinyl, so I swear by the black vinyl and upholstery dye sold at Auto Zone, Wal Mart, and other places. A few cans of that and my interior and trunk look like NEW. It only lasts about a year until it starts to fade again, but heck it's cheaper than a new interior!!! Again, it dry's out the material, and I've got a rip in the front seat that I didn't have before I started the dying thing, but for a 45 year old car to only have one rip in the upholstery aint bad. I think it has more to do with the way I get into and out of the car, than it does the uphostery dye. And the sun prolly has a lot more to do with the cracked vinyl than the dye does on that one too.

Just my $.02

Chris aka Caddylakman

 

i've used turtle wax rubbing/polishing compound to remove overspray from vinyl roofs before, its a PITA to get it out of cracks once it dries but may be worth a look.

 

Might try plumbers hand soap from Oatey, found in the plumbing isle of Home Depot. I use it on whole lot of stuff, including my hands since I am a plumber.

 

I see this is a very old post. I just wanted to add a word or two. I worked with leather. I have used laquer thinner on leather. It was even labeled for cleaning leather. I have been out of the business for awhile and realize there are always new products coming onto the market. After cleaning with the laquer you can probably re dye with whatever color you have. Tandy carries a large supply of dyes and finishes. I would not suggest using anything rough to try cleaning leather. It is oil tanned or chrome tanned that is used in automobile leathers. Just some thoughts.