Has anyone tried this? I have an older light brown saddle that is in good shape but an ugly color. I was thinking about wiping on some black Rit dye solution. Has anyone tried this or am I nuts?
I might do a pleasure class with my old boy this weekend.
thx
It won’t work. Rit dye will only work on natural fibers. I’ve tried dying in the past and learned this by trial and error. In fact, I tried better, commercial grade dyes and doubt you’d have much better results with them.
chicamuxen
I am going to say you are wasting time and money to even try dying a synthetic saddle. Those kinds of fiber, smooth vinyl material, just don’t take color like natural things, cotton, linen, leather. You would be better off having color stick if you painted it. NOT RECOMENDING painting it, but at least the color would stick for a short time, unlike dye. Would probably end up VERY ugly, instead of just an unattractive shade of brown.
Part of the appeal of synthetics is easy care, you could probably clean your saddle with a power washer (often), with no ill-effects to the material or color. Not needing the babying of leather, continuous care to keep it soft and nice to the touch.
I would just ignore the color, leave it alone, and use the heck out of it.
The dyes need a natural fabric to work on — think cotton. The Cordura doesn’t have that. I agree with goodhors that you’d end up with something really ugly. Although if you actually could dye it, a tie-dyed saddle would be pretty cool…
Or, since most synthetic saddles are relatively inexpensive, sell the one you have and buy one that you like better.
Thanks for info.
Nylon requires Acid dyes and boiling temps to dye the fibers properly. It also requires a shift in PH during the cycle from neutral or slightly lower to acid. You can use some direct dye stuffs but it will only stain the nylon.
You will also have to strip the finish from the fabric that makes it so impervious to the elements or you will end up with something that looks like an Easter egg that was colored by a 3 year old. That is not a job you want to try at home.
I believe the statement buy a new saddle or live with the color fits here.
maybe some black shoe polish (theliquid in the plastic bottle with the sponge top) might work…I dont know if I would try to go to black, but maybe a brown shade would make the brown saddle a little more appealing color wise. Its cheap, so buy a bottle and try it somewhere inconspicuous. I know the brown color youa re tlaking about seriously though, put a nice bridle on the boy and a nice pad and go from there i love the synthetics, but I dont like black and the brown is npt the best of browns 
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