Saddle dying gone wrong.. Can it be fixed?

[hlra11]

I purchased a dressage saddle that someone tried to dye themselves and it went terribly wrong. I had been looking for a light brown saddle, and it was a killer price bc of the dye job gone wrong. It is originally oakbark type color, which ideally I would like to keep. It was awful when I bought it, VERY streaky and patchy, but still a very light base color. I have cleaned it religiously over the last few months and while it has improved, it is still not great. I would still like to get it looking better if at all possible. Right now it is still streaky, but very much a lighter chestnuty brown overall with dark brown streaks. It was never originally stripped. The leather is is great condition other than the bad dye job.

I have found some DIY instructions for using oxalic acid to remove water marks from saddles, but I cannot find anything online related to dye jobs gone wrong. Has anyone on here ever been in a similar situation or have any advice?? I have tried some lemon juice mixture in the past with very limited success.

As much as I would love to get rid of these stains, I do not want to ruin my saddle, and also do not want to spend a fortune sending it off to a pro to be done. Will I ruin my saddle by trying anything on my own? Any advice at all?

[alibi_18]

So the saddle was pale brown, someone tried to make it darker and you’d like it all pale again?

I really doubt you will be able to do this, even a pro would have trouble restoring that…

As you can see, DIY tricks often end up looking like crap.

Leave the saddle as is or have it professionally redyed.

[hlra11]

Not quite, it was oakbark originally. And someone painted dye on it without stripping he leather first, so it ended up looking like black paint spread across it with a rag of some sort. I’ve gotten quite a lot of the streaks and stains out of it already. However, it’s still very streaky. I’m not trying to lighten it, just hoping to avoid having to darken it too much while trying to work on the staining. I’ve succesfully removed water stains from tack before, but this has turned into a bit of a bigger project than that.

[Guilherme]

If the dye penetrated the leather then the damage is permanent. If it didn’t then you have a chance. Thing is leather is dead skin and it often is not perfectly uniform. So while the dyer might not have gotten a nice, even coat they likely did “highlight” all the imperfections in the leather. You can probably reduce the clear effect of earlier efforts but it’s unlikely you’ll ever completely undo them.

G.

[RedHorses]

If they didn’t strip the leather first you may find that some of the dye has stained the finish and stripping it will reduce some of the streaks. Some of the streaks are likely where the finish was worn and the dye penetrated.

Depending on the type of dye used, a clear dilution medium (ie. alcohol for alcohol based dyes) can dilute the dye in the leather and reduce the contrast of the streaks. You would apply it as if dyeing the leather, potentially several times. Alcohol is drying and the leather will need some good conditioning afterwards if you go this route.

[normandy_shores]

Strip the leather first with a deglazer. Then I’d take a rag and wipe as much as I could, then use a rag with a bit of rubbing alcohol to lift whatever.

The redye with a colour that is dark enough, and seal with saddle lac

[Scribbler]

@normandy_shores

Strip the leather first with a deglazer. Then I’d take a rag and wipe as much as I could, then use a rag with a bit of rubbing alcohol to lift whatever.

The redye with a colour that is dark enough, and seal with saddle lac

Though I believe once you seal a redyed saddle you can’t really oil or condition the leather.