Posted 7 months ago
epson233
(56 items)
thought i would share this information in the event someone else has a leather couch they would like to re color or restore without having to mortgage the house to do it
ted and i found this couch at goodwill for $90 -- i was sure it was a very expensive couch and really not all that old -- plus i just loved the stitching and lines-- but it looked like someone had died on it -- particularly on the middle cushion
we took a chance -- purchased it and brought it home -- the first step was to figure out some way to get rid of that awful stain -- we opted to power wash it - yes that's right we took a high pressure power washer to a leather couch -- if it failed we figured we were just out the $90 and a lesson would be learned -- neighbors thought we had lost our minds -- it worked -- stain gone but nothing matched in color -- oh well -- what to do -- what to do -- well let's try re dyeing it -- ya right at $35 a bottle for good leather dye -- that would have been time to mortgage the house -- so again the two monkeys put their heads together and decided we would try using miniwax furniture stain -- yes that is right -- furniture stain -- cost for stain vs leather dye -- $45 stain -- $255 leather dye -- it was three years in the making with a lot of drying time in between
it worked -- the pics are the before and the way she sits today in our family room -- had to sell the brand new ultra suede couch we had recently purchased -- but i am so much happier with this deep rich expresso brown goodwill leather couch and so is the cat -- "abigail bleecher our history teacher" -- just dust or take a damp cloth and no more puddy tracks
If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
Jockeying for Position: How Boxers and Briefs Got Into Men's Pants
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Blood, Sweat, and Steel: My Afternoon with the Ace of Swords
'The Great Gatsby' Still Gets Flappers Wrong
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
Forget TV Pickers, Meet the Real Mavericks of the Antiques World
Coveting The Craziest Cat-People Collectibles




OMG! I am flabbergasted! I threw away a nice leather recliner not long ago due to a stain! wish I would have seen your couch first! Its hard to believe its the same piece of furniture. I also love the ruby red Fenton floor lamp behind it too! You have some great goodies in your home. I can only hope to be so lucky some day. Just an question...what do your birdbaths run in price? And if I were to supply the Vaseline glass and pay for shipping, would you make me an original? Something to think about...yeah?
Yes - quite a transformation! It looks really great. What miniwax stain did you use? Something from Home Depot, Loews or Sears? Love it - great job. Have shyed away from stained leather chairs and couches in the past but don't have to anymore. Thank you for this information.
hi valentino -- in regard to what miniwax used -- the one in the yellow can -- but the secret is you never throw away the last of the can -- that is where all the colorant is -- i just start emptying my old cans and then add i little methanol -- if it is an oil stain and i always use the oil stains -- the water stains i save those also and place into the can -- i am after the colorants -- do i buy at lowes or home depot -- no i go to my goodwill outlet and see what is available and most the time they are so happy to get rid of them -- i get for free -- and i just keep adding and adding until the cans are clean and then they can be placed in the re-cyles -- to do little harm to the planet
so do not be intimated by large items -- you just go for -- always with the thought in mind to protect yourself and the environment
Thank you! I love that you are a true recycler - thanks for your secret. Great information for my next purse or larger restoration.
thanks val -- just signed off as it is supper time here -- i so hope i was helpful for you -- if not you can call or email me
autumnlf@comcast.net
360-433-2805