How to color match leather

When restoring or repairing leather, it is often necessary to finish by dyeing the leather to get a good result. Ideally, you want the color to match 100%, but the standard shades of leather dyes often do not match perfectly. How do you get it right?

Color matching leather at home requires a little patience – but with the right method, you can achieve an almost invisible repair or color improvement on, for example, the cushion on your leather sofa or on your leather upholstery in your car. Here is a tried and tested and practical guide that works for most people who want to match leather color to a damage, stain, or worn surface:

You need:

Base color of leather paint (e.g. Leather Colourant or Viper Polycryl)
White paint (to brighten)
Black paint (to darken)
Primary colors (yellow, red, blue – for hue adjustment)
Mixing cups and a sponge
Good daylight or white LED lighting (for accurate color assessment)
Sheet of paper to test paint on
Reference piece of leather in the correct color, to compare with

The base color should be as close to the original shade of the leather as possible. For example, if the sofa is very light, choose Light Cream, if the sofa is medium brown, choose Medium Brown, etc. The amount of base color should also correspond to the amount needed to dye the entire surface. At best, only a few drops of a different shade may be needed to fine-tune, so don't expect the amount of color to increase dramatically as you fine-tune the shade.

1. Identify the base color

Start by analyzing:

How close is your base color to the leather color to be mixed? Is it lighter or darker?
Is the color warm (yellow/reddish) or cool (blue/grayish)?
Is it saturated (clear) or muted?

2. Adjust the base color

Keep in mind that the color will become a bit darker when it dries, so it helps to have a hairdryer on hand to speed up the drying process.
Identify how close your base color is
Carefully add white paint to brighten. If there is a small amount of paint, drip in white paint, otherwise it is easy to get too much. Better to do "pow on pow".
Use black or a dark brown to darken (if you use dark brown on a warm shade, it is easier to maintain the color tone. Black automatically gives a cooler/greyer color tone).
Adjust the color tone with yellow, red or blue . This is the tricky part. For example, if you get too much yellow, how do you compensate for it? You do this with the complementary color (see below). A more detailed guide to color adjustment can be found here .

NOTE: Make small adjustments at a time – it takes very little paint to change the shade!

3. Fine-tuning with complementary colors

If the shade is too red: add blue or a little green.
If the shade is too green: add a little red
If it is too yellow: add a little blue or red (or both = violet).
If it's too blue: compensate with a little orange (red & yellow)
If it is too cold: add red or yellow
If it's too hot: black or white (or gray)

4. Test the color – first on paper

Paint on white paper and let dry (use a hairdryer, otherwise it will take forever).
Hold the paper against the leather you want to match – judge in daylight .
When you are close – test on a small hidden area of the leather.

5. Clean, apply paint, seal

Clean the surface thoroughly with Leather Prep before applying the paint.
Apply thinly and in several layers with a sponge and/or paint sprayer.
Finish with a Leather Finish/Top Coat to seal the color and give it a more durable surface. You can also choose a gloss finish. The most common is Satin, which is neutral between matte and glossy.

Tip:

Document mixing ratios if you want to be able to recreate the color.
Leather color always looks lighter wet than dry – let dry before comparing.
Keep in mind that once the color is in the paint mixture, it is difficult to remove it, so add color in small amounts in several stages. If you get too much of any shade, it is difficult to go back.
If you happen to pour in too much paint, take a cotton swab and try to soak it up before mixing.
Dye from seam to seam, so it is easier to make the dye invisible. If you dye only a small area in the middle of a cushion, such as a stain or a repair, it often becomes a stain, as it is difficult to get the shade 100%. But if you dye the entire cushion/armrest/arm of the leather jacket, so that you get a natural demarcation, you will not perceive minor color differences.