Dyeing a Kooba a different color

[Ravvie99]

I just dyed a Kooba Riley from a light teal to a deep burgundy and wanted to share the results – pretty dramatic! I am happy with it, especially since my Kooba had faded so much after only a few months that I couldn’t use it (a rant for another thread!). I’m very glad I did it, but it took a lot time, elbow grease and improvising and it was not nearly as straightforward as in other dyeing tutorials I read. I think my bag was a problem child because 1) the color was very uneven to start with, 2) I didn’t dye it black, 3) none of the buckles or straps were removable, and 4) it has lots of seams and double top stitching that absorbed excess dye. But it can be done and I feel like a purse rehab superhero! I’ve carried it a few times and haven’t had any color transfer.

I’ll post details and photos of the process over the next week or so, including links to other tPF dyeing tutorials, tips I found from leather worker forums, and what I learned along the way, so stay tuned! I took the time to document everything because I relied heavily on others’ experience and wanted to give back a little

Here are some before pics - first one is courtesy of Thebagforum and what it looked like new (http://www.thebagforum.com/kooba-bags/10187-kooba-riley-bag.html). Blue painters tape in my pics is to protect hardware from dye.

 

[Ravvie99]

Some after pics...plz look past my terrible photography skills!

 

[Catbird9]

Some after pics...plz look past my terrible photography skills!

Your hard work and meticulous care paid off. It's beautiful!

 

[Ravvie99]

Your hard work and meticulous care paid off. It's beautiful!

Thanks! Dyeing is definitely not for the impatient or faint of heart!

 

[Ravvie99]

Step 1: Dyeing Research

I had zero experience dyeing leather so I spent hours researching. I concluded that dyeing over a color is pretty risky unless you go black, because of differences in leather types, dryness, sealants, etc. There’s no way to tell how it’ll turn out so I’d personally never dye a bag I wasn’t prepared to trash. Dyeing is also a lot of work! Lastly, it is expected that you disclose that you dyed a bag if you sell it.

Here's a sample of references but please add others!

1. Dyeing a Balenciaga from white to black by petitepear (includes a video!): http://www.petitepearstyle.com/2014/02/how-to-dye-leather-bag-featuring.html

2. Dyeing a Balenciaga from camel to black and repairing handles by kerryisntreal: http://forum.purseblog.com/balenciaga-care-and-maintenance/dye-project-in-progress-892624.html

3. Dyeing Coach courier burgundy by Ledobe: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-clubhouse/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-624452-452.html

4. Dyeing a Coach Stewardess brown by Coach943: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-clubhouse/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-833400-174.html

5. Dyeing Balenciaga from pink to purple by squidgee: http://forum.purseblog.com/balencia...-a-calcaire-city-from-barely-pink-899496.html

6. Removing old dye and redyeing Balenciaga by annaes: http://forum.purseblog.com/balencia...yeing-process-is-about-to-begin-758021-2.html

7. General experiences dyeing leather and suede Coaches by Whateve: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-clubhouse/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-833400-471.html
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-clubhouse/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-833400-626.html

8. Great tips on resolene application and other random questions: http://leatherworker.net/content/

Reading these will help you improvise when things don’t go as planned, which happened a LOT for me! If you're stumped, try searching the fantastic Coach Rehab and Rescue Club forum.

 

[Ravvie99]

Step 2 and 3: Prepping and Deglazing

I gathered supplies and covered the bag’s hardware with painters, stuffed it, and applied Leather CPR to get rid of any dry spots (dry areas absorb more dye and cause uneven color). The next day, I applied almost all of a 4oz bottle of Fiebing’s deglazer to remove the finish. I started with a wool dauber, but it soaked up too much deglazer, saturating the bag (a no-no), and it was hard to apply the deglazer evenly. I switched to a soft cloth and used the dauber only for tight spots. I let the bag dry until the next day. It looked similar but less shiny (accidentally deleted this photo )

Tips:
Scrub in the deglazer hard, and do not miss any areas! I cannot emphasize this enough! Any finish residue will cause color unevenness (this caused me problems later). Next time I will try Fiebing’s dye prep instead and scrub hard with a brush, maybe even repeating the process, and make absolutely sure all the finish is removed before proceeding.

Also, apply deglazer using gloves and in a well-ventilated area - it has dangerous fumes and smells horrible! I wore a respirator. Cover your workspace with plastic because this is hella messy.

 

[Ravvie99]

Dye Coat #1

The bag felt really dry, so I wiped it down with a damp sponge so the dye could soak in easily. I applied Fiebing’s dye in Oxblood with the cloth/dauber method, avoiding saturation. After drying 24 hrs and buffing with paper towels (got some dye ruboff), I loved the color! Color was uneven but I expected this. A little disappointed the zipper fabric didn't take the dye but still feeling optimistic...

Tip: If you bag has lots of fiddly bits or is humongous, allow plenty of time to apply dye – it took me a full hour! Don’t stop midway or it’ll be streaky.

 

[Ravvie99]

Dye Coats #2 and #3

Coat #2 went on the same way, but faster, and was dried and buffed (still got dye ruboff). The handles were especially bad so I lightly (ok, heavily) sanded them. I was praying a 3rd coat might even out everything and that my almost-suede handles weren't ruined...

Tip (spoiler alert!): If you see the dark, grimy-looking iridescence, stop and re-deglaze your bag! It won’t take off all the dye and will save you headaches later.

Coat #3 applied, same procedure, still got dye ruboff. Uh oh. See the splotches of dark grime and iridescence– that is leftover finish preventing the dye from absorbing! This was hard to capture but look at the top right and bottom of pic #1, and in pic #2, look at the darker areas between the zippers and to the right of the middle strap. In pic #3, look...anywhere! Eww.

I'd invested so much time already that I was determined to make it work, so I went medieval on that iridescence in the next step...

 

[Ravvie99]

Re-stripping the finish: Dropping the A-bomb

That iridescent finish was coming off if I had to nuke it back to the stone age! I tried scrubbing on deglazer hard with a toothbrush (no luck), scrubbing on 100% acetone hard with a cloth (nope), and scrubbing on the acetone hard with a toothbrush (nada). I went into Hulk mode, snatched up some Very Fine grade steel wool and scrubbed for maybe 45 min, going over every inch until I was literally sweating. It worked!

But the bag looked and felt scary – bone-dry white areas and fuzzy suede-like areas. I applied Leather CPR in hopes of more evening out the dryness. A LOT of dye came off while applying - probably one coat's worth. But the bag miraculously felt like normal, smooth, and soft leather after 24 hrs! Sorry no pics.

Dye Coat #4 and #5

I buffed again, applied coat #4, and let it dry 24 hrs. I could still see faint finish residue here and there but the color was much more even. I did Coat #5 to further even out and let it dry 24 hrs, and buffed it. Color improved and looked pretty good – this just might work!

Side straps and zipper inserts are much more similar to the rest of the bag now:

 

[Ravvie99]

Conditioning

I applied 2 coats of Leather CPR, letting each dry for 24 hours, and buffing between coats. I got a *lot* of dye coming off on my cloth when applying, but hoped it would taper off with further coats. (I later learned even burgundy bags that haven't been re-dyed tend to bleed dye during conditioning.)

Next was Blackrock Leather ‘n Rich and my fingers were red with dye after I massaged it in. After drying 24 hrs, I buffed lightly with a horsehair brush, then hard with a soft cloth wrapped around the brush. The finish was a little waxy and I panicked, fearing the resolene wouldn’t penetrate.

I let it dry another 24 hrs before buffing really hard with a soft cloth (as in ‘break a sweat’ hard) to try to get off as much BR as possible. The bag looked and felt so amazing at this point (and I was so nervous about the resolene) that I was tempted to stop and be done. But a bag that rubs off dye on you is useless!

Tips: Apply all conditioners before applying the resolene sealant, since the sealant will block conditioner from soaking in. This differs from the Balenciaga tutorial recommendations, but was a consensus on leatherworkers.net. Next time I would wait to apply BR until after the resolene just in case.

 

[Almmac]

Dye Coats #2 and #3

Coat #2 went on the same way, but faster, and was dried and buffed (still got dye ruboff). The handles were especially bad so I lightly (ok, heavily) sanded them. I was praying a 3rd coat might even out everything and that my almost-suede handles weren't ruined...

Tip (spoiler alert!): If you see the dark, grimy-looking iridescence, stop and re-deglaze your bag! It won’t take off all the dye and will save you headaches later.

Coat #3 applied, same procedure, still got dye ruboff. Uh oh. See the splotches of dark grime and iridescence– that is leftover finish preventing the dye from absorbing! This was hard to capture but look at the top right and bottom of pic #1, and in pic #2, look at the darker areas between the zippers and to the right of the middle strap. In pic #3, look...anywhere! Eww.

I'd invested so much time already that I was determined to make it work, so I went medieval on that iridescence in the next step...

You did an outstanding job with your bag! I am getting so much good information from you! I think this part answered my question about whether or not I should use dye prep before applying the Feibing's dye. Thank you!

 

[Ravvie99]

Applying Resolene and Cleaning Hardware

Before I applied Resolene, I used a concealer brush dipped in rubbing alcohol to remove any dye from uncovered hardware. I diluted the resolene 50/50 with water (3 tbsp each) to make the topcoat less glossy (you don’t have to do this).

Then I applied 3 coats of resolene, waiting at least 3+ hours between coats (it dries very quickly), and buffing after each coat. When I started, I applied it using a dampened makeup sponge, making long one-direction strokes as recommended, but that left streaks so I switched to using a cotton ball in a circular motion. Much better and it undid some of the streaking. I was still getting dye rubboff while applying coat #2 so did an unplanned coat #3.

Tips: Work quickly when applying resolene, since you don’t want to go over the shiny areas you’ve already done once they’re tacky. Otherwise, you’ll just remove what you just applied. You may see foam/bubbles as you apply – you must get rid of that! I worked a small section at a time, feathering back over each with the makeup sponge to remove bubbles before quickly moving to the next section.

After buffing coat #3 I tested color ruboff using a wet q-tip – curses! But I tested a few other areas and determined ruboff was just at seams and stitching lines– flat areas were colorfast. I buffed the seams and stitching hard, using my fingernail with a cloth to get into every little crevice and got out excess dye. Using a small artists brush, I tediously applied resolene over all the seams and stitching. After drying and buffing, no color transfer! Victory!!!

 

[Ravvie99]

You did an outstanding job with your bag! I am getting so much good information from you! I think this part answered my question about whether or not I should use dye prep before applying the Feibing's dye. Thank you!

Thanks! I already made all the mistakes it's possible to make, so now you don't have to

 

[Almmac]

Thanks! I already made all the mistakes it's possible to make, so now you don't have to

HA! Too late! I am quickly finding out that there is a lot that can go wrong with restoring a bag! At least the mistakes I've made so far can be remedied or I would be in trouble! I'm just having fun with it and hopefully will end up with a nice bag again. If nothing else, it will be a learning experience. Thank you again for all the information. I really do appreciate it.

 

[Shelby33]

Impressive!!