How to paint leather furniture

Any furniture, even leather, is subject to aging. An armchair, pouf or sofa made of leather wipes over time at places of frequent contact. Once beautiful furniture loses its appearance and ceases to be a decoration of the room. The way out of this situation is painting. But how to update a leather sofa yourself and avoid mistakes.

Is it possible to paint furniture yourself

Leather furniture is a high-quality, comfortable and stylish interior framing. But even the highest quality leather changes color over time and wears off, various cracks and obvious abrasions appear. The best way to refresh old furniture is to paint it a new color. Therefore, you can paint your leather furniture yourself.

The main thing in the process is to observe the stages of work and elementary safety rules. Painting furniture will give it a new life, so if there is a desire to update the interior in this way, then you can safely get down to business after familiarizing yourself with some of the nuances.

What paint to choose

There are many options for painting a leather sofa at home. There are more than thousands of paints in stores, but not all of them are suitable for leather upholstery. One of the most important factors of choice is the minimum value of toxins in the composition and the rate of drying. There are two tried and tested tools for updating the design of a sofa or chair.

Special paint

Special paint is sold in leather shops or shoe shops. Impregnations or sprays can be given out for paint, so you need to be more careful. They will not be able to dye the skin well, as they are intended for care.

There are many forms of paint production. These can be: aerosols, cans with a foam tip (any other soft and porous materials), jars with sealed lids.

A specialist and just someone who has ever been involved in painting says that the options with sprayers are much more convenient. Sprays and aerosols are distributed more evenly without dripping. If desired, you can easily apply a second, or even a third layer. So problem areas are painted over more carefully.

The foam tip is easy to use. But it is more suitable for finishing small areas. It will be problematic for them to paint the entire product. The cost of this option is less than that of aerosol ones. But the operation is much more difficult and takes longer.

Paint in a can with a sealed lid is the most affordable option. But in the process, it will cause a lot of problems. You will have to paint with a brush. Traces and stains will remain from it. Therefore, the option is suitable only for those who are sure that they can handle it. It is easy to spoil the upholstery of a sofa, but it is difficult to return it to its original state.

Folk dyes

Folk dyes are also sometimes used, but this is the most unreliable method.They dry out for a long time and during the use of the sofa they can quickly wear off. If you want to paint leather furniture with high quality, then it is better to give preference to ready-made special paints. So the result will definitely not disappoint and you will be able to save the sofa or armchair.

Experts recommend to paint over even small cracks with specialized paint, and not with folk dyes. Leather upholstery is very whimsical and requires proper care, and if it is smeared with various decoctions, it will not last long.

How to paint leather furniture yourself

Initially, you should configure yourself that you need to paint the entire surface. It will not work exactly to match the color of the upholstery. Therefore, partial shading of individual flaws will stand out strongly. It will look as if the furniture got dirty with paint during the repair, and it did not work to wipe it off. Before work, it is imperative to carry out the stages of preparation. You can lay out all the tools necessary for the painting process in advance.

Preparation for painting

At the initial stage, it is checked whether the paint will be taken up by the leather upholstery. This can be done by dropping a drop of water onto an inconspicuous area and rubbing in, if absorbed, you can safely prepare a sofa or chair for work.

1. The surface of the leather product is thoroughly cleaned. There are two ways to organize this: send it to a professional dry cleaner or on your own. The second option will take longer. Self-cleaning should be done with steam, vacuum cleaner, brush or in any other way that will not harm the upholstery. After disinfection is carried out with acetone. All parts of the sofa, including the armrests and legs, are brought into proper condition.
2. After preparing the product, the workplace is put in order. Any kind of paint can spill onto the floor and other surfaces. Therefore, it is advisable to cover them, and put the sofa itself on rags, paper or cellophane. The quality of ventilation of the room must be checked. The smell of the paint is harsh and may cause headaches or dizziness.
3. Having prepared your workplace, it is important to take care of your own safety. To prevent airborne poisoning, it is best to purchase a respirator.

Choice of tools and paint

Before painting, you should make sure once again that the chosen color matches the interior. It should be borne in mind that it is much easier to repaint a light sofa in a dark one than a dark one in a light one. It will not work to paint with several types of paint. It is important to decide which one to give preference: aerosol, ordinary in a can or with a foam tip. The tools that come in handy also depend on the paint.

List of required tools:

• Selected paint type.
• Disposable heavy rubber gloves.
• Solvent, acetone can be used.
• Unnecessary rags or any other lint-free fabrics.
• Brushes (only for paint in sealed cans).
• Sponges
• Brush
• Spray water container
• Cleanser (soap).
• Emulsion with a protective effect for leather upholstery.

Painting process

Before the main painting, it is important to do a test painting. It is more convenient and practical to do this on inconspicuous places: below, on the side or on the back. If the paint is absorbed evenly, after rubbing in and no peeling has formed, you can safely paint the entire surface.

Important! When painting with several colors, it is better to cover individual areas with paper or film. This will help prevent color mixing and dirt build-up.

Painting stages:

1. The leather product is sprayed with water from a spray bottle to soften. It is visually divided into several zones. This way the work will be better organized and faster. Processing occurs first of one zone, then another, in the same way and painting. The first coat of paint may stain.This is normal and not worth worrying about. With subsequent layers, the color will even out.
2. It is important to watch out for smudges, they should not appear. If the first applications were inaccurate, and it was not possible to avoid smudges and irregularities, you can blot the place with a sponge. To paint on the folds, it is important to apply a little pressure to the surface so that they disappear. Do not get dust or hairs on painted leather upholstery. They should be removed immediately, since after drying it will not work.
3. You should not get carried away with overlaying layers. Excessive use of paint can make the leather product stiff. The upholstery will dry out and subsequently crack even worse than it was before the restoration. Excess dye is removed with a damp, lint-free cloth.

Drying

It should be borne in mind that subsequent layers are applied only after the previous ones have dried. After completing the last layer, the furniture must be left alone for 1 hour. Then gently dry at a low temperature with a hairdryer for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size and number of layers.

If cracks appear, then too much paint has been applied. Nothing should appear on the furniture. With the correct technique, the surface after drying with a hairdryer remains even and evenly colored.

After the product has completely dried in a natural way, it must be wiped with a damp waffle towel. This will remove clumps and settled dust. The upholstery may stick together in some places. In this case, sandpaper will come to the rescue, the gluing points are carefully processed.

It is important not to forget about the very finishing touch - the fixing coating. There are two types of it: matte and glossy. The entire painted surface is treated with this emulsion with a protective effect. Then it is wiped with a damp cloth.

How to avoid mistakes

To prevent errors, you must strictly follow the instructions and follow all stages of work. Safety rules for painting must also be observed, otherwise the restoration of furniture may end badly. The most important aspects to avoid mistakes are briefly described:

• Do not paint on an untreated surface. It must be perfectly clean.
• The paint for dyeing must not contain toxins, otherwise the product will be damaged from their excessive content and there will be a threat to health.
• Before shaping each area, the skin must be moistened with water from a spray bottle.
• Do not start overlaying the first layer over the entire surface at once. It is more rational to do it in zones.
• Try to apply paint evenly.
• Avoid ingress of foreign particles. They can spoil the appearance, it will not work to remove them without traces.

It is possible and even necessary to breathe new life into old leather furniture. Leather products are strong and durable, so they can easily withstand more than one painting. The restoration process is a very painstaking work that requires care, perseverance and minimal skills in working with coloring agents.

By following the instructions for correct and high-quality painting, you can achieve an excellent result. The most important thing is to protect the respiratory and vision organs during work. You can only paint with thick gloves so that the paint does not get on your hands.

Video: painting a leather chair