"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts." — Marcus Aurelius
The metaphor used here by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is most apt. When we allow certain thinking patterns to become ingrained, they can define our very personality and are difficult to erase, which is probably why we have English idioms like "colourful personality" to describe a vivid character, and "dyed in the wool" to describe a person who resists change.
Interestingly, the same metaphor can also apply to leather. If a dyed material (such as blue denim) comes into constant contact with leather which is not regularly cleaned and protected, the dye can transfer to the leather finish and be absorbed by it. This is most noticeable on cream and light-coloured leather. Once the stain is there, it is difficult to remove. In effect, the two pigments have become one, and it is impossible to remove the foreign dye without partially removing the original finish.
An example of this is a job which I completed recently for a client whose taupe-coloured leather armchair recliner had a distinctive pink tinge to the lumbar support and inside back cushion. The pink was the result of dye transfer from a non-colourfast, scarlet-coloured scatter cushion which had been used to provide additional lumbar support. Unfortunately, this stain was unable to be removed by cleaning because the colour had penetrated deep into the pigmented leather finish.
Interestingly, the same metaphor can also apply to leather. If a dyed material (such as blue denim) comes into constant contact with leather which is not regularly cleaned and protected, the dye can transfer to the leather finish and be absorbed by it. This is most noticeable on cream and light-coloured leather. Once the stain is there, it is difficult to remove. In effect, the two pigments have become one, and it is impossible to remove the foreign dye without partially removing the original finish.
An example of this is a job which I completed recently for a client whose taupe-coloured leather armchair recliner had a distinctive pink tinge to the lumbar support and inside back cushion. The pink was the result of dye transfer from a non-colourfast, scarlet-coloured scatter cushion which had been used to provide additional lumbar support. Unfortunately, this stain was unable to be removed by cleaning because the colour had penetrated deep into the pigmented leather finish.
The photos above illustrate how dye transfer can damage your leather's finish and why it requires professional attention. Once the dye transfer had been completely removed, I was then able to apply a new finish which I had colour-matched to the chair's original colour, followed by a protective clear sealer to lock the colour in. The chair looked brand new, and the owner was thrilled with the result, which is shown below.
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