Why is my buffalo redyeing itself when treated?

[745e23]

Hi all,


Recently bought an e23 with heavily faded antracit buffalo interior. I personally didn´t have any problem with the faded look, but wanted to give the leather some treatment to extend its life a little. Read around alot and decided to try leatherique. As seen in the picture, after some treatments the seat to the right is very much darker than the untreated to the left (and the treated was even more faded than the untreated before I began). I have also done some of the other interior parts, they are now almost completely back to factory color. How is this possible? Can someone with knowlegde about leather please explain this to me? I have understood that the buffalo is uncoated leather, but how does it get black/antracit again without me putting any dye on it?

Thanks,

[8991XJ]

Because it is dyed in the leather not painted like the regular leather in the other BMWs. You don't want to paint that leather if you don't have to. Different dying process.

[Hit Man X]

Research 'aniline leather' and it will make more sense.

[745e23]

I have already been reading about aniline, the part I don't is why they get redyed. Is there stored aniline dye in the seats that somehow follows the dirt to the surface? Will the color stay there, or be drawn back into the leather after a period of time?

[offroadkarter]

Wow I wish my seats came out that awesome, how many coatings have you done so far?

I imagine as the seats are getting re hydrated, the color is coming back. It wont' last forever but it should last a while as long as you treat the seats every so often.

[745e23]

Wow I wish my seats came out that awesome, how many coatings have you done so far?

I think I'm at third or fourth on that seat. For some reason the seats are regaining color easier than other interior parts, like middle console, doorcards etc.

[Corner Carver]

It's just the re-hydration process. The leather has minuscule pockets that originally had oil in them. Once the oil has gone the hyde shrinks and it appears shades lighter. Because buffalo has no coating it's obvious as it dries out. Coated leather gets just as dry, you just don't see the color change. You see other signs like shrinkage or hardness and cracking. All signal that you waited too long to apply nutrient rich oil. Quick story: I looked at an '84 745' for sale in the southland a while back and the owner had never oiled the buffalo. It was literally shattering. You touched it and it crumbled to dust. Very sad. Fortunately for us buffalo hyde is extremely robust. And it gives you plenty of heads up that it needs oil before it gets too dry and starts shrink and crack. It does this by turning lighter shades. Check out the color of the hyde in the areas that aren't as exposed to air and light, like in the rear armrest or under the edges of the door panels or under the lay of the seat belt across the rear seat. This is the color it was supposed to be.

Are you sure it's anthracite? Looks like nutria to me. Is the threading black? If it is then it's anthracite. If the thread is tan then it's nutria. I know it's hard to tell from the color of the hyde. My anthracite buffalo was lighter than your faded seat when I got it. It spent it's whole life in Southern California. Gallons(more than 3) of Leatherique Rejuvinator oil later the seats and interior are a lot closer to original color and they're really much more supple and resilient. For the other leather pieces like: center console, glove-box, door panels/trim, abc-pillar, e-brake, etc., you need to apply a lot of direct point pressure and elbow grease to get the hyde to suck the oils up properly. I'm not going to sugar coat it, there is a lot of work involved in doing it right. The good news is it will never again be this hard to make your interior beautiful as long as you maintain it regularly.

Here is my anthracite interior when I first got the car. Check out the color of the head rests. They were the same color as the seats a week earlier. Note the color of the stitching. The before/after door panel is a good comparison too.

[Freshbread]

I had a similar experience but with a different product. I began treating my buffalo anthracite interior back in May, multiple applications, nothing. Then one application before thanksgiving I came back out in the morning and it still looked darkened like I over moisturized the hyde but it was dry.
Mine was hard and dis colored and is now rather soft. I really have grown to love the irregularities (wabi-sabi if you will)

[745e23]

For the other leather pieces like: center console, glove-box, door panels/trim, abc-pillar, e-brake, etc., you need to apply a lot of direct point pressure and elbow grease to get the hyde to suck the oils up properly.

Yes it´s 100% antracite, it´s the cars specs, and it can also be seen in several "hidden" places. Can you explain why console, glovebox etc. need another application technique than the seats? The e-brake console is giving me the hardest time.