A leather glaze is a translucent color, in this case made by diluting any Rub 'n Restore® Color with either Clear Prep+Finish™ or Satin Sealer. Use a glaze to:
- prime absorbent aniline or semi-aniline leather;
- prime dry, porous hot tub covers (not recommended for boat upholstery, though);
- create or mimic a distressed, patinated or burnished appearance.
More color in the glaze mixture will be more opaque. It will quickly hide stains or fading but also obscure natural characteristics and marbling (see here).
More clear / satin sealer will dilute the color and yield a more translucent finish that allows more of the original color and features to show. However, this also lightens the color's appearance, and will not match color swatches (which are made with pure color).
Satin Sealer dries low-luster.
Clear Prep+Finish™ dries with more shine, particularly on finished leathers that repel liquids. When mixed with bright colors (Buckskin, Butterscotch, Camel, Cognac, Mustard, Chocolate, Brick, Rust, Cherrywood, Red Chili, Wine, Plum, Midnight Blue, Storm Blue, Lagoon, Sea Foam and Pine), a glaze made with Clear Prep+Finish™ may result in a more saturated hue than simply using it alone as a topcoat. Do not use as a topcoat on vinyl.
This video demonstrates using Clear Prep+Finish™ as part of the color changing process.
I am using the cognac conditioner on smooth leather that had many rough and scratched areas covered with angelus repair. Most of the bottom cushions are covered in the angelus repair sanded with 500-600 sandpaper. How will the color look different on the unscratched leather? And will a glaze mixed with colored conditioner help? Prefer semi gloss finish for easier cleaning.
Our finishes should work just fine over Angelus’ filler, but we’ve never used their products and can’t offer much guidance or support. You’ll just have to experiment. Every project has its quirks. You can get a guided experience through our instructions hub. If you want expert human help, please upload photos and info via the consultation.
[First, I apologize if I missed this in your (very well organized) FAQ section. After researching many products, you folks at Rub ‘n Restore were clearly the people to go with!]
Can the glazing technique be used to “nudge” a color toward a different hue of similar value?
Say my chair’s original vinyl is (using your color names) Wine, and the goal is to recolor it to a hue between Brick and Cherrywood. But I want to allow variations in the original to show through, and also make it easier to clean around (and maintain the color of) the many nail heads–which are spaced leaving vinyl between them.
If I made a glaze using Honey or Butterscotch, could I “nudge” that Wine toward the destination color? Or would the result, even with stippling, just look like what it is–a thin layer of one color sitting on top of another?
Maybe this could be a topic for another video: “Ways to Recolor Between Hues of Similar Value.” (LOL–or “More Mistakes to Avoid!”)
Thanks for the kind words. Please see this article with videos about mottling and printing different colors. Our colors can be used to change color, so if you’re wanting to steer the Wine more Brick or Cherrywood, I would work with those colors. Using a Honey or Butterscotch color would eventually steer it more golden brown.
Thanks for the quick response, but i am wondering if i can apply the finish without adding the color? What will the results be, as i love the color i just applied (taupe).
I was thinking the same
Love it! I just stained my couch and loveseat in an hour and a half. I wiped all the excess off with a pillowcase. Going to go back over it with one part glaze one part color. How long before I could sit on it?
When it feels dry, it is dry and ready for use! But it’s not yet cured, so you might have to touch-up if somebody spilled a cocktail on it. See here about dry time vs. cure time.
I have used your product on faded leather. It colors well but I can’t get it to last. The fade comes back through. Is there some way to seal after color is applied to make it last longer?
Did you color change? This will require periodic touch-up and this varies with quality and condition of material. We can sell you an acrylic-urethane satin sealer to add durability. This is special order and not available through the site.
If you didn’t color change, it’s likely that the leather is too worn and would benefit from a little filler before recoloring. [Update 2026: Satin Sealer is now a stocked product — see the RC-050 product page.]