After purchasing and working with various grades and sizes of leather, I’ve found that deglazing leather should be reserved for very specific circumstances.
Leather surfaces treated with waxes, adhesives, and sealants should be deglazed prior to dyeing. However, only the active ingredients of ethanol and ethyl acetate present in deglazers are required to effectively clean the pores for maximum dye absorption and even finishes. Other alternatives include 70% isopropyl alcohol and acetone.
There are many commercial deglazers available. But in some cases you may be able to create a safer alternative using some one common household item.
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Leather deglazers remove top coats sealants prior to dyeing
I know this may be contrary to what many people believe, but a deglazer is unnecessary if there is no top-coat present on the leather surface.
Topcoats contain waxes and adhesive that provide a protective layer that locks the dye in the leather and prevents it from transferring to another surface. This protection also prevents any new dye from penetrating the leather surface.
The purpose of the deglazer is to remove the waxes and adhesives. It does this through the use of an active chemical ingredient called ethyl acetate. Once the waxy layer has been dissolved a new layer of dye can be applied and allows the freely penetrate the leather evenly.
Leather deglazers are too harsh for simple surface cleaning
It is often suggested that deglazers should be used to remove oil stains deposited on leather by your hands prior to dyeing. This idea is suggested because many believe that oil deposits could lead to uneven areas of dyeing.
This is a valid point, but there are some key details that are often left out of the discussion. Let me explain.
It is true that individual spots of oil on a surface of the leather will lead to uneven dying and spotty areas. This happens because the surface of the leather is inconsistent.
Cleaning the leather surface would help eliminate spotty areas, but you don’t have to use a deglazer. Deglazers have the strength to remove waxy layers and dye residue, and they also end up causing the leather to become extremely dry.
You can get the same cleaning effect with a simple GreenWise acidic or basic solution.
Lemon juice which has an active ingredient of citric acid and vinegar which has an active ingredient of acetic acid can both be used to clean dirt and oil from the surface of leather. Both of these natural acids can be used to make mixtures or paste that are just as effective as some of the other marketed cleaners.
Alternatively, a basic solution which are pretty much soaps, can we use instead of acids. Saddle soap, the most common soap used to clean leather is not only a great cleaner but it is also a conditioner as well.
For a detailed explanation on how to use and make these cleaners visit our article entitled 4 Ways to Clean Leather Before Dyeing
Do you need a deglazer and dye prep before dyeing leather
Fiebings dye prep has been marketed as a cleaner to use before the dyeing process. But after I investigated the ingredients I came to this conclusion. Fiebings Dye Prep is made up of 90% water. The other 10% is alcohol, ammonia, and soap.
Basically, Fiebings Dye Prep has faint traces of the active ingredients in soap and in deglazers and that’s a grand total of 10%. OK, so here is what the information is really saying. Less than 10% of the mixture is soap and alcohol. While deglazers have a minimum of 70% alcohol.
If you’re going to clean your leather you’re better off just purchasing Fiebing’s Saddle Soap. You get the added benefits of it being a conditioner, and it can be used for a host of other leather craft purposes. I’m all about getting the most out of my money and I want you to at least have the information available so that you can make your own decision.
The active ingredient used in deglazing leather is alcohol. We tested and compared solutions of varying alcohol content to see how well they deglazed the surface
What can be used as an alternative to deglazers
| Active Ingredients | Cost per ounce | |
| Fiebings Deglazer | 10 – 30% Ethyl Alcohol (Ethanol)70 – 90% Ethyl Acetate | $.50 – $1.56 |
| Ethanol(Denatured Alcohol) | 95 – 99% Alcohol | |
| Isopropyl Alcohol | 70% isopropyl Alcohol30% purified water | |
| Acetone |
The active ingredient in deglazers is ethyl acetate
What is the deglazer made up of
Fiebings sells a deglaze that will cost you anywhere in the range of $0.50 to $1.56 per ounce depending on the size of the container that you purchase.
As a former chemist one of the first things that I look at when deciding whether to use a chemical is a material safety data sheet also known as in MSDS.
The most recent MSDS from 2015 stated that the active ingredients in Fiebing’s deglazer is
- 10 – 30% Ethyl Alcohol
- 70 – 90% Ethyl Acetate
Dont take my word for it. I have included the information, so that you can view the information for yourself. Check it out here at MSDS Fiebings Deglazer
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) provided a little more information on the ingredients. Ethyl acetate is a standard solvent that can be found in paints varnishes, lacquers, cleaners and perfumes. Ethyl alcohol is present in alcoholic drinks, cereal crops, radishes, fruit juices, beer, wine, and spirits. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0260.html
Alcohol Concentration –
Ventilation – Local exhaust ventilation or other engineering controls to control mist or vapor.
Our conclusion-
Now that you have a base idea of what is in the marketed deglazer, you can decide on what you want to use for the deglazing process.
Isopropyl Alcohol can be used as a deglazer
Can isopropyl alcohol be used as an alternative to deglazers? Before I get into the answer let’s take a logical look at this. Leather is essentially skin…or treated skin. We have skin on our bodies. And sometimes we use alcohol to clean up the area on our bodies.
If you have ever applied an adhesive to a surface, you will notice that it usually comes with an isopropyl alcohol pad to clean the surface. This information suggests that Isopropyl alcohol should be useful for removing waxes, adhesives…things typically found on the top coats of leather.
But lest take a deeper look. Isopropyl alcohol is a viable option for deglazing leathers. The alcohol concentration of isopropyl alcohol is roughly 70% alcohol in 30% water. When compared to ethyl alcohol(ethanol), isopropyl alcohol is non-consumable while ethyl alcohol can be consumed.
These two have completely different structures but they’re antiseptic and cleaning properties are very similar. And for this conversation, isn’t that what you really want to know?
Isopropyl alcohol can be used as an alternative to deglazers. There are no special ventilation requirements.
Alcohol Concentration – 70%
Ventilation- Not needed
Our conclusion- Isopropyl, better known as rubbing alcohol, is a safer concentration. It is found in convenient stores for medicinal purposes. It is less harmful on skin with stronger concentrations of alcohol and is therefore less harmful on your leather surface during the deglazing process.
Ethanol(Denatured Alcohol) can be used as a natural deglazer
Alcohol Concentration – 95 – 99.5% alcohol
Ventilation- needed
Our conclusion- Denatured is ethanol which has had a poisonous component added to it during its creation to make it unsuitable for further distillation
Acetone can be used as a leather deglazer
Now there’s a lot of confusion surrounding the use of acetone as a deglazer. In almost every place I looked online some companies were claiming that it was safe to use. While other companies were talking about how harmful it was.
As with everything else I decided to look it up and see if people were just repeating answers or if they actually had any evidence to prove their position. As a former environmental chemist and chemistry teacher, I am very comfortable with working with chemicals and reading chemical spec sheets.
I investigated the MSDS for acetone, and I also checked several reputable chemical supply companies with one of them being Fisher Scientific. I verified the information with the Center for Disease Disease Control CDC and the FDA.
In almost every place that I looked I found information stating that acetone is a naturally occurring substance. It can be used for cleaning and degreasing. Acetone is non-toxic and safe enough to be used by pharmaceutical companies.
Even the FDA has stated that acetone is safe.
Now that we have covered that, on to the real questions. Can it be used as a deglazer on leather? I keep a bottle of it around the LeatherCraft Garage in the form of a nail polish remover. Nail polish remover is approximately 90% acetone and 10% water. And from my experience, it works just as well as other deglazers.
