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  • Zenith
    Senior Member
    • Jun 2009
    • 466

    Leather shoe dying

    I did a quick search to see if there was a specific topic on this, didn't find one. If thread is inappropriate by all means remove.

    I have had about 3-4 pairs of shoes/boots which I never wear due to their colour. Since I heard that cobblers will dye leather shoes I went to almost all cobblers within a mile radius. They all gave me a confused stunned look and simply told me to "do it myself". Being extremely inexperienced with such a procedure I found it a bit daunting that I would get it wrong, do a botched job and butcher my footwear. After a month of procrastination. I finally buckled down and attempted to dye several shoes. Each with a different material. Keep in mind I have no previous experience with leather dyes in any form, so forgive me if this too basic


    First attempt were suede shoes. This was actually pretty brainless, clean with brush, add coat, leave to dry, add another coat, leave to dry, brush up again. It was so amazingly straightforward I was quiet baffled why I didn't attempt this sooner.


    Second attempt was on smooth leather. These boots:



    First was to wipe leather down with a methylated spirit. I assumed this would clean down and strip some of the existing dye. To my surprise at the time the leather looked pretty much exactly the same. I tried my first coat of dye, and it was immediately absorbed into the leather. After 3 coats I finally got roughly the shade I wanted. Rubbed down and polish with shoe cream and voila:



    Very rewarding experience so far.
  • the breaks
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2007
    • 1543

    #2
    I've also tried this and found it surprisingly easy technically but quite laborous overall. What dye did you use?
    Suede is too Gucci.

    Comment

    • Peasant
      Senior Member
      • Jul 2009
      • 1507

      #3
      There's some more discussion on leather dying in this thread.

      I recently dyed a pair of brown boots to black. Took Chinorlz's advice step by step. Acetone to clean off the the leather / open it up. This can be bought at most hardware stores. Then Fiebling's black dye. They make great dye in a wide variety of colors. There are some tips to dying on their site as well. Two coats of that then a coat of black weather proofing. I used Pecard's - same stuff I use on other black leathers. It wasn't until the weatherproofing that they looked really black. They came out great. Just get some rubber gloves and cotton pieces to apply. You can use a sponge as well just make sure it's brand new. Do it in an area that you don't mind getting dirty. The dye is super thin and can splash easily.

      Comment

      • lost53
        Senior Member
        • Dec 2010
        • 658

        #4
        You gentleman are braver than I.
        It is not detrimental to the leather?

        Comment

        • Peasant
          Senior Member
          • Jul 2009
          • 1507

          #5
          Not at all if you're using quality products. The Pecard weatherproofing actually improves the leather. All in it was only about $20.

          Comment

          • chomeo
            Senior Member
            • Mar 2010
            • 163

            #6
            this is great as I've been wanting to dye a couple pairs. One is carpe and i was scare about it. i may just end up practicing on a pair of leather sneakers then the carpe.

            Comment

            • nadir
              Senior Member
              • May 2011
              • 108

              #7
              Is it better to paint the dye on (like paint), or to fully submerge the leather into the dye?

              Comment

              • Zenith
                Senior Member
                • Jun 2009
                • 466

                #8
                Originally posted by the breaks View Post
                I've also tried this and found it surprisingly easy technically but quite laborous overall. What dye did you use?
                Regular dylon dye (and dylon nubuck/suede for the reverse boots). One thing I did mess up on was protecting the sole area from the dye drips. On a hard sole it was easy to wipe off, but for a softer sole its there. Not a huge deal but will try and avoid that for the next attempt.

                EDIT: If you are going to use spirits and dye I would strongly recommend you are in a well ventilated area. Luckily I have a balcony to do all the dirty work and even then it was quite suffocating.
                Last edited by Zenith; 06-18-2011, 06:30 PM.

                Comment

                • aussy
                  Senior Member
                  • Jul 2011
                  • 555

                  #9
                  On a related note and for those interested, I dyed a pair of boots last month using ink (I believe it was print making or photography ink, I bought it for an art class four years back for the purpose of ink drawing).

                  Wiped them down with rubbing alcohol, applied ink, set in sun for a few hours, rubbed with a dry paper towel.

                  The color has rubbed off/faded a bit in the creases (which I like, shows hints at the original dark green underneath), but otherwise held fast. I wouldn't recommend this method for any footwear you cherish, but it felt nice to 'update' these well worn boots.

                  Comment

                  • kuugaia
                    Senior Member
                    • Feb 2010
                    • 1007

                    #10
                    Has anybody successfully dyed their reverse leather footwear? I'm quite worried about the dye itself stiffening the leather up too much that it cracks afterwards with wear. More specifically, did you just dye the along leather soles with the same dye?

                    How did your suede shoes hold up afterwards Zenith, was the leather alright? What dye you use?

                    Comment

                    • tigo
                      Member
                      • May 2009
                      • 95

                      #11
                      I recently dyed my brown Devoa boots to black, i think they are reverse leather, at least the shop's blog mentioned they are reverse.

                      They did stiff up a bit, but I put on several coats of leather conditioner/oil to soften it back up...not sure if it will start cracking later on with more wear but right now it seems ok.

                      Comment

                      • kuugaia
                        Senior Member
                        • Feb 2010
                        • 1007

                        #12
                        ^Ahh okay. What dye did you use and how were the results? Did you paint the soles as well?

                        Comment

                        • tigo
                          Member
                          • May 2009
                          • 95

                          #13
                          Fiebing's, as recommended here, but the professional oil dye which is for vegetable tanned leather (my Devoa's are). I think they came out pretty good, very dark but some hints of the original brown (only noticeable up close) at the creases. I could do another coat, but I left it alone.

                          I did the soles, and the leather laces too. Seems fine but I'm worried the laces might crack and break over time since it stiffened quite a bit, hoping the leather oil keeps it from doing just that.

                          Comment

                          • kuugaia
                            Senior Member
                            • Feb 2010
                            • 1007

                            #14
                            Ahhh okay, I was thinking about dying a grey/light grey pair of boots. You said your brown started showing up at the creases, how many coats of dye did you put on?

                            Comment

                            • Raw
                              Senior Member
                              • Oct 2009
                              • 1106

                              #15
                              Your ma+ back laces?

                              Comment

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