Leather shoe dying

[tigo]

I did 2 coats, it was a deep black already and like you, I was worried it might get too dry and stiff so I stopped there.

[kuugaia]

Yeah B., my MA+ Backlaces. I left them back in Australia...so haven't worn them for almost a year. Just thinking about it. Hmm.

Cheers Tigo, really appreciate all the info. Should let us all know how it goes later on, like if the leather softened up well and the color stayed the same. I'm actually thinking of getting a dark grey color with the dying process.

[tigo]

Yeah, sure thing. Here's what they look like now, any discolouration is due to lighting and my crappy camera. I've posted the original/before pics in the Devoa archives.



edit: the colour at the creases is more iridescent than just brown, kinda similar to oil spills, though the effect is not as strong. It's a weird hue but I like it heh

[kuugaia]

Wow, turned out great tigo. Soles look good too. Will definitely be giving Fiebings a go if I decided to dye.

[Zenith]

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?

It stiffened up a bit after applying coats yes, but you really need to brush it up with a suede brush after its set to soften it up again. The colour has held up quite nicely after many many miles of usage. I occasionally need to add a small coat on faded areas using rennovator spray, but no serious fades/bleeds/damage. I'll try and find the pic I took of the before and after.

[b_z]

I don't really want to dye my shoes, instead I'd like to lighten them a bit.
Black shoes, I'd like them to be dark grey (tired of full black ^^'). Any idea, is it even possible? (Same with other leather items: jacket/wallet/belt...)

[ErnstLudwig]

first of all it will definitely be stressful or even really bad for the leather! black = lot of pigments, so its more or less impossible to get an effect by applying additional creme.

Do you know if the leather is colored via a top layer? This one you can remove via acetone and then recolor. If the leather is dyed to the core bleach...

My summary: darken no problem, real redying (especially starting with black) nope

[b_z]

Thanks for your answer.
I'll probably give it a try on a small invisible part of the leather: if it lightens immediately, I'll try the whole boot/belt, if it just seems stressful without any real lightening effect... I'll pass.
I'd like to get that kind of effect (a tad dirtier though).

[ErnstLudwig]

Maybe sandpaper (fine) is another option, but this I have never tried before. Would be interesting to know if it's possible to get the leather glossy after a treatment.

[kuugaia]

Reverse Leather Dyeing

So I dyed my reverse cow leather boots from light grey to black with pretty much perfect results thanks to other people's posts here. It is indeed a very easy and cost effective method to change your footwear color or to renew your boots.

What I used:

Fiebing's Leather Dye (Black - 4 ounce)
Lexol Leather Conditioner

Preparation: Cleaned and conditioned my boots the night before, as the dye is very drying to the leather.



Process:

1. Stuff shoes with newspaper to maintain shape while dyeing (this is extremely important, as the dye will set the leather in a stiff position after it's dry - so it's best that the boot is in the shape you want it to be).
2. Wipe down the shoe to make it slightly damp, this helps the dye to take better I think.
3. Apply the dye.
4. Leave it outside in the shade to dry, as it requires airing out.
5. Wipe it down with a wet cloth to remove excess dye.

Before:



After:



One recommendation that I would make is to dye the part where the sole connects to the upper leather first. It's hard to get the dye in there, so you need to flip your boot horizontal to allow the dye to literally drip in there. After that, the rest is pretty simple as long as you apply the dye in the same brushing direction.

[ACM]

Wow the after looks really good. I wonder if it will fade quickly?

[tigo]

No, my pair of devoas (brown -> black, documented somewhere here too lazy to look up) still as deep and black as when i dyed it, except for some mud here and there.

I guess this is sort of an update; they're holding up quite well, no cracks or anything as long as you keep them well conditioned. I think I had some dye rub off onto my trouser hems for the first few wears, but it was only the inside of the leg so I didn't really give it much thought.

[ACM]

^Thanks that's good to know because I'm debating whether or not to dye these brown boots that have been in my closet collecting dust forever

[kuugaia]

Yeah I'm with tigo. The only issue with dyeing is that it takes awhile for the excess dye to completely come off. I'd say leave it outside in the shade for as long as possible and then wipe it down with a wet cloth a few times after it's completely dry. Otherwise you're gonna have dye rubbing off on your hands and pants every time you put them on.

Fortunately the above boots I dyed has regular leather as well as reverse leather. The regular leather took awhile to soak in the dye to become deep black (after one day with 2 coat applications) while the reverse leather instantly took on the first application. I expected the dyed leather to become less black after it dried, but it was the slight opposite. And yes, no fading at all so far - and I really don't expect there will be.

[ACM]

Is there a certain dye for leather that will be more adhesive and have less possibility of transferring the dye to your clothing?