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  • Umami
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2010
    • 92

    #31
    well done ! it is better dye the leather into navy and then black by which you can achieve really dark result

    Comment

    • sinnedk
      Banned
      • Dec 2011
      • 137

      #32
      Originally posted by kuugaia View Post
      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.
      this is one of the most useful things i've read here, thank you, also can you comment on how the shoes are doing a couple of weeks later, is the dye set in, no cracks etc, i may be doing this to a pair of shoes too

      Comment

      • blackfedora
        Senior Member
        • Jan 2012
        • 507

        #33
        So I took the plunge and attempted a vat/immersion dye of a pair of light brown leather boots using the method that Chinorlz originally posted a protocol link for here:

        Showcase and discuss student and DIY work, your educational experience in fashion.


        The result was nothing but clean boots. Pretty much no dye took to the leather. It made me wonder what went wrong. The protocol is for chrome tanned leathers not for aniline tanned leathers. Now chrome based compounds are typically quite colourful (orange, green, yellow, purple etc.) and aniline based compounds, in my experience at work, have been greys, browns and black. So I figure for most of us, we've got aniline tanned hides on our feet, backs and sometimes legs and the vat dyeing recipe (http://www.prochemical.com/direction...DF/Leather.pdf) will probably not work. Hopefully someone finds a functional vat dye protocol that I can use.

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        • kuugaia
          Senior Member
          • Feb 2010
          • 1007

          #34
          Originally posted by sinnedk View Post
          this is one of the most useful things i've read here, thank you, also can you comment on how the shoes are doing a couple of weeks later, is the dye set in, no cracks etc, i may be doing this to a pair of shoes too
          Apologies, did not see this until just then. The boots are still as dark as the night (very black), so the results are flawless in my opinion. It took awhile before the excess dye completely wore off; but then again I didn't wear them all that much. No cracks, no issues, nothing.

          Comment

          • blackfedora
            Senior Member
            • Jan 2012
            • 507

            #35
            Kuugala,

            I tried the method you employed and my results were similar to yours, i ended up going black as well as i couldn't obtain the charcoal colour i was going for, maybe a future experiment will obtain the desired results.

            Comment

            • MoFiya
              Senior Member
              • Sep 2007
              • 1438

              #36
              Wanted to chime in and thank kuugaia for his helpful guide. Will apply the same procedure to my 10 sei 0 otto derbies to turn them into a pitch black from a greenish-black.
              Although I already miss the contrasting seams...

              edit.
              Two swift questions:
              1) Can I apply the same dye (Fiebing's Professional Oil Dye) to suede leather?
              2) Do I still need to condition the shoes the evening before?
              I have dreams of orca whales and owls
              But I wake up in fear

              BBS for sale (Sz 48-52)

              Comment

              • kuugaia
                Senior Member
                • Feb 2010
                • 1007

                #37
                blackfedora: I would assume that you can just use the Dye Reducer that Fiebings offer to dilute the black to be weaker. That will definitely require some trial and error to get the right grey, as various leathers take to the dye differently.

                MoFiya: You're welcome! I only had the courage to dye my boots thanks to other posters on here, so was just repaying the favor haha. I'm just a regular dude (just self-read knowledge) but I would say:

                1. There is not going to be any issues, as I used regular leather dye on my reverse leather.
                2. Not necessarily the evening before, but the leather needs to be healthy before you dye it. After the dye sets into the leather, it will be very dry and more prone to cracking. So I say keep it healthy, and don't let it dry in direct sunlight.

                Comment

                • blackfedora
                  Senior Member
                  • Jan 2012
                  • 507

                  #38
                  Thanks for the tip kuugaia, have started the experiments just prior to type this...

                  Comment

                  • MoFiya
                    Senior Member
                    • Sep 2007
                    • 1438

                    #39
                    I just found out that Fiebing's has a special dye for suede shoes, called "Fiebing's Suede and Roughout Dye". Will probably order this.
                    I have dreams of orca whales and owls
                    But I wake up in fear

                    BBS for sale (Sz 48-52)

                    Comment

                    • MoFiya
                      Senior Member
                      • Sep 2007
                      • 1438

                      #40
                      That sounds great, thanks for your feedback :) I just ordered as well...
                      I have dreams of orca whales and owls
                      But I wake up in fear

                      BBS for sale (Sz 48-52)

                      Comment

                      • longwalker
                        Junior Member
                        • Jul 2012
                        • 2

                        #41
                        what coat did you use?

                        Comment

                        • Null12
                          Senior Member
                          • Oct 2013
                          • 139

                          #42
                          Wow, I am so glad I found this thread. Lots of cool info.

                          Time to butcher some shoes up~

                          Comment

                          • schuur
                            Member
                            • Oct 2013
                            • 78

                            #43
                            what kind of dye would i use for "destroyed goatskin"

                            here is a pic of the material, dying from sky blue to black

                            Comment

                            • kuugaia
                              Senior Member
                              • Feb 2010
                              • 1007

                              #44
                              Honestly it doesn't matter that much - all of the dyes will get the job done. From the looks of it, it could be some sort of reversed leather so you can try the suede dyes.

                              Comment

                              • DarkerStitches
                                Junior Member
                                • Feb 2012
                                • 2

                                #45
                                Awesome. This is really helpful.
                                I really want to dye my white Dr. Martens a distressed silver-grey. It's probably going to have hints of green and black to add to the distress.

                                Comment

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