Before & After: Color change on KF&S Full Grain Oxfords!
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- Опубликовано: 25 ноя 2024
- In this video I stretched my boundaries by re-dying a pair of Kilgour, French & Stanbury full grain leather quarter brogue Oxfords I picked up at a local thrift store. I used Feibings Leather dye to change the shoes from their light brown to burgundy. As with all of my before-and-afters, I give them a thorough cleaning and spit shine too. I also discus the history of the company now just known as "Kilgour", a high-end English Savile Row clothing company. I also discus who I think the actual maker may be (KG&F didn't make their own shoes).
Although I didn't say this in the video, you may notice the shoes are a size 13D. I usually wear an 11.5 or 12 ee or eee, but the shoes are actually SHORTER in length than my Allen Edmonds Park Avenues (65 Last) size 11.5 3e! They are about the same width at the ball. At first I thought since the shoes are made in England, that they were UK size 13, but that doesen't make sense because a 13 UK would be like a US 13.5.
I refer to Kirby Allison's website and RUclips channel:
His website: www.thehangerproject.com
His RUclips Channel: / @kirbyallison
Here are some of my videos I reference:
"How to Date Allen Edmonds Shoes"
• How to Date Allen Edmo...
"Saddle Soap: Why? What’s in it?"
• Saddle Soap: Why? What...
Here are 3 videos where I first dabbled in dying shoes:
"Restoring terribly salt stained J&Ms with Patina"
• Restoring terribly sal...
"How I put a Patina on my old Bostonian Loafers"
• How I put a Patina on ...
"How I put Burnishing/Patina back on a shoe"
• How I put Burnishing/P...
I apologize, although I believe all of my videos have good content, you'll see that the farther back you go, the worse quality the production and sound is in my videos is (I'm learning as I go!).
The first 4 songs are from RUclips's audio library free music:
www.youtube.co...
1."Big Blues" by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Artist: audionautix.com/
2. "Fortunate Son" by Silent Partner
3. "Diskofunque" by Francis Preve
4. "Elite_Syncopations" by E's Jammy Jams
5. "Another Happy Ending"
Exzel Music Publishing (freemusicpublicdomain.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons...
Here’s a link to a couple photos with new Sovereign Grade narrow flat 75cm dress laces from www.TheHangerProject.com!
instagram.com/p/BrY_tkjHuWO/?igshid=19iwiroty0cle
Robert Powers, love your shoe color change video! Do you think this would work going from black to mahogany? Please advise! -Alex (Retired Army)
Alex, I know it is possible to lighten a black shoe, but I have never been able to do it. You will have to remove the black color before dying them any other color. Mahogany dye on top of black (from my experience) they just look black. I’ve seen others strip back off, but the times I tried it after 30 mins I had a spot the size of a quarter that got lighter and I gave up.
My first time...My Grandfather was a retired Naval officer and taught me how to dress and behave like a gentleman...Shined TOP SHELF shoes were a must...I'm now in my 60s and some things DON'T CHANGE...THANK YOU for your efforts
Mark Howard, my family is an Army family for the most part but my upbringing was the same. I totally agree. I used to get complements and asked to teach my shining techniques and what products for combat boots and dress uniform oxfords.
Only an American wouldn’t have heard of Savile Row 😂 made my day. Brilliant video and a great transformation.
finalPattern - we all start somewhere. As Burt Reynolds said in Smokey and the Bandit: “how dumb you are depends on what part of the country you’re standing in.”
Robert Powers It made me smile. Keep it up, loved the video.
Great job Robert! I have used Fiebings Dye many times over the years to recolor and restore old handgun holsters and on a few pairs of boots that a friend wanted dyed Black, and it does an excellent job! Thank you for posting this, your videos are very helpful and instructive!
Finally something other than Allen Edmonds! Great video. Thx.
it really is cool watching intelligent people talk about things theyre passionate about. great video, Robert!
🙏🏼 thank you!
Wow! What a great video- so informative and entertaining! I have some light colored leather shoes I want to dye and your incredibly thorough info REALLY helps!! Thank you!!! 😄💯💗
You're welcome! Just be aware, the base color affects the final color. In other words, the final color may not be exactly the color of the dye. Practice on an old pair you're not afraid to ruin first! And have fun!
Wow, those turned out great. What a transformation! As usual, a very enjoyable video to watch. Thanks for posting these.
Great work. Really like the new colour tone and transformation. Good idea about the black flat laces, looking forward to see the complete look.
Your love for shoes is commendable!!
Oh, and it happens to be my first comment on RUclips!
nachiketa arya 🙏🏼 thank you! And welcome to the discussions! I’m @rvp_bob_powers on Instagram.
Great video, very informative and I liked the music, too. A side note, if you're unsure when conducting the initial dyeing you can dilute the dye with rubbing alcohol. Then go darker if desired. That way it's not like jumping into the ocean without a life jacket. Also, you have a very kind, patient and understanding wife. I have to try to curb my enthusiasm to play down my shoe obsession.
Good stuff! I have a pair of corrected Bostonians in boring brown. I top coated with Hermes red. Definite improvement. I just added a coat of navy blue looking for a burgundy. Just OK. After a while I may strip the polish and mix the red and blue in a separate jar or maybe go with a dye. The corrected leather shines well and generates compliments. (Gents gazette + hanger project) / 2 = Cobbler Bob.
Martin Fox you’re talking polish, correct? I darkened my AE McAllisters with Polish:
instagram.com/p/BciZaPqFKPS/?igshid=off4g0704l64
The major downside I’ve seen over time, is as the polish cracks or get scuffed, it removes the color, which does not happen when you dye them. In other words, changing color with polish is much harder to maintain than changing color with dye. Downside to dye is that it’s pretty permanent, where polish is reversible. That’s interesting that you were able to shift the color that much with just polish. Got any pics?
Those came out AWESOME. Great rich color. You should be proud
Hogly Stevenson 🙏🏼 thank you!
The way it turned out is simply amazing! Great eBay finds, too!
Wow they really turned out as good as you can expect. I have the exact same leather dye at home and this gives me some ideas.
I did it tonight, and we’ll see... looks like it might end up a bit blotchy though.
Nice video love your passion. I wanted to be a cobbler when I was little, I liked the idea of having a little old workshop with old wooden floors and shoes to fix.
Whenever I remove polish and wax, I use turpentine and finish with saddle soap. Does a great job.
Kieran Goddard great tip. You might have just spawned an idea for another video, take an old pair of shoes in test various different solvents on them?
The sweat equity is worth the results. I just did the same thing to a pair of magnannis I bought from eBay - a la Kirby Alison.
What a awesome transformation. Thanks for sharing!
Those first few moments when the dye hit the shoe I thought it was going to be trouble, but it dried a nice colour. You nailed it Cobbler Bob!
EPMD_ LOL yeah, what I’ve figured out is that they wind up being lighter than when you first apply the dye. The alcohol in the dye makes the leather look darker than it will be after the alcohol evaporates.
I was like - You ruined the Shoe!!! Turned out great though.
Beautiful pair of shoes. The color is a big improvement, keep the videos coming.
So thankful to you and excited about frank and detailed instructions that you give.
Love your videos so much.
Learned from you and just dyed my Ace Marks blushers from light brown to burgundy... they look just amazing!
And now they became a head turner for women when I’m passing by...)
Amazing
Very good job, those shoes look amazing, now I'm not afraid to try that on my shoes I want to change the color. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for your time, passion and effort in this clip. I'm only new to the game but I hope to acquire only a fraction of your knowledge and expertise. Thanks again.
Omg you are such a cute shoe nerd! I absolutely freaking LOVE LOVE LOVE how excited u are talking about ur shoe collection before the transformation!! It tickled me & I totally relate to this on more than one level!...I absolutely LOVE my clothes, transforming pajama pants into sexy dresses, ripping seams out of sleeved shirts to make them halter blouses/dresses/bikini tops & doing small sewing & dye jobs! I clicked on this video bc I absolutely love learning how to do new things & want to transform some sneakers but seeing this in my search results intrigued me & I'm so glad I came to watch! The shoes turned out absolutely amazing!! Great job, love! I'm most definitely going to subscribe! Love love love this video! Thank you for being so thorough & into what u do! The passion in ur voice is apparent & appreciated! ❤🙌🤯
LOL, thanks for the kind words!
Great content as always, I know this is old but I thought it'd be cool to let you know.
Savile Row is almost exclusively known for bespoke suits, although you can also get bespoke shirts and ties. For bespoke or off the rack shoes, Jermyn street (a few hundred yards away) is what you're looking for.
David - thank you! Some day I will see for myself!
Bob! Thanks for another great video. You make it look like a breeze
Awesome video, amazing what you accomplished with your hard work and effort.
Thank you!!
Beautiful job and those shoes look like new you save your self a lot of money by buying used and making them look like new 👍👍👍👍
Great job Bob. This has encouraged me to do try this on a pair I have. I’m going from a tan to an AE coffee color. I see this brand worked out good for you.
joegarcia54 - I’d advise practicing on an old pair or thrift a pair of cheap shoes first for practice!
I’m proud of you your hard work paid off
Hey I love how you take care of it. Thank you for the information.
Great job and they look very nice! thanks for posting the video.
Another excellent and extremely informative video. I got the biggest kick out of your comment at the beginning of the video about trying to finish the video before your wife came home. I find myself in the same situation, whenever, I place an order for another pair of Allen Edmond’s shoes and I pray that I can intercept the shoes from the Fed Ex delivery person, before my wife gets home from work. To keep the cost down, I’ve had very good luck in purchasing Factory Seconds from AE. I swear, I hardly ever find a blemish in their Factory Second shoes. Getting back to this video, I think that the shoes came out beautiful. You should be proud of your results. Your video productions have improved dramatically over time and I have learned a lot about shoes, shoe care, and shoe restoration from you. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Ed F 😂 and thank you! Yeah, I was CLUE-LESS when I started making these videos, and they were only getting a hundred or two hundred views mostly from my friends at first.
I forgot to ask if you were able to pull off the entire project, (purchase of shoes, changing the color of shoes, etc. without your wife discovering your acquisition of these shoes)? Just as a quick FYI. I don’t know if you ever use Venetian Shoe Cream, however, if you do, Oak Street Boots in Chicago sells 4 ounce bottles of Venetian Shoe Cream for $5.00 bottle. This is about 50% cheaper than I’ve found anywhere else. Anyway, just thought I’d share this info. Oak Street has free shipping for any purchase greater than $50.00. Take care, Ed.
Truthfully, anymore she really just does not care. I found that after I crossed about 12-13 pairs of shoes she just quit asking all together. But yes, in this case I was done with it before she came home lol.
Excelent job that’s the way to provide of a new life a pair of shoes👏🏻
Those Hanson drill bits are top notch! ;P (Great video, Robert!)
Stunning transformation!! Well done
Very well done, I think I will try this, thank you for sharing.
You did an amazing job! Beautiful and inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing.
E M you’re welcome!
That one great dye job, SUPERB!
I could see that these were really nice shoes fifteen seconds into the video. What a steal--a $600 pair of shoes for $20!!!!
Robert I am enjoying your videos and am going to try to have a little fun myself trying some of your ideas. I just bought a pair of J&M for 15 bucks and will try to bring them back to life. Thanks for the tips. Kim
Kimbell Messier -you’re welcome! And have fun!
The shoes have turned out great! Well done.
Love this video and off to try my own dye job for this! Thanks!
Try it on a pair of inexpensive shoes you’re not afraid to ruin first! Good luck!
Very nice! Keep the videos coming.
Jamie Bell 🙏🏼 thanks!
Great job Robert, thank you for sharing...
Hi,
I tried your technique and it worked out great!
I wish I could upload the before and after pictures :)
Thanks for a great video!!
I'm so glad to hear this! I'm on Instagram too @rvp_bob_powers by the way.
The folks at Keds, though, had access to the same 200 page internet report on identifying Crocket and Jones shoes, so they could have taken a $10 standard pair of keds and doctored them up to resemble the descriptions the internet.
How do you know it’s not a Keds Crockett and Jones knockoff?
Just kidding, beautiful shoes, great find! Enjoy them! (And the work you did definitely brings them to the next level!)
LOL, you had me going for a second there. Thanks for watching, and sorry for missing your comment!
@@CobblerBob when I saw your ❤️given to my comment, I re-watched your video; I can’t believe how you transformed those shoes into something so beautiful that they look like they should just be displayed, never worn! The color and the sheen brings out the artistry in the original shoe I’d never imagine casually looking at them in the condition you got them in. They’re just a pure delight on the eyes, the beautiful leather & the shoe’s incredible lines, form, details.
Nice job Robert!
Nice job. The black flat laces were the correct choice!!!
Excellent job!
Awesome job
Nicely done. Bravo 👏
Question? How do I fix up brownish Chelsea 👢 boots with scratch marks at the toe area???
amazing transformation! Kudos to you
🙏🏼 thank you!
You got a great pair of shoes there!
Congrats! Great results!
Thats a stunning job!
Amazing job Roberto!
"Savile Row is in the centre of England"? It's a street in London (which isn't in the centre of England) famous for its bespoke (and highly expensive) tailoring. Anyway, I greatly enjoyed your video, thank you.
Love the Scot Joplin! Nice work!
excellent video!
Bob, I just did a thorough cleaning on a thrifted brown Ferragamo which had lots of wax and a dark patina, I think not factory made. I cleaned them with thinner and white gasoline, as well as saddle soap. As I cleaned them with thinner a sticky cream appeared which became very hard to remove and could not remove all of it. I have already wax them but there are lumps (grume) that still exist. Any recommendation? Thanks
Great job, Robert.! Too much work for my taste, but I loved the video. Love your research and background information. Keep it going.! By the way, Styleforum IS a wealth of knowledge. I have learned a lot there as well.
Mark, thanks for sharing the info on “Styleforum”....I was not aware of this Forum and checked it out...seems very interesting. Just curious if you know of any other sources of quality information...my interests are primarily focused on shoes and watches. Thanks, Ed
@@edf2953 Thanks, Ed F. I use You Tube a lot and do most of my research using search engines. Robert Powers and Kirby Allison provide a lot of useful info, and be sure to look at all the videos about AE that branch off. I visit the nearest AE stores and talk to the staff, the are a wealth of knowledge. I will look for my link (from Styleforum) for a list of catalogues that go back decades. The main points for me have been shoe care and polishing, sales and places to buy them at good prices, company and model history, and anything to do with shoe construction and recrafting. I have several pairs that I have not worn yet, and my wife reminded me that on a functional level, I can slow down on purchasing and focus more on shoe care and history. That's one of the best things about quality shoes, once you have them, they last and you don't have to keep replacing them. So for my own personal taste, I have a decent collection and I am not currently doing active shopping. There are more expensive shoes, but my collection is mainly AE. On Styleforum I notice there are fans of several weeks brands, take your pick. Enjoy.!
@@edf2953 Ed, I just looked for the catalogue collection. It is on a site called Issuu. You can Google it. They go WAY BACK.
Thanks Mark, I will check out the site you reference. Ed
@@edf2953 If I recall correctly, I found the link while I was at Styleforum. I had some older shoes I was trying to get a date on. Great for referencing changes in the shoes.
Please do a video applying the Bordeaux polish. Thanks
Nice transformation!
Robert,
I just bought a pair of Italian cap toe shoes on e-Bay, it looks like the prrayer some sort of coating on them to make them shine. I tried using acetone on them, but it did not cut the coating off. Can you offer me some advice?
I apologize for missing your comment, I see it was 2 years ago, so it's probably irrelevant... It's so hard to say without seeing them, but if acetone doesn't take the coating off, I don't think anything will. If it won't come off, I'm guessing the only other option is to shine it as is?
Very nice job!
Thank you! Cheers!
Can you strip and re-dye
Allen Edmonds Chromexcel leather, from light tan to burgundy?
I have honestly never tried any re-dying with Chromexcel. I don’t know how it would react, but in general, going from a light color to a dark color is the best case scenario.
@@CobblerBob Thank you as always
Are all shoes with stitched soles Goodyear welted? Thx Ed
Edward Whibley - no!! Check this explanation of Blake stitched vs Goodyear Welted out:
ruclips.net/video/4SOag1z6-Yg/видео.html
and:
ruclips.net/video/CM8Eu46KuAI/видео.html
THEN watch this one on spotting False stitches:
ruclips.net/video/nwY8tZy7PPg/видео.html
Great video! I was curious if you had experimented with turpentine, mineral spirits and/or isopropyl alcohol to remove polish, in addition or instead of the acetone and renomat. I saw bedos use turpentine on a Shell Cordovan restoration and paint the shoe with oil based fiebings dye afterwards. Keep up the good work!
Pretty good job. Was it mahogany all around? Dye, cream & wax?
Great video, lot of background and good content.
Hey Bob,
What do you think is the most purple of the fiebings leather dye: mahogany, burgundy, or cordovan? I like the results you got on those but it’s hard to tell on RUclips how red versus purple they are
Pat Pawlowski - Great question. Of the Fiebings dies in the red/burgundy range, the only 2 colors I’ve used are the “dark red“ & “mahogany“. The mahogany had a browned hue. Go watch this video, fast forward to15 mins 30 seconds:
ruclips.net/video/xyfvzHBJMqA/видео.html
Of course, the underlying color you’re dying on top of makes a HUGE difference as to how the resultant cover turns out, but for those shoes I used dark red mixed with a little black, which worked really well if you like the burgundy/merlot color that is more on the purple side. I’ve never used their Cordovan or burgundy.
Robert Powers thanks bob. Yes, I watched through your videos, I think if I I got what you got out of mahogany on these shoes I would be happy, I might also get mahogany and add a small dose of actual purple to it. I am trying to replicate some carminas I had which I had to sell due to fit, they were museum calf burgundy/plum. Deep dark purple, absolutely gorgeous color. Don’t want to afford a new pair right now so want to dye an existing pair I have to get close
@@patpawlowski7635 you can experiment on a tiny area on the side of the tongue that are hidden under the vamps. You can easily get 3-4 tries to dial in your color. Err on the light side (start with less purple) then add more until you get the desired result. As I said before, the base color will have a BIG effect on the final dyed color. Also, with alcohol based dyes, the color will look MUCH darker when you first put it on. The color will lighten up a lot after it dries and you wipe it off.
1. The alcohol itself wets the leather and makes it look darker than the final result.
2. Some of the pigment will sit on top of the leather (the alcohol is a carrier for the solid dye) and will wipe off.
Any thoughts on heating the leather first with a heat gun to open the pores of the leather to allow the dye to soak in easier
Came out beautiful...
Very impressive. Have you ever tried dyeing suede? I found that shoe repair companies are reluctant to take on such jobs.
Rev. James C - no, I’ve never tried! I don’t see why it would not work though?
Enjoy all your videos!! I was wondering what do you think about the company Brass Boot. It's the highend subsidiary European company to Nunn Bush shoe. I know Nunn Bush is an economy shoe but I just want to get your thoughts.
Tone FSL I’ve seen a few pairs of their shoes, but never really examined them. I have a church friend that owns many pairs of Allen Edmonds, and has spoken highly of the brand as he owns a few pairs of Brass Boot shoes too, so they can’t be bad? Thanks for that info, I didn’t know the 2 companies were connected.
Really freaking cool, my man! Like you, I too thrift & eBay shoes and often would like to change the color of one pair or anther. Thabk you for the demo! I have a question: do you think that maybe a higher quality leather (read: more expensive shoes) might take the dye differently? Like, you might get that "hand painted streak" you mentioned you had thought that maybe two coats would create, but were surprised to find it didn't?
Ben Heinatz 🙏🏼 thank you! GREAT question. I cannot answer your question definitively, but I’m guessing lower quality leather very well may be more difficult to dye, my understanding of corrected grain (lower quality) leather is that it has a coating on top of the leather, and my thought process would tell me that the coating could change the way the dye is absorbed. This is exactly why the 4 pairs of shoes I have dyed so far where ones where I had “everything to gain and not very much to loose“. I’m still considering re-dying my Oxblood Allen Edmonds McAllisters I purchased new just to darken them, but I’m still too scared, LOL.
@@CobblerBob I can totally understand your apprehension! I've taught myself some tailoring skills and when working on some of my more expensive garments, I'm always a bit scared to make the cut... but after pushing through the fear and making those cuts, it usually turns out for the better.
At any rate, this was a very cool demonstration! They look fantastic after your dying them! Keep up the good work!
It’s good to have our wives (aka master sergeants with iron skillets 😂) looking over our shoulders, when it comes to us, shoe addicted maniacs, or we’ll spend the kids’ college funds on quality footwear.
NothingMaster, indeed!
Great job man
Bob, I'd like to try dyeing an old pair of J&M Aldrich that I just scored on Ebay. They are more red than brown, and have seen better days. My question for you is, can I get away with just using Saphir Reno Mat rather than Acetone, or would that be a mistake?
Ryan Tucker I really don’t know for sure. I’m not 100% sure what’s in Renomat if it’s going to leave any residue. When I re-dyed my Bostonian loafers, I could see in some areas where I did not remove all the wax. If it were me I think I’d at least use a 50/50 mix if isopropyl alcohol and water on a rag and wipe them down. I think the biggest danger in all of this is whatever solvent you use to clean the leather surface, if it’s going to remove the color that’s there. In my case here I WANTED to remove the color, but it don’t come off. It obviously still worked out OK. See my Bostonian loafer video, in that one I used denatured alcohol and brake cleaner on them, and it took most of the color off. I’m sure that’s also a function of how the leather is dyed. I’m quite sure that the shoes in this video used a higher quality dying process on them than Bostonian did on a cheap pair of $70 loafers. So always be aware of that if you are using any solvents on the leather, it MAY remove the surface color.
ruclips.net/video/o3eGg9N_sRw/видео.html
Also, remember the current leather color will have a big effect on the final color after dying. I’ve never tried to dye a shoe that started out as a dark color, but I don’t think it will work well.
Robert did you use black mirror gloss for the toe caps? Nice transformation 👌🏽
Azlan Sharom - yep! Black Saphir Mirror Gloss
Hi Robert,
I'm preparing for a wedding (about a month away) and I've only now just stumbled into the world of shoes. I just purchased a pair of Derby Toecap Bostonians (I just learned what the difference is) and I wish that they were Oxfords instead. Anyway, the burgundy/oxblood color that my shoes came in are a bit too bright.
If you can give me some advice on how to darken the color a bit, I'd really appreciate it! My groomsmen will all be wearing brown shoes, fyi.
Th1zDwK, darkening is easy, root through my videos for reference, but just polish them with black polish. Black polish will not make an oxblood shoe black, it will just darken it. Each coat of black will darken it more.
Great job Bob! How did the Bordeaux polish come out? I agree. That polish was a little too brown.
Is a very good match. It didn’t really change the color, but I was afraid if I kept using the other color over and over, after many applications the color would migrate towards brown.
Well done!👍🏻
Hi Robert: what size Ollieroo shoe trees should I get as I’m a size 11 1/2? They come in 10-11 and 12-13. Thank you, Mark
Mark Dougherty what width are you? My shoes are mostly 11-1/2 3E and I use Suze 12-13. If you’re a wider than standard width get 12-13. If narrow get 10-11. I’m not sure about 11.5D. Use their sizing chart... also depends if you like them very tight or not. I like mine very snug. I have seen the sizing chart on of the eBay or Amazon ads in the product photos. I’m not sure if they have a website.
Good afternoon Robert, great job. Did you used Resolene after dying the shoes to prevent bleeding?
Julio Quinones - I’ve never even heard of it until your comment, so the answer is no! I just looked it up and their site says “Our most popular top finish for use over dyed, antiqued or polished leathers.. Acrylic Resolene is flexible, durable and water resistant.”
🤔 I may have to check it out and read up on it...
Enjoyed watching 👀shoe 👞 video 📹 😊💪🙏💯 👊
Hi Bob, thank you for this beautiful project,
May I ask your advice, I am planning to Dye my walnut AE to mahogany using Fiebings Pro dye, and use saphir pomadier mahogany (same you use in the video)
Do you think I Wil achieve the same result as yours? Thanks!!
You SHOULD. The key is in the stripping. Check out this video with two pairs of shoes, and you'll see that Hayden's shoes were stripped better than mine. The better you strip them, the lighter color they should be, and the more true the new color should be. The unpredictable part is how the new color dye will react with the old base color, but going from a light color to a dark color such as Mahogany, there should not be any problem. The main challenge is whether or not you're going to get the desired color you really want. I prefer Feibings dark red over Mahogany for example. The Mahogany is really a brown with a tint of red. I like the color closer to Allen Edmonds Merlot color, which is more of a deep dark red with hints of brown. You'll see this in the video where I re-dyed my Allen Edmonds McAllisters. Test the dye first on some similar colored scrap leather, then test a spot on the tongue where it won't show. That way if you don't like the final color you can still stop before you redye the whole shoe.
Appreciate Bob your taking time to reply. I Would like to put base layer Red, then Mahogany. I aim to get a red brown like bordeaux. Appreciate your help
FIRST thanks for posting
😂 I feel grateful that enough people think highly enough for someone to WANT to be first!
Bravo!
Bob great job, they look amazing. How is the leather holding up? Did the dye make the leather stiff?
Tom Smith - the Leather did not get stiff at all, but I did have to re-do the mirror shine. The polish seemed to flake off in a couple spots just on toe caps. I have no idea if that’s connected at all with what I did though.
Follow-up to my previous comment. I got this reply the company I wrote to:
'Thank you for writing to Rit Dye. We do not manufacture a product that will remove factory shoe polish.'
Good to know!
you are good! very impressive!!!
Thank you! 🙏🏼
Hi Robert, love the videos and the work you do. I am thinking about also trying to dye some brown shoes. The shoes I would use are the Loake Benedict in brown. Should this work if I use a lighter dye (perhaps the burgundy dye from fiebings, which is a lighter shade than the mahogany dye you use)?
Dimitry Lowie it’s hard to say!
1. What end color are you trying to achieve? I don’t have a lot of experience with this. I know for a fact the pre-dye color affects the resulting color. I dyed a pair of soles once, and one half of the sole was a yellow-ish tan, the other half was natural leather color. I applied brown dye to both, and the tan half turned burgundy while the natural half turned brown!
2. Make sure you read the info on Fiebings website first. As I mentioned in the video, although I did not have this problem, they warn that the dye can have an effect on the leather (that’s why the last 3 shoes I dyed I was willing to scrap if it went bad). I wouldn’t experiment on a pair of valuable / expensive shoes. You may want to buy a pair from a thrift store of a similar color for $5-$10 and test first. This obviously doesn’t guarantee that the Loake shoes will react the same way though.
@@CobblerBob I would like them to be some kind of dark burgundy color. Not too light so it's not purple, but not too dark so it's almost black. The hard part is that you can dye 20 brown shoes, it will always be a gamble on how they will look.
I wish I could give you more input, but as you saw here I just don’t have that experience! I suppose that’s part of the reason why the pros that do this can charge what they do? I don’t know if the color interaction between the old color and new color works like it does with kids’ paint, or if it’s more complicated. Maybe I will get 3-4 shades of brown leather together and apply the Fiebings Mahogany and show how the resultant color comes out? I think you just gave me another video idea! 👊🏼😉
That would be a great idea! It would certainly give us some more information about how the dye interacts with the old color.
Hey Robert, can you dye a briefcase made of genuine leather?
Have you tried to dye suede shoes aswell ?
Johanna Wictorin - no, not yet!
Bob, I dyed my suede shoes in burgundy/brown and they dye my slacks now. Is there anything I can do against that? Thanks!!
Sorry for missing your comment... I'd try OxyClean. I've had good luck getting highligher out of pants, but I'm not sure about dye!! Whenever I dye shoes I always make sure to leave them sit for a day or at least overnight after dying to work on them. I've never dyed suede, but with calf, the next step is moisturizing, which also has the side benefit of taking off the extra dye. With suede, maybe rub them down well with an old cotton t-shirt? And let them sit in the sun for a couple days?
Amazing. Great information for a newbie like me. One question. How much time did it take to dry leather after applying dye? Thank you
garyp272727 thank you! I let them dry for I think 3-4 hours.
After watching this I wonder if someone can write how one can change a pair of shoes from black to brown or burgundy.
I've tried black to brown probably 4-5 times. The last time I tried to lighten a pair of black J&M Oxfords, after about 1.5 HOURS of scrubbing with cotton balls and pure acetone, I had an area the size of your thumbprint lightened. That's it. After talking to several patina artists that have done it, they all say it takes a couple DAYS to strip black down. So based on my experience, I don't think I want to try it again soon!
@@CobblerBob
Thanks.
I have contacted a company with my Q.
Will post it here when/if I hear from them.
Hi, i used rubbing alcohol to remove the old dye from my shoes is that alright? it removed it so easily i can't say that acetone would do a better job but i wanna ask you. thanks
Alcohol may or may not remove the dye in the leather. Acetone in my experience is the harshest chemincal that will generally not have a noticable degradation of the leather.