painting leather boots

[dutch-bootboy]

I have womans cowboy boots from leather with big points and a 2 1/4 inch cubaheel not so expencine but very nice to see and walk. only the color is not mine kind, its light brown. is it possible to paint them black? i have waere then 3 times , so they are not dirty. can i do it myself ore must i go to the repairshop? what kind of paint must i use?

[Shafted]

Just use black shoe polish. Every time you use it they will darken down more. Just keep in mind that they won't instantly become black, but will become that way over time with continued applications. If they a 100% real leather with open surface pores it may happen quite quickly. Beware of split leathers which are a leather base with a synthetic top coat and may never darken down to where you want them

[hoverfly]

If you go to a shoe repair shop, buy some dye prep and black shoe dye.

[Dr. Shoe]

You can use a "magic Marker" permanent pen. test a small area first. Afterwards spray with scotchguard and several layers of black polish.

[Dawn HH]

I have a pair of boots with a 3.5" block heel in antique taupe and I considered having them sent out to Gene to be dyed black. I have since changed my mind and purchased the same pair in black and I am breaking them in now. I have worn the antique taupe pair out in public while street-heeling several times with out comment, so I probably will wear both pairs in public. So, who cares...they are MY boots anyways. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[Bubba136]

to be on the safe side, take them to a shoemaker and have him dye them black. It might be a little more expensive but a lot less time consuming on your part.

[hoverfly]

Most time spent on dying shoes is the drying part, and you don't have to be there. It’s not a compacted and time consuming project just make sure you use plenty of newspaper to cover the work area.

[dutch-bootboy]

i'm doing it myself, the boots were not so expensive €40,- i have bought paint in the shoestore and paint this morning for the first time. it goes very easy and after a couple of hours the boot is very dark grey. i have paint it now for the second time and wait till tomorrow, lets wait! and hope!! if its going to be very dark grey then it have my blessings :rofl: thanks for the answers.

[Dawn HH]

Dutch-bootboy:-) Let us know how things turn out with your dye job. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[hart88]

polish is polish and Dye is Dye the best information about dying, is to clean off old finish Most Shops carry a dye prep, it takes down the glossy finish and old polish and grime (You could substitue Acetone- but be aware that if you touch an area that isn't leather- it will damage vinyl! If you don't invest the right amount of preparation, you will get a worst result. In other words, the right prep will give you the best results. *the best dye is also hazardous, and poisenous, so use with caution no smoking, and with some ventilation the old finish should be removed. but with black dye, you can dye almost any thing even your sink LOL! I had a lady who broke the glass Jar with the black dye(FIEBINGS) in her sink and she had Zebra stripes in her sink for a couple of years until she had a new sink installed mask the areas you don't want to dye, and be alot more patient and carefull while applying the dye close to the area you don't want to dye. Acetone can remove some of the dye if you get it on buckles, zippers, etc Don't be afraid if when it dries the first time it looks cloudy or streaky. Apply a second coat. When it is dry, apply some neutral or black polish and it sets the finish better.

[dutch-bootboy]

i can place pictures from before and after painting, but i dont now how to do it. can i send the pictures to somebody who can place them for me?

[Dawn HH]

Dutch-bootboy:-) Gene, (Hart88), knows what he is doing so if you follow his instructions to the letter, you should end up with a decent job. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[jmc]

I have a pair of light tan boots (real leather) that I decided I wanted to darken. The official color was listed as "tobacco" when I bought them but that really isn't a color to me so I will stay with my original description of "light tan". I would have gotten them in black but they weren't available. So I decided to try the black shoe polish suggested at the top of this thread. (Black shoe polish is readily available. I'm going to have to hunt for shoe dye and it sounds like it can be more than a little messy.) So far I've put on a couple of coats and the color has deepened to something resembling dark chocolate. The grain of the leather still shows -- in fact it seems like the polish has highlighted it -- and I am really liking the result. Shoe dye is probably the way to go if I insisted on making them really black but I like the chocolate/mahogany color I'm getting. It's starting to look like nicely stained wood.

[hart88]

I just wanted to update my warning about using liquid dye...and it is poisonous....YES!!! If you use most liquid dyes, you should always wait at least 24 hours (1 Day) before you wear them....If you have an open sore like a blister, etc...you should wait maybe even two days. I did run into a customer who used the Fiebings dye on his oxfords while he had an open sore on the top of his foot from breaking in the shoes, he got Blood Poisoning!!! I had even warned him, and he didn't wait, and he spent a couple of nights in the hospital!!!

to be honest, I haven't heard anything poisonous about the spray dyes, or the paint on dyes, but I would think a bit of caution is warranted.!!

Some shoes that are the real soft leather don't dye very well, because the leather is so stretchy, or has a unique grain in the leather.

I have used dye just to tint a shoe... I spray the shoe color dye on, and wipe it off, leaving a tint or stained overtone or hue on the prexisting color...I use this when It is difficult to match the shoe color...so when I use this method it doesn't exactly dye the shoe, but just tints it somewhat, enough to revitalize the color but not paint it...