Do you darken your Aldens? How?

[Dalexs]

Good luck. And remember, this was 2 coats of russet, so have faith.

[theinterchange]

I found the Fiebing's on eBay. Thought that much easier than trooping all over Orlando looking for a shop that carries it.

Just a heads up for those who wish to dye their Aldens/Todd's/whatever else, you can get it on eBay for $4.50 + shipping. Will post a "review" of the seller when I get it to me.

Randy

[maboot38]

I just remembered....I have idea why I said that I used the pecard/sun dry/pecard/sun dry method.

I used a hairdrier, not the sun. I'd put on a layer of pecard, then use a hairdrier on the boots till they were dry, then did another layer of pecard and repreated until they were darker.

[theinterchange]

Here are my redyed Todd's boots, or rather a link to the thread I posted them in. http://indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?t=37457 look at or toward the bottom.

Randy

[sneakertinker]

Here are my redyed Todd's boots, or rather a link to the thread I posted them in. http://indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?t=37457 look at or toward the bottom.

Randy

Nice job Sir...

[McFly]

Sneakertinker - Where did you get those laces????

I may look into Dalexs's method... those shoes came out pretty nice looking.. I think mine are still too light. Never perfect!

Shane

[theinterchange]

Thanks, I'm pleased with them. Though, I'd be neater next time 'round.

Randy

[knibs7]

Well, I did one of my shoes! I think the results are pretty nice, and that if I did this again in a week or two, the color could be even better.

(Top: The shoes as they were originally, shown at Ft. Mac - Nov. 2007. Middle: The shoes after several coats of brown pecards, and today's coating of brown Pecards + Pecards Shoe Oil. Bottom: The color of the shoes after several coats of just brown Pecards; as they looked after the QM but before the Pecards + Shoe oil color.)





Shane

Shane, i absolutely LOVE your whip. It looks very close to the TOD whip. Is it from Bernardo?

Nibs

[sneakertinker]

Sneakertinker - Where did you get those laces????

I may look into Dalexs's method... those shoes came out pretty nice looking.. I think mine are still too light. Never perfect!

Shane

Shane...

I picked them up from my local Target store for $1...Saw them and said hey they look dead on to what the color of that pair of boots are so it was a no brainer...Try checking your Target store or if you like I can pick you up a pair...

[McFly]

Buying some Fiebing's right now!

Shane, i absolutely LOVE your whip. It looks very close to the TOD whip. Is it from Bernardo?

Hey Knibs - that's my old Stenhouse. Glad you like it! ;-) I've always thought it looked like the LC whip, but ToD is better!

Sneak - Thanks for the tip!

Shane

[Imahomer]

I've only used Pecards on my Aldens and they are sufficiently dark now.

[theinterchange]

Amazing how there are as many methods for darkening as there are people who do it. And each works for the individual. Gotta love diversity!

Randy

[McFly]

Just got my Fiebing's dye last week or so and put on like 2 or 3 coats. I put painter's tape on the soles and moc toe stitching to keep them from changing colors, and here's how they look!



The worst part was the sanding, but after that it was smooth sailing! After dying the large areas, I went through again with a paint brush and did the small areas that were tough to reach before.

Shane

[Marv]

I tried the old pecard and heat treatment over a number of days on my Todd's boots but it doesn't seem to have made any difference to the colour....if it has then it is only slightly and not very noticable.
So either I am doing something wrong in the process or the leather on the boots won't darken, I have now got myself various shades of brown shoe cream so I will probably do some testing to get the desired colour then coat the boots, working in the cream with a hair dryer then apply a coat of pecards afterwards to seal in the colour.

[jones the whip]

Colour changed Aldens, before and after - plenty of leather dressing and dark tan boot polish.
JTW.

[sneakertinker]

I tried the old pecard and heat treatment over a number of days on my Todd's boots but it doesn't seem to have made any difference to the colour....if it has then it is only slightly and not very noticable.
So either I am doing something wrong in the process or the leather on the boots won't darken, I have now got myself various shades of brown shoe cream so I will probably do some testing to get the desired colour then coat the boots, working in the cream with a hair dryer then apply a coat of pecards afterwards to seal in the colour.

Did you happen to use a Blow Dryer when applying the heat portion of the treatment? I've found this works a great deal better than just sitting the boots in the sun to let the Pecards melt into them...Use a blow dryer on low heat and just work it over the boot to melt the stuff in there and after a couple of times the boots should turn out much darker...I've done this about 4 or 5 times to a pair of my Aldens now and they are nice and dark...

[maboot38]

Yeah the blow drier makes a difference and also allows the process to go quicker.

[Marv]

yeh I used a blow dryer on low heat, maybe I was doing something wrong......these are the steps I took in this order.

1) used blow dryer to warm up the leather
2) applied pecards and rubbed well in whilst the leather was still warm
3) repeated the same process on each boot
4) used the blow dyer again on each boot to warm up the leather softening the pecards
5) left the boots to dry overnight

Repeated the same process again several times but with no real effect, the boots didn't darken really.

Got myself some dark brown shoe cream and repeated the blow dryer process above but using the shoe cream, this did darken the leather after a few coats but not really to the colour I wanted - the shoe cream was the wrong shade.
Purchased a darker coloured shoe cream but it wouldn't soak into the leather and just wiped off.....so not bothered since.

I wonder if it could be the difference in leather used on Aldens than on Todd's boots which is causing the problem, I dunno

[sneakertinker]

yeh I used a blow dryer on low heat, maybe I was doing something wrong......these are the steps I took in this order.

1) used blow dryer to warm up the leather
2) applied pecards and rubbed well in whilst the leather was still warm
3) repeated the same process on each boot
4) used the blow dyer again on each boot to warm up the leather softening the pecards
5) left the boots to dry overnight

Repeated the same process again several times but with no real effect, the boots didn't darken really.

Got myself some dark brown shoe cream and repeated the blow dryer process above but using the shoe cream, this did darken the leather after a few coats but not really to the colour I wanted - the shoe cream was the wrong shade.
Purchased a darker coloured shoe cream but it wouldn't soak into the leather and just wiped off.....so not bothered since.

I wonder if it could be the difference in leather used on Aldens than on Todd's boots which is causing the problem, I dunno

When I darkened my pair I didn't warm the leather up before hand....As a matter of fact after I did the whole thing the first go around I let the boots sit a cool off a bit before starting again. Also when your using the blow dryer on the boots the pecards will eventually melt directly into the leather and the only left overs I had to wipe away was the portions that had collected on the midsole and heel area's...So keep in mind that you shouldn't see any pecards left on the surface of the leather when your done...It takes some patience and repitition but it's well worth it...

Leather variation as you mentioned could be the issue here...

[Marv]

yeh I used a blow dryer on low heat, maybe I was doing something wrong......these are the steps I took in this order.

1) used blow dryer to warm up the leather
2) applied pecards and rubbed well in whilst the leather was still warm
3) repeated the same process on each boot
4) used the blow dyer again on each boot to warm up the leather softening the pecards
5) left the boots to dry overnight

Repeated the same process again several times but with no real effect, the boots didn't darken really.

Got myself some dark brown shoe cream and repeated the blow dryer process above but using the shoe cream, this did darken the leather after a few coats but not really to the colour I wanted - the shoe cream was the wrong shade.
Purchased a darker coloured shoe cream but it wouldn't soak into the leather and just wiped off.....so not bothered since.

I wonder if it could be the difference in leather used on Aldens than on Todd's boots which is causing the problem, I dunno

When I darkened my pair I didn't warm the leather up before hand....As a matter of fact after I did the whole thing the first go around I let the boots sit a cool off a bit before starting again. Also when your using the blow dryer on the boots the pecards will eventually melt directly into the leather and the only left overs I had to wipe away was the portions that had collected on the midsole and heel area's...So keep in mind that you shouldn't see any pecards left on the surface of the leather when your done...It takes some patience and repitition but it's well worth it...

Leather variation as you mentioned could be the issue here...

thanks for that, maybe I will give it another go using your process.....I would like a pair of Aldens but I cannot find any supplier in the UK and unfortunately Aldens are a bit on the pricey side to take a chance on getting the correct size and width fittings as we don't have those sizing options over here.
So without really trying a pair on I would be reluctant to purchase from the US incase I get it wrong.

[Hatch]

Marv, I'd be very surprised if you couldn't find a close enough or exact replica at one of the great English bootmakers........I drooled over the custom shoes etc when in London..........thought some of them had off the rack sizes ...