Club Obi Wan

With all the talk of Alden alternatives..it got me thinking about my J Crew Ruggeds. I was one of those that bought the Champagne colour instead of the dark brown..and though not accurate, still satisfied.

Well...I decided to see about changing the colour.
I did a light dust and wash and then spent about an hour working them with a Kiwi Polish..Mid brown.

Well...all I can say is Wow!
The suede type leather took the polish so well you'd never think they were a very light tan colour. Since I wasn't entirely sure how dark to go the mid brown produced a much closer tone to the Aldens. Hopefully, I'll be able to compare at the up coming Ottawa Summit. Even if there still abit light, I've got lots of Dark brown to fix that.

Has anyone else tried this....they seem like completely different boots now..offering a better colour and better protection from the elements.

Warm Regards
Kilgour Trout

sounds interesting. Lookin forward to seeing them at the Summit for comparison.

Any pics?

I finally signed up with Photobucket, thanks to the gleaned info from ITG. I'll try my first post either late today or early tomorrow.

Wore them yesterday doing some yard work and they look pretty good.

Kilgour Trout

I have a pair of these that I find very comfortable. Please post a picture when you can! I have considered using a dark polish on my boots. The orange color is a bit much. I wear 'em a lot but the color does not change!

With the help of a High Computer Wizard, I have been able to show you the little experiment in Alden imitation.

Tell me if you think the colour seems too light.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... wboots.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... boots2.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/K ... wboot3.jpg

After looking at the Alden in the "Shoe section" of our Forum It seems not bad.

Warm Regards
Kilgour Trout

Well they look like a fine pair of boots to me.

I think they look good.
I referred to having these in my other post but I am confusing myself! I have the Deckers(orangy color) and the Rugged(dark brown)
Do you have a picture of the boot before you went to work on 'em? I do not think I have seen the Champagne color. I wonder how light they were before.

Nice job tho'.

They look great! Has anyone else noticed how Indy's boots are almost a cordovan color? Although their not quite as dark os most cordovan shoes.

http://www.indygear.com/gear/images/alden_raiders.jpg

Kilgour, you did a great job on those boots! They look a little lighter in color than mine, but they still look great as they are!

bink

Wow, those look great!

I wonder what a coat of light brown polish would do to my dark brown Ruggeds?

Thanks Guys : I appreciate the insights. I intend to keep using the Mid brown to build the consistency and create some greater depth. I think I'll find the boots will darken a bit as do a pair of shoes I polish with the same stuff. Mr. Weaver..I think you're on to something the Cordovan colour is something alot seem to miss going for a dark brown. The mid brown seems more period for some reason.

Unfortunately, I don't think lighter polish will do too much to the darker JCrew's. I could be wrong though...what we need is a shoe maker on this forum!!

I'm looking forward to comparing things at the upcoming conference.

Warm Regards
Kilgour Trout

Kilgour,
I think they look great. I have them in that pumpkin color and I left them because I have a belt to match them and sometimes I wear them with a suit. After looking at your pics, I am very tempted to change them. Your look great! Well done.
HJ

K,

Your pics inspire me to do the same with my Deckers. However I'm not seeing a mid brown color in Kiwi, only brown and dark brown. I'm assuming you used plain old brown, but I thought I'd check before putting polish to boot.