Club Obi Wan

Here are my trusty Aldens, which I decided to treat with brown tinted Pecards. They are still covered with a heavy coat of Pecards, but they have really absorbed a lot of dressing, as they were a bit mistreated on a recent hike. Keep in mind that they are about seven years old, and have quite a bit of natural distressing to them, as they have been all over the world with me. If you look closely around the inside of the ankle, you can see what color they were before treatment. These were originally the lovely shade of pumpkin we all know so well. What do you all think? I'll post more pics after they are buffed off...

Can't wait for the follow-up pics. That's a nice shade, if it keeps it they'll look great!

J

Ditto. Wow really caked it on didn't you!

Yep... they needed it! I'll let them soak overnight, and post pics tomorrow.

I KNOW what they'll look like. Been there, done that....

Regards! Michaelson

Woo hoo! I KNOW I've done something right if Michaelson has already been down this path! Good times...!

As promised, this is what my Aldens now look like. Not quite as brown as I'd hoped, but not bad!

Michaelson, if I continue to treat them with the brown tinted Pecard dressing, will they darken more?

Yes, they will. As the leather continues to be used and flexed, the surface will allow more of the product to be absorbed, and they will get darker with the application over time.

Regards! Michaelson

Once again, thank you for your knowledge of all things Indy (and beyond!!)...

SWEET!!! I think I may have to invest in a container of the brown Pecards. Besides, I'm having a heck of a time finding Meltonian shoe cream around here and my 405's need a good polish!

http://www.shoeshinekit.com/melshocremc1.htm/

Regards! Michaelson

Thank you!

Regards! Michaelson

I just received some Meltonian in the mail the other day. Will it darken or change the color of shoes/boots dramaticly? Faster or slower than brown pecards?

A bit faster than Pecards.

Regards! Michaelson

Okay, okay, I'll bite... what color Meltonian should I be looking for?

Totally depends on what 'iteration' of 405's you own. I use 'brick' on mine, but mine are several years old, and about 3 different colored leathers ago. Yours appear to be 'brick' as well.

Regards! Michaelson

I'm going to try it on some pumpkin J. Crew deckers, so I got some dark brown and red mahogany hoping to get a kind of dark brown with some red to it. (and I've got leather dye too if all else fails. )

Post pics, Doc, when they are done! I'm very interested to see what happens...

As always, thanks, Michaelson! Brick it is!

Doc, the brown/mahogany Meltonian and brown Pecards will darken the pumpkin leather. It will take a few applications and wearing of the boots between treatments, but believe me, there are a LOT of examples all through the archives where folks did just that, and their boots turned out perfect.

Try not to use the dye. It's spotty at best, and not a practice I recommend myself....but then that's just me and what I do.

You're welcome, LNJ!

Regards! Michaelson

Ok, I'll certainly try those first. Thanks for the advice.

I just darkened my Deckers some with Meltonian cream (one coat Dark Brown and one coat Red Mahogany) and they are now darker than, but similar color to the Aldens I have. Look how similar they look! Best close enough boots IMO.

Now if I do that to my Aldens they may turn out looking great!. I may still try another go at the Deckers to to get them even darker.

Is there a way to avoid coloring the stitching or is that just the price you pay for darkening/recoloring your boots?

Oh, BTW, the Deckers had the hooks added, they didn't come that way.

I am going to poke my head in here and give a word of warning. A little Pecards goes a long way. I have seen several members here go way overboard on Pecarding their Aldens. Yes, after awhile the boots turn dark - almost black. At that point, there is so much Pecards absorbed into the leather, that the leather looses integrity and especially around the stiches. I have seen at least two sets of boots disentegrate. Like Michaelson mentioned, I would use the Meltonian Brick creme. That gets the pumpkin color out.

I know that is a nice shade ! Did the stitches turn that colour or are they still off white in color?? As well once finished will you get color cut through when the leather gets scratched ??