Dying Spectators

1) Yes

2) Low

3) Probably, but not me.

I'd suggest going with Ron Rider, instead of running the risk of screwing them up completely.

I'd rather have nice spectators than really weird black wingtips.

Sell your spectators and buy black wingtips.

White leather is a bit of an oddity. The white on the surface is a "paint job" that will have to be stripped. If the white penetrates deeper than the surface...and it usually does...the under-dye is often mineral based. What that means is that nothing can change the interior white to any other colour. Black aniline dye will colour the leather fibers (or some of them) but it won't dye the mineral white base. Adding another "paint job" of black on top of the mineral white will only look good for about ten steps. Then, as the back paint begins to break up in the creases, the white begins to show through. White and/or near white is the only colour that is mineral based.

+1
Even better.
Wow.

Serious knowledge drop.

Also, was i only one who clicked on the link expecting something involving audience members dying?

People who make custom footwear for a living tend to have some idea about these things.

I open this thread thinking it was about some gruesome sports where spectators are randomly thrown into pits against lions or gladiators.

Is that intentional to make spectators easier to maintain?

That is just what it takes to make leather white... thick thick mineral-based paint.

Could he strip the black and try to make cream colored wingtips?

I was expecting something inquiring about why spectators declined in popularity.

I don't know that it is really a paint. It has to penetrate into the fiber mat of the leather and a paint would just lie on top. You can't buy an aniline dye (liquid) that is white. Least-wise I've never seen any. I've just dealt with the unwise decision (my own) to try to change white shoes to some other colour. As for stripping the black in an attempt to make the leather a cream colour...you've got the same problem in reverse. And where do you get a cream coloured aniline dye? Never seen any. Sure you can strip the black paint job but the leather underneath will often also be black. If you can remove or bleach the black out you might be able to go to another colour either by dying with an aniline dye to create a base and then "painting" or just by painting alone. Remember though, that as the shoe flexes some of the paint is going to chip off...particularly in the creases, and particularly on a "hobby" level dye/paint job. Even commercially or professionally, one of the main reasons to do the aniline (penetrating) dye first is so that when the paint flakes off, the underlying colour will be the same. If you cannot remove or tone down the black in the fiber mat, what other colour will cover or transform black? There is none.

Seems then that the only answer is to enjoy the shoes as is. (They're pretty nice actually)