Creating a Lighter Shade of Brown in Shoes

[Roger]

I read with interest the current thread on changing the color of black shoes. This would seem to be a very daunting challenge, with the best result attainable being adding colored overtones to the black. But consider brown. Suppose that you didn't want to change its fundamental color (like making it redder), but instead wanted to keep the shoes brown, albeit a lighter shade of brown? I think everyone would agree that it's no great trick to darken a lighter shade of brown, but what about transforming a dark brown to a lighter shade? I seem to recall a post or two suggesting that this can be done, but I don't recall any details about how. So, what techniques could be used to do this? It seems, somehow, hard to believe that simply applying a lighter shade of cream or polish would do the trick, but I could be wrong. What say you all?

 

[sho'nuff]

i have seen an acrylic yellow shoe cream before somewhere . i dont remember but i have seen it.
i would experiment with that perhaps. blending in yellow overtones day by day until one day the desired lighter brown tone will come to affect, no?

 

[Teacher]

I did it with (and I can't believe I'm saying this) my beloved bourbon burnished AE Sanfords. I already had that color in another pair of shoes (my AE Brewsters), so I stripped almost all of the finish off with pure acetone. Believe me, despite some past cautionary warnings, this takes some time and elbow gease. I then simply applied Meltonian "saddle," which is about as light a tan as you'll see while still being a tan, and now I have extremely light tan shoes. It has been many months of nearly weekly wear, and they look fantastic.

 

[j]

I've stripped some dark brown shoes down (notably, my CT chelseas) with acetone to get a somewhat lighter brown in places. It does take some work, though.

 

[well-kept]

Direct sunlight. Time.

 

[Roger]

Thanks, guys, for the suggestions. I've experimented with acetone on throw-away shoes, but don't think I have the backbone to use it in the situation I'm considering (Lobbs). Well-kept's suggestion appeals to me more. Any idea, well-kept, of how long in the sun it takes? (Sunlight, direct or otherwise, is in short supply in Vancouver these days, and won't be available in decent quantities until about April.) Has anyone else accomplished this lightening by any means other than sunlight or a full stripping of the finish?

 

[dah328]

I think you'll have trouble fading the shoes uniformly with sunlight.

 

[Shoe-nut]

Sunlight is the enemy of all good things. If it will fade the leather, it probably will also degrade it in the process.

 

[Leaveitothexperts]

I once wanted a pair of boots and the shop only had one pair. Once of the shoes was in the display window with that lighting (not sure what type it usually is), when I got both shoes, the leather quality did not appear different, but the colors were distinctly different. The one in the window was noticeably much lighter. I can't tell you how long they were there for though . . . maybe somebody who knows about lighting can help . . . which property of light does this, or should I ask this on the "Physics forum"?

Edit: The shop was in a mall so it definitely wasn't due to sunlight

 

[sho'nuff]

this happens frequently with display shoes and such malls and stores.

it is ok, just keep wearing the shoes outside like you normally would and the other shoe will converge to the lightness of the other as well naturally.

they converge to a point, they do not get lighter and lighter.

 

[Leaveitothexperts]

Originally Posted by diorshoe

this happens frequently with display shoes and such malls and stores.

it is ok, just keep wearing the shoes outside like you normally would and the other shoe will converge to the lightness of the other as well naturally.

they converge to a point, they do not get lighter and lighter.

I guess this then would be the most natural solution for the OP, for starts at least, and assuming he was referring to new[ish] shoes?

 

[well-kept]

Originally Posted by Roger

Thanks, guys, for the suggestions. I've experimented with acetone on throw-away shoes, but don't think I have the backbone to use it in the situation I'm considering (Lobbs). Well-kept's suggestion appeals to me more. Any idea, well-kept, of how long in the sun it takes? (Sunlight, direct or otherwise, is in short supply in Vancouver these days, and won't be available in decent quantities until about April.) Has anyone else accomplished this lightening by any means other than sunlight or a full stripping of the finish?

Not much sunlight in New York these days either but it'll come.

If you place your brown shoes in sunlight and turn them periodically they will begin to fade nicely. The more sun, the more time, the lighter the shade. You can halt the process whenever you begin to like what you see. An article some time ago in Cigar Aficionado quoted Mr. Hlustik of Edward Green as saying that they achieved some of their finishes through sun-fading. Applying neutral cream from time to time will keep the leather from drying out. It works.

 

[j]

I would assume it is UV that degrades/fades them, just like printing ink and many other colorants. You could probably put them in a box with some light bulbs running 24/7 and they would fade faster. I'm not sure what kind of bulbs you should get to make them fade fastest, though. And I would probably strip them of (wax) polish first to help make sure they fade evenly.

Let us know if you try it.

 

[sho'nuff]

UV and such may degrade the leathers a bit, but remember they are chemically and physically altered at the manufacturing mill. they are not living skins anymore.
the denaturement of UV, erosion, weathering by constant dust collecting and wiping and repeating, and etc. allows for furniture woods, leathers and such to get their beautiful imparted patina.

is not that what all of us want on our shoes?