dyeing suede shoes?

[Joel_Cairo]

here's what google turned up for "lincoln suede dye".:

"Suede Dye and Dressings
Lincoln Suede Dye and Dressing is used for cleaning and restoring suede, and like materials, to their orginal color and appearance. Lincoln Suede Dye and Dressing is available in more than 15 fashion colors. Lincoln #10 Black Suede Dye and Dressing is used to dye any color suede to black. "

Reading between the lines, it seems Lincoln is not to be used for changing a color to something darker, but along the same gradient. They seem to say "it'll clean and restore original color" or "it'll black out everything"... I'm a bit wary of trying my hand at an off-label use of this stuff (if its anything like calf dye, its virtually tattoo ink)

 

[chobochobo]

I've been following this thread for a while to see what the definitive answer is. I bought a pair of EG Dovers in suede off the board that have a small stain on the vamp (I knew it when I bought it). The shoes are nice and the colour is great too, sometimes I think about the spot, but most times I just forget about it. I've tried Saphir suede cleaner etc, with no real improvement have toyed with the idea of 'masking' the spot by dyeing the whole shoe. This would of course, change the colour (which I like) and may end up a complete mess anyway. So, I would love to see the results of others first

 

[sartort]

revived from the dead.

Joel, what did you end up doing? I am curious about dyeing suede as well.

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by sartort

revived from the dead.

Joel, what did you end up doing? I am curious about dyeing suede as well.

In the ~10 months since I was faced with this conundrum, I've devised a novel workaround: buy like 5 new pairs of suede shoes in every shade imaginable. no muss, no fuss.

 

[distinctive]

If anyone cares, dyeing suede is easier than dyeing calf. Fiebings makes a dye that soaks into the knapp (sp?). Sometimes more than one coat is necessary. Like any other dye, you can only go darker.

 

[sartort]

thanks distictive. this is the sorta thing i wanted to hear.

 

[Hawel]

Well, I have a pair of J Crew McAlister boots in grey suede that somehow I got tired of. So I decided to re-dye them in dark brown as J Crew does not offer this color anymore as it seems. So I bought some suede cleaner, cleaned the boots, let them dry completely and put on the suede color I wanted. I did it with liquid color that comes with a brush - a spray might not be as permanent as the liquid solution. It will take longer, is quite a bit more messy - but in my opinion is worth the effort.
The result turned out great, but there´s quite a bit to think of: Firstly, don´t fall for the mistake to try and get it all done in one step - you´ll oversaturate the suede. Take some time and apply several layers until you´re happy with the result. Secondly, you will need to do that in an area of the house you can prepare properly as the whole process can be a bit messy - and you don´t want to have the suede color on your hands or anywhere on your clothes and walls or the table you´re dying the boots on. So: a lot of old newspapers, old clothes on plus some rubber gloves are definitely needed. Plus, you´ll have to bear in mind that the seams of the shoes might not be completely dye-able as they probably will be of polyester fabric. So if you´re willing to turn a pair of sand coloured shoes into completely black ones keep in mind that the seams might not get as black as the suede. With dark brown it somehow worked as the seams were not exactly the same color, but somehow matched to the end result. But for full on black it might not work as expected. But apart form that this can be a fun experience - and you will create a pair of shoes that are unique.