Help toning down my red desert boots

[rcd213]

Hey everyone,

I have a pair of red oak desert boots, but the color is a bit too bright for my current tastes.
I'm curious as to whether black or brown shoe polish would do a better job muting the red. I was initially thinking brown, but now I'm debating about the black, especially since I only have the brown wax polish. Since I have the black creme polish I think it might do a better job in terms of being a bit more matte.
What do you gentlemen think?

 

[meso]

Clark's? Just buy a new pair. They're cheap.

 

[Surferbruce]

If you want to keep these and go ahead with toning them down you can paint them. I did it to some leather Palladium's that were a light tan color and wanted them darker. Get some acrylic paint, in a burnt umber or some other brown you like, thin the paint way down with some water, wipe down the leather with a wet rag so it's damp but not soaking and apply the thinned out acrylic with a brush. Sounds crazy but it works amazingly well. You'll end up with a lovely color that patina's nicely with age. I'll try to post some pics of the Palladiums, but I've done it with belts as well. Better than polish.

 

[mp201]

Just mink oil them. It'll tone it way down.

 

[meso]



If you want to keep these and go ahead with toning them down you can paint them. I did it to some leather Palladium's that were a light tan color and wanted them darker.  Get some acrylic paint, in a burnt umber or some other brown you like, thin the paint way down with some water, wipe down the leather with a wet rag so it's damp but not soaking and apply the thinned out acrylic with a brush. Sounds crazy but it works amazingly well.  You'll end up with a lovely color that patina's nicely with age. I'll try to post some pics of the Palladiums, but I've done it with belts as well.  Better than polish.

 

[Surferbruce]

I know it sounds crazy, but it works...

 

[rcd213]

Whoa, that painting option sounds like an interesting project, but I don't think I'm that adventurous.
I actually went the mink oil route a couple of times, as well as neatsfoot compound. They both did a pretty good job initially, but would lighten up fairly quickly.
This time I decided to go with the black shoe creme. It didn't turn out as even as I would like, but the two coats are more than enough for the time being.

 

[Beane]

Clarks is the type of brand to make make experiments with