How it All Turned Out: Adventures in Antiquing I

[Roger]

A couple of weeks ago, I issued a desperate plea for help with a pair of shoes of which I was trying to change the color. They were a dingy, lifeless dark brown, and the plan was to lighten and vitalize the color. I tried stripping with acetone and ran into trouble. Here's the earlier thread:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...296#post512296

During the interval, I happened to purchase a decent digital camera, and thought I'd share my experiences with those interested in these things.

Edit: Sorry guys, for the long delay. I had some real problems in getting the images to upload through ImageShack (not their fault). Anyway, let me get started now (click on the thumbnails to enlarge them):

1. Here are two "before" shots of the shoes. BTW, the shoes are the C&J Handgrade Lawrence model (330 last).




2. Now here are a couple of shots of the shoes after the acetone treatment. (I should elaborate a little and say that I began with a commercial leather cleaner--NEO--followed by diluted alcohol, and only then went to the acetone when it was clear that not much was happening with the first two steps.) It was at this stage that I panicked earlier. When I saw this blotchy appearance, I wasn't sure what to do. Looking back on it, I could probably have just scrubbed more with acetone and eventually got a more-even washed out appearance. But I left them like this thinking that the blotches might produce an interesting antiqued finish:




3. Now, let's see how the shoes finished up. Here's the process I followed. The leather was extremely dry after the acetone treatment. So my first step was to hit the shoes with a coating of leather conditioner. Then the plan was to use a cream to create a nice color, finishing off with a polish. The cream could really have been any brand, like Meltonian, for example, but I had some Woly cream in their "caramel," which was a nice light-to-mid-brown shade with some warmth. So I gave the shoes two coats of this, really rubbing each coat in thoroughly. Then I went to the polish step. Again, really any light-to-mid-brown paste wax would have been fine, but I decided to use some Saphir Medaille D'Or polish I have (from Franco's) in their Hazelnut color. This stuff looks yellow in the can, but does impart a nice tan color to shoes. I didn't want the shoes to get too dark again. As before, I applied this vigorously, rubbing it in thoroughly. When I was finished with two applications of this paste wax, I noticed that they were just a tad lighter than I wanted, so I finished up with a single well-rubbed-in coat of Kiwi mid-brown polish. Here are the results:






Even with a good camera, my poor photographic skills at this point have prevented a really accurate depiction of the color after the treatment. Of the four "after" shots just above, the first is the closest to the true color and is, in fact, very close. You'll notice that the splotches resolved themselves nicely into a fairly restrained antiquing pattern. I should note that this is a really permanent antiquing in the sense that no polishing can alter the pattern. I'm still toying with the idea of polishing them to a slightly darker final shade.

 

[overdog]

Wow! I really like the new color. Especially the 3rd pic up from the bottom. After stripping with acetone, did you have to be very generous in your application of cream and polish?

 

[stickonatree]

are the gray areas in the 3rd from bottom pic just reflections?

 

[Teacher]

Very nice. I've done the same thing, using acetone and Meltonian. My favorite "recolored" pair is a pair of AE Sanford captoes that were in bourbon burnished calf, which is my favorite AE color ever. They were an eBay purchase and were cheap. Upon receiving them, I was glad to see that they appeared to have been worn only once or twice, just as in the pics; however, what was not visible in the pics was the fact that much of the finish was ruined for some reason. I stripped the entire finish off and used Meltonian's "saddle" cream, and now I have a pair of tan shoes a little lighter than EG's Edwardian.

 

[Roger]

Originally Posted by overdog

Wow! I really like the new color. Especially the 3rd pic up from the bottom. After stripping with acetone, did you have to be very generous in your application of cream and polish?
No, not really. But I did put on two normal coats. I could have achieved a darker color by rubbing in more cream, but wanted to stop at that point.

Originally Posted by stickonatree

are the gray areas in the 3rd from bottom pic just reflections?
You must mean the thin line running around just inside the apron stitching. Yes, they are quite shiny, and what you are seeing is just reflected light.

 

[Cantabrigian]

Looks like it turned out well - good job.

 

[EL72]

Nicely done. I am usually sceptical of these antiquing experiments and probably would have left the shoe the way it was but I have to admit that the 'after' looks much nicer than the 'before'.

 

[Artisan Fan]

Looks great Roger.

 

[Roy Biggins]

Very nice.

 

[thinman]

Very nicely done! Enjoy!!

 

[lee_44106]

That's a beautiful job. I like the new color much more.

Must'd taken some balls to experiment on a C&J handgrade!

 

[sho'nuff]

wow nice Roger you can work for Berluti!

 

[bigbris1]

Really nice. This is what got me:

to

Bravo.

As soon as I can pick up some acetone & Meltonian in the proper shade I will do the same to a pair of Tramezza wingtips I have. Where'd you get the acetone?

 

[Roger]

Thanks, all, for the kind comments. I should probably have included a statement in my earlier posts cautioning any forumers against possibly wrecking a really good pair of shoes. In the back story that was in the earlier thread, I explained how I had picked these shoes up for a song on eBay, so that I didn't have that much to lose by pouring acetone all over them. Had these been a new pair of C&J Handgrades with a color I didn't particularly like, I probably would have sucked it up and just put up with the original color.

To be honest, I was surprised that they turned out pretty well, and at the point where the earlier thread ended I thought I might have screwed them up beyond salvation. So, I'm more confident now about taking this on with other shoes, but would still urge real caution to any of you who are considering this. It seems to me that bad things can likely happen when you starting applying very caustic chemicals to fine leather, and that leather characteristics and tanning procedures may make this process work well with some shoes but disastrously with others.

Oh, BTW, bigbris1, acetone can be picked up at any hardware, paint, or building supply store. A one-liter bottle or can is more than enough for a pair of shoes. It's also great stuff to have around the house for cleaning some sticky messes like the ones you get from peeling a label off an article.

I titled this thread "...Adventures in Antiquing I" because, having being emboldened by this experience, I was contemplating something similar with a new pair of Vass 3-eyelet Londoners in a color I've decided I don't really like that much (antique cognac). This would be "...Adventures in Antiquing II." However, I'm not sure at this point...fear is creeping back in. I'll let you know.

 

[bigbris1]

Roger, I've been waiting to do this for a long time. Did you use gloves with the acetone? Can I just use fingernail polish remover? I'm guessing I don't even have to use bleach, right?