Dyeing leather boots - any advice from the voice of experience?

[ohmymimi]

I have a pair of smooth leather boots in a lightish teal green(!). I'd like to get more wear from them, so thought I'd dye them navy or mid-tan. I've not attempted leather dyeing before, so am a little wary. Any experienced dyers out there with some advice to bolster my courage?

I'm thinking of doing the same, dyeing a pair of tan boots dark brown or black, so this thread is very timely!

From what I can gather Dylon leather dye is rubbish and the Fieber dyes are the ones to go for. You also have to prep the leather first and then feed it with some kind of conditioner afterwards. Or another option is to have it done professionally, but that seems rather expensive (about £50 for a pair of calf length boots).

I don't know whether to take the plunge or not, I'm scared of ruining the boots

I'm scared, too, Raia, as they are really comfortable boots - just an impractical colour. Thanks or the tip about Dylon/ Fieber. I'll Google the latter.

Yes, I've done this. I dyed a pair of tan-ish boots a dark oxblood using the Fiebings stuff. It was pretty straightforward to do but quite messy and the finish is not perfect (eg around the toes there are a few drip marks and some dye got on the soles) - but unless you were looking I don't think you'd notice. If you're fussy, it'd probably be more uniform a finish if you went for black. From memory, I went over the boots with rubbing alcohol/surgical spirit, then daubed on the dye with a poofy thing, then buffed it with clear shoe wax. Lay down lots of newspaper and wear gloves! You can probably find better directions online to be honest. Overall it was actually pretty easy, you can buy little kits with the dye and daubers from ebay.

I used Fiebings dark brown dye. It was a little patchy and I should've done two coats but couldn't be bothered. Think navy would be fine but you'd prob end up with a very dark navy to get good coverage.Not too messy as I did it outside on newspaper. The applicator is a rather insubstantial wobbly sponge on a stick though,so you might want to buy a back up smaller paintbrush type thing.

Thank you for those helpful replies. I'm guessing the 'poofy thing' is the 'wobbly sponge on a stick' and not Dale Winton. Fore warned is fore armed and the small paint brush sounds like a good idea. I won't be getting them from the loft 'til the end of Sept., so don't hold your breath - but I will report back, hopefully with a rather than a or even a .