Today is my first day as a member, so here goes…I've read most of the posts here about Vinegaroon, but have a few questions after a recent project that was not as successful as I hoped. I'll start by saying that patience IS a virtue, just not one of mine (!).
I wanted to change the color of a sandy beige Coach bag to black. The surface was in really bad shape with blotches that I suspected were shoe polish and areas that looked and felt like they had been rubbed raw with sandpaper! But I only paid $1.00 for it and it wasn't usable as it was, so it became my first Vinegaroon adventure.
First I gave the bag a bath in warm water and Extra Strength Dawn dishwashing liquid. A good soak and scrub with my hands. I stuffed the bag with towels for a day or so, then removed and let air dry. The bath had little effect on the spots. I did not use a conditioner as I expected the experiment to continue, either taking it to a cobbler for a dye job, or doing it myself.
I mixed up 2 gallons of vinegar with 4 #0000 steel wool pads, cleaned and shredded in each. Shook them up, vented the lids and sat them in the Florida sun for 2 days. On day 3 I strained the liquid and made a big, rusty mess in the process. I dunked the small leather Coach hang tag in the strained mixture and it turned a nice shade of brown through and through, although darker on the suede side.
Day 4 I let the mixture continue to brew in the sun.
Day 5 I brewed some strong black tea, soaked the bag, re-strained the brew and dunked the entire bag for about 20 minutes. Followed with a baking soda bath, about 1/8 cup of BS to a couple of inches of warm water in the kitchen sink, for less than a minute. Finished with clear water rinse. The result was a darker brown, now with black spots where I suspected the leather had been abraded. I worked in a fair amount of Lexol while damp and it did darken the brown.
Then I started reading about deglazing, thinking it might help the surface take the Vinegaroon. I made a mixture of about 1/8 cup real lemon to about a quart of denatured alcohol. I sprayed it on, worked it into the surface and let it sit a while. Then re-dunked the bag for about an hour. I repeated the quick baking soda bath, a little stronger this time, and finished with a clear water rinse. I let it air dry a while and started working in Lexol again. The brown is darker and richer, but still has black blotches.
I've continued to condition with Leather CPR and cleaned the rusty fil off the brass hardware with NEVR DULL. I now have a nice, supple, usable, although fashionably distressed leather bag!
I know my haste was probably the biggest issue, as I did not let the Vinegroon either absorb enough steel, and I just didn't let it brew long enough. I expect to be whacked with a big wet noodle for this.
Should I have deglazed earlier in the process? Should I have used acetone or something else?
Should I have just poured off the top of the Vinegaroon, rather than straining the sludge?
Was it a mistake to re-use the Vinegaroon?
Was my dunk time sufficient?
Before and after:
I thoroughly enjoyed this process and thank all of the contributors for sharing their amazing wealth of knowledge in this forum!
I would greatly appreciate anyone and everyone's input, as there is another project waiting in the wings…and I really want it to be black! Thanks in advance!
