Kenny202

I don't think it needs more mink. The leather is nice and soft. More concerned with stabilizing the finish and of course shining it up for a nice professional look :-)

Just as a follow up received my creams today and applied them. They weren't really a cream or polish type thing at all. Best I can tell it is an acrylic paint in cream form. I must say finished product after a couple of coats is good. It looks like its been painted, same as a colored (not stained) bag I guess. All in all I would prefer stain but the bag is so badly marked I think this was the only choice. The deciding factor will be when I apply some wax to the bag if the paint holds and accepts it. It is clearly acrylic as it washed off my hands fairly easy in water. Anyway, the color is solid and no visible stains any more. I have a neutral shoe polish. Will this do as a wax? I also have Mink oil. I am living remotely in Thailand and leather products not easy to source. Assuming it is acrylic paint of some kind should I apply mink oil then wax? Or only wax? I did apply Mink oil after prepping / cleaning the bag before applying this cream. Would the mink oil soak into the leather through the paint?

Thank you so much for all your advice Dwight, and may god bless you too :-)

Just one more thing Dwight, and thank you so much for the advice so far....as a general starting point for a dye thinned down are we talking 50/50 mix or otherwise? I would rather put on several coats to get a darker shade then put the first coat on and already too dark

May I ask what you use for thinner? Do you need to use a dedicated product or paint thinner or meths, alcohol etc? I did use the dye raw out of the bottle and it was very dark. After a bit more research looks like alcohol? Is it rubbing alcohol? I see many alcohol products for sale...all different grades / names. Alcohol Isopropyl? Some are 75% Alcohol methanol?

Was just the soft side of a Scotch brite pad (not the green side lol). It just fell apart as I was using it. Not sure what's in dye if it degraded the foam or texture of the leather. Hardly ideal I am sure. It was pretty rough grain leather. Are there other options for applying dye apart from foam? Do you normally just dip in the dye or really soak the foam / rag etc? And my current issue re applying polish. And will neutral shoe polish work as a wax? As I said in Thailand and bees wax, floor wax etc not readily available. Should I mink oil before polish or after.

Finally got around to doing my project today, re dying an old LL Bean shoulder bag. Results pretty good but can't say it was a satisfying task lol. Prepped with de glazer. I read somewhere rubbing alcohol does the job and a lot cheaper? The first coat all blotchy and uneven. Wasn't the same as the you tube videos where it seemed to just flow on smoothly. The second coat went on a lot better, bit like wood where the first coat seals it up and second coat glides over. it was over full grain nu buck style grainy natural leather so I guess it would apply much better on finished leather. Ended up using the proper Fiebings pro dye. A couple of questions...... Most of the people doing the how to videos use a sponge. Maybe I used the wrong sort of sponge but rubbing it over the rough leather ate the sponge up pretty quick and just found it impractical sponge sucking the stain up quicker than the leather. To be honest I reckon a rag might of been better. Should you be generous filling your sponge / rag with dye? I was being a bit minimalist as I have another project I need to do. How should I finish the bag when the dye is dry? bare in mind I am living in country Thailand and need to make do with a lot of stuff, many product not easily available or ridiculously expensive. Do you think neutral shoe polish brushed then buffed up would do the job to finish the bag? Should I soften with mink oil first or after polishing? Appreciate any help :-)

Not expecting perfect results. I reckon the stains will still be visible to some degree but at the moment it just looks dirty. Completely washed and scrubbed the leather with vinegar today and it helps but the stains will never come out. They have absorbed into the porous leather. My plan is to put some mink oil on after applying color (or before?) and then give it a good buff with wax. I am sure discoloration will still be visible to some extent but hopefully with all the work may come across more as a patina than stains

I have a vintage bag I want to restore, grey / creamish color. Has some spots and stains....possibly mold spots but leather still soft and if mold is inactive. I was going to completely re stain it another color but do like the original color. Anyone used these color restoring creams? Would it likely cover spots up and is it permanent or just a temporary thing like say brown shoe polish? One I was looking at brand name something like EIDECHSE

Not really, the inside is lined and all outside areas visible. To be honest I think its a do or die job lol. If it cant be recolored successfully it's a throw away job. By the way, can you tell me how long between dye coats you need to allow for drying? And after final coat applied how long before can apply a finish / conditioner to it for a buff and polish Thank you for your reply :-)

Just wondering if it is possible to re dye a bag to a different color (light color to darker color) using pro dye. 2 bags in question have marks, fading, blotches and wondering if it will cover this up? I believe the process is to firstly clean well with rubbing alcohol then wipe the dye over evenly with a dense sponge? Will it dry to a dull matte finish and need some sort of polish? After the dye has dried / set do I need to apply some polish or finisher to bring out the color and shine a bit? If so what would I use? Is rubbing alcohol suitable for de glazer? I have attached some example photos? Do you think the dye will cover the fading and un evenness? The grey bag may have even had some mould at some point but both bags are soft and pliable and surface good. Just want to make sure if I dye the bags, the dye will likely cover up the uneven color and blotches / marks. Will be using a dark mahogany red / brown color, similar to what I would say standard red / brown saddle / tack color. The dye etc will cost close to what the bags worth so need to make sure the job will be worth the trouble. If I get less than decent result will have to throw the bag away losing the cost of it and the dye. Appreciate any help https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zkXOArr0nhhiCSn3hqVqshvmqry5NGJY/view?usp=share_link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fgqsNsLknhkPQARrKeuPIvieLZ4lR3wJ/view?usp=share_link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EfTGrg88fY9z8tsJmluM1UslTG5FDuGu/view?usp=share_link