Struggling with Redyeing Leather Dress Shoes (Need Advice)

[shoestareve]

Hello everyone, I’m new here from South Korea, and I’m facing a big problem with redyeing my custom-made dress shoes. I hope someone can help me figure it out.

I bought these dark brown (actually closer to medium brown) shoes two years ago, along with other pairs in black and light brown. Compared to the others, this pair of dark brown shoes seems to have some sort of transparent coating or sealant, like Resolene or Saddle-Lac. Still, I was able to polish them

Unfortunately, last year the right toe got scratched. I used sandpaper to smooth out the surface, thinking I could restore it by applying Saphir Shoe Cream (Crème Surfine, Color 05: Dark Brown) and later by wax to make them mirror shine.
 

The surface became smooth again, but the shoe cream didn’t cover the scratch or recreate the coating anymore. When I applied Saphir Renovating Cream (Crème Rénovatrice, Color 05: Dark Brown), it just looked like paint sitting on the surface instead of blending into the leather. After polishing a few times, it simply came off.

So, I tried acetone to deglaze the shoes and remove the original finish, planning to redye them dark brown. I used Fiebing’s Pro Dye, applying three coats with one-hour intervals by brushing, allowing it to penetrate

Afterward, I left the shoes to dry for 24 hours in front of a fan. I buffed them with a white cloth for 10-15minutes and they seemed fine. Then I applied Saphir Renovateur Cream (Conditioner), hoping to polish them well after coniditioning them.

The photo below shows the shoes after dyeing. I am indeed quite satisfied because it looks great. But here coms the problem: when I buffed the newly dyed shoes with a dry or damp cloth, they were fine. But whenever I applied any type of cream (Ex: Renovateur, Crème Universelle Leather Balm, colored shoe cream, etc.) or wax (Ex: Saphir Pâte de Luxe) with water, there's huge ruboff: the dye bled heavily and even reverted to the condition before dyeing. That means I couldn’t polish do coating on them by waxat all.

I ended up removing the dye completely with acetone again, which took a lot of time. Interestingly, even after deglazing, the leather surface was still very smooth, almost as if dye couldn’t penetrate it properly.

I ran a small test by applying just Saphir Shoe Cream and letting it dry. But again, whenever I applied any cream product, the dye bled. This was unseen on any other shoes I have.

I've been extremely frustrated and trying to figure out the root cause but without success. Should I simply wait longer (2–3 days) after dyeing? Or should I apply something like oil or water to the shoes before dyeing? Or with this type of leather, does it require any special treatment before dyeing? Or would it be necessary to apply sealer such as leather sheen or Resolene on shoes? I originally wanted to ask the shoe company, but unfortunately, they are no longer in business.

I’d really appreciate it if someone could point out what I’m doing wrong or give me some advice. Thanks a lot!

Edited 1 hour ago by shoestareve

[kgg]

40 minutes ago, shoestareve said:

I’d really appreciate it if someone could point out what I’m doing wrong or give me some advice.

Here is a link to my experience with re-dying shoes. It may help, maybe not but it may give you some ideas.

kgg