Boot Restoration

[Snarf]

Let me start by saying I've never worked with leather, so go easy on me. I found this old pair of boots in my garage and attempted to clean them up. After a thorough cleaning, new laces, and some Sno-Seal, this is what they look like.

Obviously the leather is very worn down in the darker areas. Would these boots benefit from a dye job?

I would prefer the original tan color, but I'm not sure if the dark worn sections would dye to that color. So my questions are

1. Should I even bother to dye these?
2. If so, would the dark brown dye to match the tan? Or would I be better off going for brown all around?

Please excuse my novice questions

Thanks!

-Jake

[whinewine]

Once you're added the sno seal, I don't really know if they'll accept dye (maybe/perhaps [doubtful, though,] spirit, NOT water-based dyes, and...they can't be dyed lighter than the darkest areas. I would not even attempt a dye job because it probably wouldn't take, and definitely (if it did take) would never be a uniform color because the worn areas would always look different than the non worn areas.

However, it looks like the soles (pretty worn, btw) are coming off in spots. There is a product called 'shoe goop' which is pretty good at holding/repairing soles coming unglued.

Bottom line, if I were you, I'd invest in a tube of shoe goop, repair the soles & wear your free boots till they totally fall apart. You might even use a dremel to add new, deeper grooves in the soles to give some traction, 'cause there isn't much there. (Personally, I wouldn't invest that much time in them, but I do have friends who would spend much, much more time trying to fix broken things than the things are actually worth.)

[amuckart]

If the uppers are basically sound, I'd just take these in and get whole new soles put on them.

[Snarf]

Once you're added the sno seal, I don't really know if they'll accept dye (maybe/perhaps [doubtful, though,] spirit, NOT water-based dyes, and...they can't be dyed lighter than the darkest areas. I would not even attempt a dye job because it probably wouldn't take, and definitely (if it did take) would never be a uniform color because the worn areas would always look different than the non worn areas.

However, it looks like the soles (pretty worn, btw) are coming off in spots. There is a product called 'shoe goop' which is pretty good at holding/repairing soles coming unglued.

Bottom line, if I were you, I'd invest in a tube of shoe goop, repair the soles & wear your free boots till they totally fall apart. You might even use a dremel to add new, deeper grooves in the soles to give some traction, 'cause there isn't much there. (Personally, I wouldn't invest that much time in them, but I do have friends who would spend much, much more time trying to fix broken things than the things are actually worth.)

Thanks for the reply! I will definitely buy a tube of shoe goop.

If the uppers are basically sound, I'd just take these in and get whole new soles put on them.

Agreed, I have given up on the dye job. Thanks for the advice.