Is shoe polish okay to use over black dye?

[numbrow]

Good day everyone! I hate to be a pest once again, but I have a question that I need to find an answer for. First, the other day I was dying a belt I had made for a customer, I had read that I should put a coat of Royal Blue before applying the black to get a "True Black". After letting the black dry, I rubbed off the left over pigment, and begasn to apply a coat of Kiwi "Parade Black" shoe polish. When I buffed the polish almost all of the black dye came with it. I didn't know what to use to remove the polish to re-apply the black, so I went to my local shoe repairer to see what he used. We discussed this and that about leather working, when he found out that I stamp and carve leather he wanted to send his customers that wanted stuff done on their belts and so forth. I called Tandy and asked if it is possible to do this sort of thing to store bought belts, they don't seem to think it is possible. I know this is the long way around to ask a question, but I thought I should lay out the particulars. This way any advice that you can share would have all the info needed. After seeing what I wrote here I guess I have two questions. Is it a bad idea to put shoe polish over black dye? and, Can store bought belts be tooled in any way? I only ask because it sounds like he has a lot of people that would like to have this sort of thing done. Which would be good for me if I can make it work. Especially with Christmas coming and all.

Any advice anyone can share would be greatly and deeply apreciated. I want to thank everyone that can help me in this matter.

[Johanna]

As a general rule, finished leathers can't be stamped or tooled. Unfinished vegetable tanned leather will accept water, which is necessary to make impressions.

But give that shoe guy a handful of business cards! I used to throw those guys work I didn't want (zippers, garments, shoes) and they would throw me work they didn't want (repairs and custom orders) plus, it was nice to be able to borrow the use of a tool or machine occasionally...

I always used green or blue under black dye, but I'm not big on shoe polish for much except minor upholstery touch ups. I like "Leather Balm with Atom Wax" (and the black kind is invaluable if you do black biker gear) because it buffs to a beautiful shine that doesn't rub off. I suspect something in the polish reacted with the dye and made it unstable. That probably wouldn't happen on chrome tanned leather, which is what most commercial belts are made from and what shoe polish is intended for. Vegetable tanned leather, because of those absorbent qualities, needs to be sealed, and shoe polish won't do it. You might be lucky you didn't have to buy the customer a new pair of pants because the polish rubbed off, and it can, even if it is buffed, when the leather gets wet.

HTH

Johanna

[Billsotx]

Johanna covered it pretty well. I wouldn't mess with something like this. Too many unknowns, unless the belt was one you sold previously. Even then I ask and try to determine that some other finish wasn't applied after I sold it.

Edited November 26, 2006 by Billsotx