Contrast stitching makes my Black leather Jacket look DULL brown

[Bucket]

Hi all,
I recently purchased a black cowhide shawl collar jacket from Thedi. The style, craftsmanship and fit are impeccable. This is my second Thedi jacket and I will happily add more to my collection in the future.

The issue I am having is that the brown/olive color contrast stitching really makes the black leather look dull and almost like a very dark brown. Is there anyway to treat the jacket to darken the stitching to achieve a darker black appearance?

Thanks!

 

[ton312]

Hi Bucket, I'm not sure you'd be able to do much to darken the stitching, especially if it's synthetic. You could apply conditioner to the leather to darken it but in all honestly I'd just let the jacket age and undergo the organic process that a leather jacket naturally goes through. Enjoy the color variance...It's patina and it's precisely what makes leather so cool!

 

[ButteMT61]

You could try black shoe polish. I did that once (making sure to remove all excess) and it did a good job...
I'd likely do as @ton312 said though...just beat it into looking right

 

[handymike]

Get a Black Sharpie, or trade me for my dark brown Horsehide one. I think your jacket looks amazing

 

[ton312]

This thread is bringing up all kinds of bad memories about how much I want that shawl collared Thedi. God, why can't I just fixate on the lancer/ half-belt in peace?!?

 

[Cyber Lip]

I have 2 black aero jackets and both have OD stitching. I love it! But I do worry about the color changing from OD to something nasty over time. I have a pair of shoes that had stitching that started out OD but that's turned a vile piss golden brown color

 

[l0fielectronic]

I imagine over time it will naturally darken as it catches dirt and such.

If it really bothers you agree maybe shoe polish as this should wipe off the leather but stick to the fabric stiching - I wouldn't use a pen myself as I imagine it will be tough to not get it on the leather and a sharpie won't wipe off so easliy.

 

[Carlos840]

You could try black shoe polish. I did that once (making sure to remove all excess) and it did a good job...
I'd likely do as @ton312 said though...just beat it into looking right

Be very careful if you try that. I tried shoe polish (regular Kiwi stuff) on a black warhawk leather (very similar to CXL FQHH) and it just melted the top finish away and made a big smudgy mess out of everything.
I was lucky it was in an invisible place (underside of the wind flap), but had it been in a visible spot i would have been screwed.

 

[Monitor]

That sounds nightmarish, Carlos.

I've applied black and brown shoe polish on tons of jackets, including an Aero FQHH and nothing bad happened. It blended so well I couldn't even find the scratch again. I second the shoe polish / creme suggestion, or maybe even that dyed wax thing which shouldn't hurt the jacket. But I guess anything can happen, best to try it somewhere hidden first.

 

[ButteMT61]

Yeah, like I said, most of us here have years of experimenting, etc. and when I post up something I've done, it's always with a caveat. At some point, you have to not baby these things and just either beat the crap outta them, or try messing with them, or both. It's a jacket, nothing more. So only do what you're comfortable with. I'm sure the guys/gals that put some killer patinas on jackets we see here from the 1900's are LOL'ing in their graves at what we do. Those people just wore the crap outta the jackets and let it happen over time. Time. We think next day is long for a package now...

 

[Carlos840]

That sounds nightmarish, Carlos.

I've applied black and brown shoe polish on tons of jackets, including an Aero FQHH and nothing bad happened. It blended so well I couldn't even find the scratch again. I second the shoe polish / creme suggestion, or maybe even that dyed wax thing which shouldn't hurt the jacket. But I guess anything can happen, best to try it somewhere hidden first.

The leather was loosing its top coat super super fast. It basically looked like it was going to turn brown rather than stay black. I tried show polish on a discrete spot and it acted like nail varnish remover!
That jacket was haunted, first that, then the lining started fraying everywhere, then the zipper broke and i got stuck in it, it was an hour long battle to get out!

They ended up remaking it, and the replacement was perfect...