Options for "Fixing" Boot Stain

[DonGenaro]

Hi all and in particular leather-workers and cobblers. I am looking for options to fix the boots shown in the photos. They are British Tan "Seidel" - which is leather brand out of Chicago (from what I could gather.)

The left toe acquired a massive black stain that cannot be removed and the leather in that area appears to be worn thru - not sure if that is the natural color of the leather underneath the finish but my efforts to remove it seems to only make it worse - polish creams and wax polish do nothing.

From my research it seems like I have two options:
1) Leave 'em the way they are and chalk it up to "character" and "patina"
2) Dye both boots a dark enough color to cover up the stain.

The first is easy but doesn't sit right with me, the 2nd requires work that I am not sure I want to undertake - although dying boots doesn't look to be very difficult and I'm willing to try. If I do this option I would maybe try for two-tone finish as shown in the very last photo. (w/o the ostrich nips!)

(Photos 3 & 4 show original boots before the unfortunate stain event.)

Thanks to all in advance!

 

[Woodtroll]

What caused the stain - it looks like the boot soaked up some kind of oil, possibly? I'm not sure I see the "worn through" area. If it is oil it may be possible to dry or draw the oil out, if you know what it is. I don't think staining is going to cover that, if it is oil, as it likely won't absorb the stain the same in the dirty/oily area.

 

[DonGenaro]

Thanks for your reply woodtroll - yes, I believe it was originally an oil stain - its a real bummer - very difficult to ignore it - lol. I'm not sure now what I will do about it - nobody seems to have a solution and I have no cobblers in my area - for at least 120 miles. The only thing I can think of is to dye them a much darker color which will, in effect, destroy the whole appeal of the British Tan Seidel leather. At the risk of messing them up even more....ah.
Cheers!

 

[Woodtroll]

I'm going to offer some suggestions, but of course I can't see the boots in person, don't know the oil, can't control how you carry out the work - all the standard disclaimer stuff. These methods have worked for me to draw oil from leather and wood, but every situation is different, so proceed with caution, please...

First, I would try a draw with heated diatomaceous earth, to see how much of the oil you can pull out with absorbent. Get the very fine powdered stuff, like is used for non-chemical insecticide. You want at least a pint or so. Be careful, inhaling this stuff will not kill you stone dead but it is an irritant. Heat that in a suitable container in the microwave, stirring it to get it uniformly very warm to the touch but not blistering hot, sort of like beach sand in the sun. Too hot will harm the leather. Once it's good and warm, bury the toe of the boot firmly down in the DE so the leather gets heated, and leave it for at least a day. The heat will warm and thin the oil, and the earth will draw some of it out of the leather. The drawing takes time.

Depending on how this works (or not), you may stir the earth up and try it another time or two.

If this isn't working much or at all, you can try blotting with acetone. This is a more harsh process and can cause damage to the finish if not careful. Wear gloves and try not to breathe the fumes any more than possible. Saturate a rag, blot near the middle of the stain until the leather is wet with acetone, then use a dry rag and pressure to blot the acetone and oil back out. Repeat this as necessary, in a widening circle until you get to the edges, and you can see how the center where you started is working out. This may remove dome of the oil and stain that the leather started with too, so you don't want to rub and scrub all the surrounding leather - just blot the contaminated area. After you finish this process, let the leather stand for a few days and see if the "natural"/processing oil in the leather returns enough to even out the stained portion. You can always re-oil the stained area slightly if you draw it out too far. Be especially careful around the welt and stitching areas, as you don't want so much acetone there that it will soften the glue in the welt.

You can repeat this process too, as needed, just be sure to let the leather rest, off-gas, and reabsorb its own oil before trying again.

A third option would be to oil the rest of the boot leather heavily with mink oil or something similar until it blends with the stain, but to get that level of oil coloring across teh whole boot will likely soften the leather more than you want. And, of course, it will be much darker than the tan you started with.

A fourth option would be to buy some gunstock whiting from Brownell's, which is mixed with acetone and then painted onto the leather and let set for a day or two to absorb like the DE process, but I think this would be hard to control as far as getting the stain blended to the color of the rest of the leather.

I hope these suggestions help. Good luck!

 

[DonGenaro]

Awesome stuff - thank you. I will report back on the DE method.