So a client recently showed me his very first attempt at patina which I must say was quite impressive. His goal was not to look like a 5 year old had done it, and I have to say that what came out looks better than many of what the so-called patina artists produce. (Not ones that I show on the blog, but the countless others) Nicknaming it the ‘Tortoise’ look, I have to say that I think that it is brilliant and I would wear something with this patina on it. And from the first pictures you would not have thought that it would have come out so well. Nice to be proven wrong! Well done the to the gentleman that made this and let’s see some of you out there give it a go too!
Happy weekend to all!
Sincerely,
Justin, “The Shoe Snob”
very nice. fashionable and is simply good. what would be the cost.
Ragavi ROy
Bizbilla
Looks awesome! I’ve given DYI patina a try – with fair results – but this is off the charts. Can we get more details on his particular process?
I’ve been wanting to try this at home too. Why did he start with a yellow & blue base. What products did he use, what’s the whole process?
Thank you everyone for your kind comments about the shoes, and thank you Justin for posting them on your blog. I am glad to answer questions about the process I used to create this patina, but believe me it was an experiment. I can say two things that I think make safe general rules of thumb: 1) start light and work darker progressively as taking color away is much harder than adding it and 2) go slow, patience is your friend in this process whether you are talking about the dye or polish stages.
Specifically, I used Fiebing and Angelus leather dyes and Saphir creme polish. Glad to add more later, and thank you again for the positive feedback.
Very beautiful, even more considering it is a DIY job. amazing final result. Cheers!!!
You know I really just kept on layering, now I did thin the dye using droppers as a measurement. For example I was using one dropper of dye to about three droppers of isopropyl alcohol. What you run into quickly is, if you don’t thin it a bit you just get a solid. This just takes so many layers with the paintbrushes. Also you have to vary how dark of a brown you are using to get more depth. You will work progressively darker with the layers.
I am now working on a belt to match the shoes and am discovering yet one more thing. The leather you are working on does affect the process as well. I am noticing the belt leather is a bit “harder” for lack of a better description and getting it to take the dye is more difficult. Fingers crossed I will end up with a good match to the shoes.