Staining my Doc Martens

I recently became the happy owner of a pair of Doc Martens “Pansy Fayre” edition which came into our Op Shop. Kelly and Sonya pointed them out to me: “They have Joanna written all over them”. Aww.

Well, it’s true I love Docs and I love flowers, so…. I wore them for a week, really wanting to feel all their love coming my way! But I’m an older gal and these are a pretty bright pair of boots! I felt my feet were glowing as I walked around!

I asked AI (Gemini in this case) whether I could tone down the contrast while retaining the lovely flower pattern.

Gemini suggested either a rich shoe polish (nah) or dyeing the leather. Bingo, that’s what I wanted to do.

First I used masking tape to protect the yellow stitching.

To remove the original leather seal I needed a deglazer. This is a bit like nail polish remover. By the way, I just ordered all the things I needed online.

I used cotton wool discs, wetting one with the deglazer and gently pressing over the flowers. Gemini said to be careful not to wipe the flowers, which would smear the paint. This was easier said than done! The cotton wool started looking a bit red and white. I was quietly panicking and Mike unhelpfully peered over my shoulder and said, “Hmm, pink boots.”

Oh go away, Mike!

You can see the deglazed boot on the left, a bit pink and ragged. Omg, was it all going pear-shaped?

Gemini said to always start on the tongue, which is mostly hidden, so you can practise the action before attacking the rest of the boot.

Next, I mixed a leather dye with rubbing alcohol. Gemini suggested 1 part dye and 3 parts alcohol, but it looked quite strong so I made it 1 part dye to 4 parts alcohol. Gemini said that was fine, better to add more layers, than to apply too much first time round.

I mixed it in a small glass and used an old paintbrush, which I still had from when I played around with IKEA watercolour pencils.

First, the tongue! I left the inside sides untouched, so that I would have a memory of the original paintwork.

Then venturing to the toe…

Then the whole boot.

I let each layer dry before adding another. All in all, over two days I painted four layers.

The next step was to re-seal the leather. I had to wait a few days, and was spared the agony of sitting around waiting, because the band had gigs to play in Burleigh Heads and then Caloundra. by the time that was done, we were ready to seal!

I watched a few YouTube videos on how to apply Fiebing’s Bag Kote. Gemini said, once again, dab over the flowers, because the alcohol in the Bag Kote could make the paint run. For the first application, dab all over the boot. Wait four to six hours, then apply the second coat, spreading it in smooth, long strokes, to smooth out any bubbles from the dabbing stage.

I had to find a place that was dust-free and pet hair-free to let the boots dry. Are you kidding? In my home? Gemini said a good hack was to place a cardboard box over them. Mike redeemed himself by suggesting supermarket paper bags. Good man. I put them in my music room, which is more orderly than the other rooms, and kept Wookie out of there.

The parts where I had accidentally removed or smeared paint looked mottled and even more “vintage-y”. I was over the moon!

Lastly I waited another two days before using Dubbin to waterproof them. The sealer alone wasn’t enough to stop the paint running in heavy rain. Sigh.

Gemini said to take a small amount of Dubbin in a clear, microfibre cloth, and use my fingers to warm the Dubbin. I actually put the Dubbin into the palm of my hand and warmed it up in my hands, until it was a clear oil that I massaged lovingly into the leather, especially the seams and the areas likely to crease more.

Gemini said to leave it for 15 minutes before buffing with a clean cloth. Buff vigorously, using short, light strokes. Remember that you are not rubbing it into the leather. The leather is already sealed. You are trying to create a satin, waterproof finish.

Right!