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How to
blacken your boots...
By
Tim Allen
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This method
of blackening has been around for many years as I was
told of it by an old fellow in Nashville who used it as
a child back in the 1930's. It has been used to make
black ink, leather dye and wood stain. Steel wool pads
have been around since the late 1800's as a polishing
by-product from the waste turnings on metal lathe
machines. Sometime during the early 1900's it was found
that by placing the steel wool pads in vinegar for a few
days, it would make a beautiful "black ink"
when rubbed on leather.
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The chemical reaction between the steel wool, vinegar and air is simple. The vinegar is used to break down the steel wool slightly so that it will "rust" and allow the hydrogen ions and iron acetate to become a clear ferrous
tannate. When this solution comes in contact with the air and is allowed to dry, it becomes a black ferric tannate which has the color from dark gray to black. I was told by the gentleman that this was used in place of shoe polish and often used to dye farm equipment leather.
The reason I respect this procedure is because it allows you to have a true, black/dark gray base or primer when staining leather. Modern store bought chemical dyes are often bluish or purple in tone. This procedure gives you a rich background to apply your black shoe polish which will in turn give you a superb
finish.
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Materials
The process
is simple to do. You will need a few house hold items
and some fine to med/fine steel wool pad (Do not use
Brillo or detergent laced pads). The items include:
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Steel
wool pads |
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Distilled
vinegar |
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Plastic
container |
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Black
shoe polish |
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Denatured
alcohol (optional) |
The Process
Step 1:
Pour enough vinegar into the plastic container in order for the steel wool to be submerged. Store for about
3 to 5 days. During this period, clean your leather with the denatured alcohol in order to clean off any post manufactured contaminates.
 
Step 2:
Upon opening the vinegar / steel wool container, you will notice the steel wool is unchanged and the vinegar is still clear. This is normal, it will not change color in this short time (but over time may become rusty). Wipe your leather thoroughly and liberally with the wet, steel wool. The steel wool will not harm the leather. Remember, you will not see a difference right away.
 
Step 3:
Once the leather dries, you will see the gray/black color in which your leather is now stained.
Polish your leather with black shoe polish as normal.
 
Step 4:
Since the leather will be getting wet and then drying during the staining process, it will need to be oiled on the backside to make it pliable again.
This procedure can be used to touch up your leather at any time. The steel wool can be stored in the vinegar for many months before you need to make a new batch. If it gets too rusty, your leather will have not only black/gray stain but also a rusty brown on it as well. I hope this will help you if you ever need to dye some leather black.
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