Have had a pair of the brown distressed leather bags on my FXDF since they were first offered and they're starting to fade to a shade I'd call bile beige...been using Bickmore spray treatment for water repellent...what I'd like to know has anyone successfully re-colored their saddlebags? Need something I can rub in by hand that will not run in the rain...

 

Not sure about the brown bags, but the distressed,so called, black bags are painted with some type of leather paint.

 

shoe polish! mine are black and were starting to look faded so I slapped a coat of black shoe polish on there last spring and now over a year later I don't see a reason to re-do it yet!

 

You might not need to add any color. I've used Lexol on old brown leather jackets and it brings back the color and treats/protects the leather as well. Try it on a small area you can't normally see and it could give you decent results. Also, neetsfoot oil is something else to try out.

 

Mink Oil is what you want to use on bare leather bags...it will make it a bit darker tho. Distressed leather is supposed to fade/wear.

To change the color...you need to first strip the bags with rubbing alcohol, then coat with color of leather dye you want. After it dries, protect the dye with polish or some other coating. I dont know that I would attempt a color change say from brown to black, but a darker brown would probably work..but still eventually fade, just like a shoe would with use.

 

We use this product in our shop on everything that goes out the door Aussie ..I would also tell you to try something on a small area as a test piece before you go crazy on it .. Give us a call if you have any more questions .

 

I use the same stuff on all the leather I make, its good gear. Follow Itch's advise re testing on a small area first.

You will probably find it will restore the color without having to re colour.

If you really must re-color, Fiebings have leather dye that will do the job for you, however you will need to clean the bags up first to remove any protectant you put on there over time. You can use accetone to clean up but go REAL lightly with the stuff and give the bags a good hour before you start coloring to ensure all accetone has evaporated away. Follow the directions on the bottle of dye when applying the color.