[Eugen]

A few months have passed since I posted my concern over this black spray “paint” applied to my holster. After several of you assured me that this paint job was not 'correct', I decide to try to, oh so gently, scrap it off with a polymer chisel tool (used for automotive interior work). This seems to have worked well based on the outcome and I wanted to share my work with my friends on the forum. (Note photos taken at the beginning of this thread that show the shinny black paint.)

It took me about 6 hours over several days of tediously scraping the leather to scrape and chip away this darn paint. In some areas like the front of the holster the paint came off more easily. Then in others, like the belt straps and holster strap, the paint clung so tightly to the leather that I feared damaging the leather if I attempted to apply more pressure to remove the paint; so some paint remains. My photo taking ability does not show the dramatically improved appearance of removing the paint as it does it when holding the holster. You can see the small paint flakes comin off. I might try the use of acetone, as several have suggested, to remove the remaining small flecks of paint. The last two photos show the nearly completely finished restored work. I did apply some Connelly leather product after the work to nurture the leather. (Thanks for the tip, Jerry.)

I am so much happier as it stands and even my fiancé noticed the significant improvement.