Removing shoe polish from holsters?

[Olle]

I just started buffing a black holster with Connolly's and found that the color was coming off. I figure it's either shoe polish, or it could be a repurposed holster that has received some other treatment to make it black. After a little work, I found that it was a nice brown underneath so I would like to remove the black color entirely. Connolly's will obviously remove it, but it would be a painfully slow process to do the whole holster.

I googled it right quick, and found all kinds of tips like acetone, lighter fluid, alcohol etc, everything short of sand blasting. I would, of course, like to hear what you guys say about this so I don't ruin the holster. Is there a tried and true way to remove the black stuff without hurting the leather?

[gunnertwo]

Hopefully Jerry will give a reply.

G2

[Bill_in_VA]

I don’t know what Conolly’s is (what is it, btw?) but I’d be very leery of using anything like acetone, lighter fluid, etc. on 100 year old leather, or even new leather. Leather is an organic made up of polypeptide chains and more complex proteins, and once those proteins break down there’s no recovering from it.

I do know there are some strippers that are safe for leathers, but don’t know any to recommend. Besides Jerry, you might also check with your local cobbler/shoe repair shop and see what they recommend.

[George Anderson]

Saddle Soap should remove the polish with no harm to the leather.

[Vlim]

Alcohol and some elbow grease also.

I lifted a very nice 1916 holster from underneath years of shoepolish applications with 90% alcohol and a lot of patience.

[Olle]

I do recall somebody recommending alcohol here on the forum, but I don't know if it was for cleaning or to be ingested during the procedure. In any case, I tried some alcohol earlier today, and it seems to have some effect. It turned the black coloration into a sticky goo, and that's when I decided to stop and wait for the forum to respond.

Would it be safe to wet the leather good with the alcohol, or is it supposed to be a "Q-tip application"?

[Vlim]

That's what the alcohol does, it turns the polish into a more liquid state so it can be rubbed off with a piece of cloth. I just did a small area at a time without smothering the holster and mtself with alcohol. Dabbing a piece of cloth in alcohol and careful rubbing.

The basic solvents in shoe polish are naphta and turpentine.

[gunnertwo]

So, in this thread, three things have been mentioned. Strippers, leathers and alcohol... Some of you guys are comedians.

Just a little humor.

G2

[Croc9]

Try one of those white Magic Erasers. I have a P38 holster that was black, but the previous owner removed the black dye from the rear side and it became a nice brown. I just received a reply on his method. He removed the original dye with one of those erasers. Unfortunately, I'm not big on alterations, so off it went to Jerry for a dye job. As always, Jerry came through. The holster is mine to keep, so I don't mind returning it to correct (not original) condition. I am not saying this will work, but worth a try. Steve

[lugerholsterrepair]

Olle, I guess the first question that comes to my mind is...what color was the holster originally?

Yes, many vintage holsters have had the original black worn off over the years from just cloth rubbing on the surface. They usually display a very pleasant looking brown as the dye is polished off the surface.

Dye is nothing more than super fine particulates that are drawn into the leather suspended in liquid. Some leather is tighter than others and dye is absorbed according to how tight or open the pores of the leather are. In the end, the liquid, usually alcohol is wicked off and the dye, super fine particulates, remains embedded.

Any attempt to remove dye, super fine particulates embedded in leather pores, is met with resistance by the fact that many of these fine black particulates are in little pockets. They must be flushed out and you will not likely get them all without bleach discoloring them.

More problems..the more you rub & scrub and pour chemicals on the more damage you might be doing to the leather surface, subsurface and don't forget the THREAD! Thread is a delicate twist of plant fiber, 80-to over 100 years old!

I could write on this subject for hours/days/months but I will only be in quarantine for another month. I don't know if there's enough time.

But once again, Olle, you might be taking off black when you should be putting it on?

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by lugerholsterrepair

I could write on this subject for hours/days/months but I will only be in quarantine for another month.

What have you heard??? Is there a vaccine on the horizon???

[lugerholsterrepair]

Is there a vaccine on the horizon??? Yes! It galloped by and went over the horizon! After awhile I will burst out of isolation and start grabbing strangers by the ears and licking their face just to get it over with! I am not a hider by nature but not one to stand up in a firefight either..Has to be some middle ground somewhere.

[Olle]

Originally Posted by lugerholsterrepair

Olle, I guess the first question that comes to my mind is...what color was the holster originally?

Yes, many vintage holsters have had the original black worn off over the years from just cloth rubbing on the surface. They usually display a very pleasant looking brown as the dye is polished off the surface.

Dye is nothing more than super fine particulates that are drawn into the leather suspended in liquid. Some leather is tighter than others and dye is absorbed according to how tight or open the pores of the leather are. In the end, the liquid, usually alcohol is wicked off and the dye, super fine particulates, remains embedded.

Any attempt to remove dye, super fine particulates embedded in leather pores, is met with resistance by the fact that many of these fine black particulates are in little pockets. They must be flushed out and you will not likely get them all without bleach discoloring them.

More problems..the more you rub & scrub and pour chemicals on the more damage you might be doing to the leather surface, subsurface and don't forget the THREAD! Thread is a delicate twist of plant fiber, 80-to over 100 years old!

I could write on this subject for hours/days/months but I will only be in quarantine for another month. I don't know if there's enough time.

But once again, Olle, you might be taking off black when you should be putting it on?

I know what you're saying, I just don't think any original finish would come off that easily by wiping it with Connolly's. I was just trying to make it look better by applying some Hide Care, that's when I noticed that the black was coming off and revealing a brown color underneath. It happened immediately, the rag just went from white to black after a few seconds of wiping. Unlike a dye, it seems to be on the surface.

[lugerholsterrepair]

I just started buffing a black holster...What kind of holster?

[hayhugh]

Why not apply some new polish and it will look like new...

[DonVoigt]

Originally Posted by hayhugh

Why not apply some new polish and it will look like new...

Not anymore!

[Olle]

Originally Posted by lugerholsterrepair

I just started buffing a black holster...What kind of holster?

I don't know for sure, but I believe it could be for a French Lebel, or possibly Rast & Gasser.