How To Dye Leather Birkenstocks

Thank you to everyone who sent me an email after reading my blog, “Shiny Metallic Leather.”  It is comforting to know that I am not the only one who has experienced scratching and peeling with Birkenstock Metallic Leather shoes.  Some of you have older pairs that are crumbling or foiling like mine, whereas others have just bought a new pair and are already noticing scratching simply with buckle adjustment.

Metallic Gold Birkenstocks Scratched and Peeling

Many of you wanted to know if Birkenstock got back to me with a solution for fixing the scratched metallic uppers.  Nope.  My original email to Birkenstock was sent on April 26, 2017.  It has been over 3 months and I have not heard back. Some of you have reached out to Birkenstock as well with no response.  I figured it was time to experiment.

I was not wearing my metallic Arizonas because, frankly, they looked like crap.  You can only make a first impression once, so there was no way that I would wear peeling shoes in public.  I had taken the time to gently break-in these shoes and now I was going to take the time to fix the uppers.  After all, they have conformed to my feet and I was not willing to toss them out.

In my real job, I am a master problem solver of extremely complex situations.  If I could juggle solving multiple issues at once, I figured that I could fix a darn pair of Birkenstocks.  Since I was already not wearing the shoes, there would be no harm experimenting with them.  What’s the worse that could happen?

I decided that I was going to dye the leather uppers.  When dyeing leather, one must dye at least one shade darker then the original color.  I was comfortable letting go of the gold uppers in lieu of my favorite color…red!  I have been drooling over the recently released Tango Red Patent Arizonas.  Sadly, they are only offered in narrow width in the US.  I spent a lot of time researching these particular shoes and I finally located a pair of regular width ones outside of the US.  However, if my experiment worked, then I would not have to fork over the cash for a new pair of shoes.

Here is a list of items needed to dye leather Birkenstocks:

1. Time.  This process took me several days.
2. Well ventilated work area
3. Sandpaper
4. Acetone
5. Cotton Swaps
6. Painter’s tape or Masking Tape
7. Newspaper
8. Q tips
9. Rags or a small paint brush
10. Jojoba Oil
11. Leather Dye
12. Resolene
13. Be safe! Use gloves, a safety mask and goggles
    

Below are the steps that one must take to prepare the leather, dye the leather, and seal the dye:

1. Sand off the the metallic finish with sandpaper.  This was fairly easy since the leather was already peeling.
   
2. Apply Acetone to a cotton swab to remove the remaining metallic finish.
3. Cover all the surfaces that would not be dyed with painter’s tape.
4. Prepare the work area by laying out an old towel and cover that with newspaper.
5. Put on work clothes that you do not mind getting dirty or stained.
   
6. Slip on rubber gloves to protect your hands from the dye.
7. Apply a thin layer of Jojoba oil to the prepared leather.  This will help the dye soak in evenly.
   
8. Use the dauber that comes with the dye to apply a thin coat of dye to the leather.
9. Utilize a Q Tip to get the dye on hard to reach areas.
   
10. Allow each coat of dye to dry 10-15 minutes before putting on another coat.  Apply as many coats needed to get the color that you desire.  It took me 3 coats to get the deep red color that I wanted.
    
11. Let the leather dry thoroughly about 1-2 hours.
12. Seal the dye with a layer of Resolene.  At first, I used a rag to apply the Resolene as directed on the bottle.  I found that this caused dripping onto the white soles.  I switched to a brush when applying the sealer on to the second shoe to prevent seeping.
    
13. Remove any dye that has gotten onto your soles with a cotton swab and Acetone.  This was a huge problem for me because the soles were white.  Would not be an issue with black or brown soles.
    
14. Allow to dry 24 hours.

Here is a video I made demonstrating the process of dyeing leather Birkenstocks:

I am thrilled with how these Birkenstocks turned out.  The way that I sanded the leather and dabbed on Acetone to remove the metallic finish left my dyed shoes with lovely undertones.  It reminds me of how my oiled leather Birkenstocks begin to look over time.  The Resolene sealed the dye and left a beautiful shine to the leather.  I have been wearing these dyed Birkenstocks for about one month and have had no issues with peeling, chipping, or cracking.

My Dyed Red Birkentocks on a 3 mile walk

Who needs Tango Red Patent Leather Arizonas now?  Not me!

I am no longer embarrassed to wear peeling metallic leather Birkenstocks.  Now, I proudly wear my dyed red Birkenstocks.  Best part of all, it is like having new shoes that are already broken-in.