Is it possible to darken a saddles colour?

[QueenBella]

Hi all,

There's a Prestige Golden star saddle near me for sale at a very good price and in a size that would suit my youngster for now. Only problem is its a horrible gold colour while the rest of my tack is black.

Just wondering has anyone firstly have any experience with that style of saddle as I do have a Prestige Michel Roberts which I love but don't fancy putting that on a youngster just yet and can it be readjusted like the rest of the prestige saddles and secondly is it possible to darken that type of leather? I wouldn't mind a dark brown with black tack for now but golden and black just doesn't sit right with me

Because the saddle is so cheap I've no problem with trying to do dodgy DIY job My guts telling me hold out for something that's in black but as its probably a saddle I wont use too much is it worth putting up with the colour difference?

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[sbloom]

Yes, either properly with Fieblings, stripping off the conditioner etc, dyeing and then conditioning again (intensively, speak to @cremedemonthe for his stuff). or you could just try neatsfoot which darkens a lot in most cases though maybe not enough to be very dark brown. Is it calfskin or just the regular thick leather flaps? Oil isn't a great idea with many calf leathers.

 

[Tarragon]

Not quite sure you will find this helpful, but I managed to darken the seat of a lovely brown saddle when I fell off at the water jump early on in the day at a Pony Club rally, and spent the rest of the day in my wet jodhpurs as I hadn't anything else to wear. The saddle had a much darker patch that matched my backside that never went away after that!

 

[QueenBella]

Yes, either properly with Fieblings, stripping off the conditioner etc, dyeing and then conditioning again (intensively, speak to @cremedemonthe for his stuff). or you could just try neatsfoot which darkens a lot in most cases though maybe not enough to be very dark brown. Is it calfskin or just the regular thick leather flaps? Oil isn't a great idea with many calf leathers.

Thank you for the reply. Yes I am considering just re-dying the whole thing. I have dyed shoes, handbags etc. in the past but its just how would I properly 'reseal' the saddle to ensure no residue rub off?

I have neatsfoot on hand so if I do go ahead with the purchase I'll give it a coat of that and see how it goes. I'm not too sure what the leather is, I have contacted Prestige so I'll see if they respond.

 

[QueenBella]

Not quite sure you will find this helpful, but I managed to darken the seat of a lovely brown saddle when I fell off at the water jump early on in the day at a Pony Club rally, and spent the rest of the day in my wet jodhpurs as I hadn't anything else to wear. The saddle had a much darker patch that matched my backside that never went away after that!

Well there is a very high likelihood she will deck me in the water at some stage as there's clearly monsters in every puddle we attempt to cross so that could work!

 

[sbloom]

The right product shouldn't bleed afaik, then definitely get some Oz conditioner, it really is the best, plenty of beeswax for a good seal. If the flap has stitching across it, not just at joins but just across the main part, and appears to have a layer sewn over the flap, then it's calfskin. Prestige uses (or used, can't see it on the website anymore) "D" after the name to indicate calfskin, soft and grippy but not as hardwearing.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have has good results with olive oil.

 

[QueenBella]

The right product shouldn't bleed afaik, then definitely get some Oz conditioner, it really is the best, plenty of beeswax for a good seal. If the flap has stitching across it, not just at joins but just across the main part, and appears to have a layer sewn over the flap, then it's calfskin. Prestige uses (or used, can't see it on the website anymore) "D" after the name to indicate calfskin, soft and grippy but not as hardwearing.

Prestige have got back to me and said its a smooth leather so I'm not too sure if that's calfskin. Thank you for your replies, you've been a great help

 

[QueenBella]

I have has good results with olive oil.

Yes I've heard that's good, along with mixing it with neatsfoot so I may give that a try and see what the results are.

 

[QueenBella]

Also, has anyone any experience with Hydrophane Leather Darkening Oil? Is it any good or am I as well to stick with Neatsfoot/Olive Oil?

 

[sbloom]

Also, has anyone any experience with Hydrophane Leather Darkening Oil? Is it any good or am I as well to stick with Neatsfoot/Olive Oil?

No, don't use Hydrophane. Put a photo up of the lower half of the flap and I'll tell you what it is.

 

[QueenBella]

No, don't use Hydrophane. Put a photo up of the lower half of the flap and I'll tell you what it is.

Thats the flap. Went to see the saddle and structurally it’s sound but cosmetically it’s a bit iffy but it’s only for training.

 

[sbloom]

Plain leather, no stitching anywhere on the flap.

 

[QueenBella]

Plain leather, no stitching anywhere on the flap.

So would any Fiebings leather dye work?

 

[sbloom]

So would any Fiebings leather dye work?

I know nothing about it I'm afraid, just that it's the industry stuff that saddlers use, we talked about the type of leather in relation to whether you could use oil on it.