Reuse & Recycle: I Dyed My Balenciaga Bag!

Yes, you read the title correctly, I dyed my Balenciaga SGH Part Time!  Let me give you a little history before you faint.  Back in December, I purchased a pre-owned Sky Blue Balenciaga Part Time that ended up being a bit too faded for my taste.  I carried the faded beauty a few times, but there wasn't a "real love". My fellow bag lovers know what I mean when I say "real love".  I wanted that feeling of true bliss when I looked at my new bag but the faded blue wasn't making my heart skip a beat. 

Everywhere you go these days you see something that says "Reuse" or "Recycle", so I thought to myself, why not Reuse and Recycle my faded bag?

H e l l o Google!  After researching all of the different leather dyes I found out that I needed a "penetrating" dye, so I decided to go with Feibing's Leather Dye in USMC Black.  If you don't use penetrating dye it will result in the color flaking and chipping off since it just sits on top of the leather.  

Here is the bag BEFORE:

I didn't have a "de-glazer" so I used acetone to strip the bag.  I wanted to make sure that I removed any oil or dirt before I applied the dye.

 

I applied the dye with the included wool dobber, which covered pretty well.  Then I had to focus on the tiny little areas where the dobber would not reach, with cotton swabs.  That was the most difficult part of the entire process.

Photo after first coat:

 

Two coats of Feibing's Leather Dye left the bag with a metallic bronze finish and the zippertracks and thread stitching remained light blue.

 

I then used Kiwi Leather Dye in black, which turned the bag jet black plus the zippertracks and stitching to black.  I decided to take a trip to my local Tandy leather store, to speak with a leather specialist, and he recommended that I use Eco-Flo Super Shene as a top coat, to keep the dye from transferring.  Once I returned home I applied the Super Shene in two thin layers with a damp sponge.  After the two layers dried I used an old cotton shirt and buffed to a gorgeous shine.

AFTER:

Now six weeks later my beautiful Part Time still looks stunning and is breaking in to a soft puddle of leather.  I am now in "love" and I can not stop staring at my Black SGH Part Time!  This is the blissful feeling that I was longing for.

After six weeks of use:

Close up:

What do you think of my DIY project?