Dying your western-styled boots is a great way to customize a new pair to make them just the right color or to spruce up older boots to look like new. Though dying leather should be done carefully, with some elbow grease and attention to detail you can have your boots looking just as you want them. All you need is some inexpensive leather treatment solution and clean cloths that you may already have around your house.
Use a sponge or damp cloth to apply a dye prep fluid such as a deglazer or other specially made product in order to remove the protective finish applied to the boot during the tanning process. The application process also cleans the surface of the leather of dirt and grime.
Use a piece of cloth or a dauber to apply the leather dye evenly over a small area of the boot. Rub in until the dye is absorbed then move on to the next area until the entire boot has been treated.
Apply a second coat of the dye, if preferred. This will deepen the color tone and should be applied if you are not satisfied with the initial coat.
Use a clean cloth to rub the boot dry and remove excess surface dye.
Change the color of the boot by first neutralizing the original color by using an intermediate color between the original and desired colors. A general guideline to follow in regard to intermediate colors is as follows: to dye white leather to black, use a medium blue or green intermediate; dye white to dark blue using a dark blue intermediate; dye white to brown using a light green intermediate; dye white to right red using a yellow intermediate then black dye; dye white to dark red using a tan intermediate then black dye; dye red to black with a green intermediate; dye green to black with a red intermediate.
Mix varying colors of dyes for a larger variety of colors. For example, yellow and blue make green, yellow and red make orange, red and blue make purple and brown and red make maroon.
Apply the desired final color to the boot after the intermediate color has dried completely.