I bagged this pair of original USA made Weejuns on Ebay recently. After many times looking at the images I really wasn’t sure if I wanted a pair that had this antiqued look, much less one that had been so super polished, but they looked in excellent condition and after all US made pairs in your own size are hard to come by, so I took the plunge seeing as nearly all US Ebay auctions end when Mr & Mrs Weejun are tucked up for the duration I got the sniper out and set it to make sure I won. I was a bit surprised to see they had gone up to $30 to win, simply because they had been listed the week before at $19.99 and no one (including me who fell asleep as did my laptop whilst waiting for the auction end) bothered to bid.
Still the seller was cool and shipped them quickly. I was off to work in Italy for a week and when I got back, the shoes had arrived (along with an excellent pair of black Dexter beefroll pennies that I picked up the same evening for a mere £12). Horror of horrors – what to do? The shoes were in great shape but looked as if they were made from toffee apples (candy apples to you folks on the other side). Mrs Weejun laughed at yet another Ebay disaster. But I held firm because I had a secret weapon. The Weejun Colour Hack as described by one of the fellow shoe nuts on the Ask Andy Trad Forum, writing under the moniker of Continental Fop.
Following Mr Fop’s sage advice I duly stripped off the sugar candy coating with rubbing alcohol (surgical spirit from Boots the Chemist) and a scotchbrite pan scourer. Unfortunately, being of an impatient persuasion although I did find the Fop’s preferred Chocolate Fiebling’s Shoe Dye on EBay UK, I picked one up a bottle of Punch medium brown from the local how-can-it-possibly-survive-selling-only -laces-and-polish shoe repair emporium and gave the now bright matt red shoes two or three liberal coats of brown overlay. A massive dolloping of Boston Leather Cream later and I now have what passes for a well cared for 40 year old pair of Weejuns that don’t look like they were made for a clown’s weekend off.
The holy grail may well be Wilton made Weejuns, but I have to say the leather and making (of the uppers at least) on my modern black Weejuns is far superior to crappy leather used on these late model US ones.
Am still searching for that elusive mint N734 in proper oxblood instead of blackcurrent they now sell. Anyone wth a pair in 10 or 10.5D or wider just email me for a swift profit.
Check out the now vintage finish below…
I have just had a go at this colour hack thing on my Bass logans. I’ve used surgical spirit to remove the nasty shinyness – that was easy, and have applied Fiebings chocolate shoe dye as recommended, but as it is drying, the shoes have taken on a sort of dark greeny hue with a sort of silvery metallic finish! gulp. I’m sort of hoping that once I have applied the finishing top coat of polish that this will disappear. Anyone any thoughts or advice please?
Cheers
PS. Thoroughly enjoyed reading your splendid website. Thanks.
Thanks ND. Don’t worry. I had the same issue with the dye because the first time I did it I was a bit impatient. If they are ‘overpaint’ marks just strip that section again and repeat the process. That metallic sheen will go with buffing, polish and creme. Good luck!