Collonil Dark Grey Waterstop Cream 729 – 75ml Charcoal Tube for Grey Leather

Description

Collonil Dark Grey Waterstop Cream 729 – 75ml Charcoal Tube for Grey Leather – charcoal colour care for grey leather, which goes patchy rather than pale and needs treating differently

Grey is a mixed colour, and mixed colours misbehave. A grey hide is dyed with black and white pigment side by side rather than one single dye, so a grey shoe does not simply lighten all over as it wears. One area loses more black than another and you end up with a faintly blotchy shoe, which is far more noticeable than an even fade.

Shade 729 is a proper charcoal, the dark end of grey rather than a mid slate, and it is mixed to lay a consistent film over exactly that sort of unevenness. The temptation with dark grey shoes is always to reach for black, and black will certainly hide the patchiness, but it will also cost you the shoe’s colour for good.

Seventy-five millilitres of charcoal grey Waterstop colour cream in shade 729, from Collonil, for dark grey smooth leather.

Why choose this dark grey waterstop cream 729?

• It levels out blotchy wear. Uneven pigment loss is the specific way grey leather fails, and the fix is an even film of matching colour across the whole panel rather than spot treatment. One thin coat laid over the entire upper puts a patchy quarter and a still-good vamp back into agreement with each other.
• Dark grey without slipping into black. There is a real temptation to solve a grey shoe with black cream. It works once and then the shoe is black. Shade 729 gives you all of that coverage without the loss, and the shoe stays the colour you actually chose in the shop.
• It suits the modern grey leather trainer. A great deal of grey footwear now is smooth leather trainers, and their toe caps take a beating. Pigmented cream deals with a scuffed white rub across the front of one far better than any neutral polish or cleaning foam ever will.
• Waterproofing that hides the rain mark. Water spots show clearly on grey because the wet patch dries darker than its surroundings. Keeping a wax film on the shoe means that the rain sits on the surface and can be wiped away before it has any chance at all to soak in.
• Feeding stops the grey going brown. This surprises people, but under-fed grey hide develops a warm cast at the creases as the finish thins and the tanned skin shows through. The oils in this cream keep the tone cool and properly grey instead.
• Good sense at the price. Grey is a difficult colour to buy for and most ranges skip it entirely. Having the right 75ml tube sitting in the cupboard for £8.99 is a very great deal cheaper than replacing a perfectly sound pair of trainers that merely looked worn out.

How to use the Collonil dark grey waterstop cream 729

Because the whole problem with grey leather is unevenness, the technique here is really about consistency. Same amount, same pressure, and the same number of passes across every panel of both shoes.

1. Brush both shoes down and clear the seams of any trapped dirt.
2. Wipe them over with a damp cloth and just a trace of soap.
3. Dry them fully indoors, well out of any direct sunlight.
4. Run an even film on with the sponge cap, panel by panel.
5. Stand them aside for a full ten minutes without touching them.
6. Work the finish up with a brush and then clean cotton jersey.

My tip as a shoe specialist

Knead the tube for a few seconds before the first squeeze of the day. Grey is a blended pigment and blended pigments settle, so the material nearest the cap after a fortnight in a cupboard is not quite the mixture further down. Squeeze straight from a rested tube and the first application can come out warmer or lighter than the second, which on a grey shoe is exactly the fault you were trying to fix. Roll the tube between your palms as you would a tube of paint, then squeeze that first bead onto a cloth rather than the shoe.

Specifications

The basics

• Quantity: 75ml tube with sponge applicator
• Shade number: 729 Dark Grey
• Also printed as: Dark Gray 729
• Price: £8.99
• What it is: Charcoal pigmented waterproofing cream
• Brand: Collonil
• Do not use on: Suede, nubuck or patent
• Pause: A slow ten minutes
• Gives you: Even charcoal grey and water resistance

Frequently asked questions

Dark Grey 729, Medium Grey 229 or Smoke 365?

Charcoal and near-black grey shoes take 729. A mid slate grey shoe takes 229 instead. Smoke 365 is lighter again and slightly warmer than either of them, which makes it the one for pale grey trainers rather than for dark leather.

The tube says Dark Gray. Is that the same thing?

Yes. Collonil print the American spelling on the label and we list it as dark grey, because that is what people here actually search for. It is one shade, one number, and two perfectly ordinary spellings.

Could I just use black on dark grey shoes?

You could, and you would regret it. Black covers everything, including the grey, and there is no cream that will bring the lighter tone back afterwards. It is a permanent decision made in ten seconds.

Where can I buy a dark grey waterstop cream 729 in the UK?

Buy it here at Shoespecialist.co.uk. Orders in before 5pm leave the same day, we cover the postage once you spend over £50, and 60 days of returns means a shade mismatch costs you nothing but the walk to the post box.