Famaco Marine Blue Leather Dye Cream 345 – 15ml Famacolor Extra Opaque

Description

Famaco Marine Blue Leather Dye Cream 345 – 15ml Famacolor Extra Opaque – the halfway product between a cream and a dye

Every so often a navy shoe is too far gone for a shoe cream and nowhere near bad enough to justify stripping it back and painting it. The toe has gone bare, the heel has scraped down to a grey underlayer, and an ordinary pigmented cream just sinks in and shows the damage straight back at you an hour later.

Famacolor 345 is the answer to that middle case. It is a marine blue leather dye cream, an extra opaque repair cream that carries far more pigment than a normal shoe cream but goes on with a cloth like one. Famaco describe the range as extra opaque, and for once that is an accurate description rather than marketing.

The jar is small at 15ml because you need very little. This is a product for panels and edges, not for whole shoes. Think of it as a colour repair rather than a polish, and use a shoe cream for the routine care.

Why choose this marine blue leather dye cream?

• Far more coverage than an ordinary cream. The pigment load is high enough to fill a worn toe cap or a scraped heel where a standard cream would simply vanish into it. You get solid colour rather than a hint of it. That is the entire point of an extra opaque cream.
• It goes on with a cloth, not a brush and mask. There is no cleaner to apply first and no drying time to plan an evening around. It handles like a shoe cream, which makes it far less daunting than a proper leather dye.
• Bare noses and heels are its speciality. Those two spots wear through long before the rest of the shoe, and they are exactly where a cream fails and a full repaint feels excessive. This sits precisely in that gap. Most jars get used on nothing else. Buy the cream for the whole shoe and keep this jar for the two spots that need it.
• It blends into the surrounding leather. Because it is still a cream underneath the pigment, the edges of the treated area soften into the panel around them instead of leaving a hard line. Buffing afterwards helps that blend a great deal.
• Marine blue matches most navy footwear. It is a deep true navy rather than a bright or a royal blue, which is the shade almost all navy leather shoes and boots are finished in. Getting the depth right matters more than the exact hue. Test it inside the heel counter if your navy sits on the brighter side.
• A 15ml jar goes remarkably far. You are covering square centimetres, not whole uppers, so a single jar handles a great many repairs. Keep it sealed and it stays workable for years. It is easily the cheapest way to get another season out of a good navy shoe.

How to use the Famaco Marine Blue Leather Dye Cream 345 – 15ml Famacolor Extra Opaque

Treat it as a repair rather than a polish. Clean the area, work the colour in sparingly, and let it dry before you decide it needs more. A small amount worked in well beats a generous amount worked in quickly.

1. Brush the shoes and wipe the worn area clean, then let it dry completely.
2. Use a leather lotion first if the hide is very dry, and let that soak in.
3. Take a very small amount of Famacolor on a cloth or a fingertip.
4. Work it into the bare patch, feathering the edges outwards into the good leather.
5. Let it soak in and dry for fifteen minutes before judging the coverage.
6. Rub it out with a soft cloth, and add a second thin pass only if needed.

My tip as a shoe specialist

Feather the edges while the cream is still workable. The mistake I see most often is a perfectly matched patch of colour with a hard visible border around it, which draws the eye far more than the original scuff did. Keep rubbing outwards from the repair with a clean part of the cloth for longer than feels necessary, thinning the colour as you go, so it fades imperceptibly into the leather around it. The repair should have no edge at all when you have finished.

Specifications

The details

• Jar size: 15ml screw-top jar
• Shade: Marine Blue 345
• Also listed as: Navy Blue 345
• Type: Extra opaque pigmented repair cream
• Best for: Bare toe caps, heels and scratches
• Apply with: Cloth or fingertip
• Not for: Suede and nubuck
• Origin: Famaco, France
• Price here: £6.49

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from a normal navy shoe cream?

Pigment load, mainly. A shoe cream nourishes and tints; this carries enough colour to cover bare leather outright. Use the cream for routine care and keep this jar for the places that have actually worn through.

Is it permanent?

Durable rather than permanent. It sits in and on the surface, so it will need refreshing occasionally on a spot that flexes hard. A penetrating dye lasts longer but is far harder to apply neatly. On a toe cap that flexes hard, expect to touch it up once a year.

Can I use it on a navy bag?

Yes, and bags suit it well because they flex less than shoes. Corners and base edges are the usual casualties, and this covers them neatly with very little product.

Where can I buy the Famaco Marine Blue Leather Dye Cream 345 – 15ml Famacolor Extra Opaque in the UK?

You can order the Famaco Marine Blue Leather Dye Cream 345 – 15ml Famacolor Extra Opaque directly from Shoespecialist.co.uk. We offer free delivery on orders over £50, same-day dispatch when you order before 5pm, and a 60-day return policy.