Tarrago Brown Sugar Renovator 020 – 250ml Suede and Nubuck Colour Spray

Description

Tarrago Brown Sugar Renovator 020 – 250ml Suede and Nubuck Colour Spray – the golden caramel sitting exactly between tan and cognac, where most shoes really live

There is a shade of suede that almost every wardrobe contains and almost no product matches properly. It is not tan and it is not cognac, it is the warm golden caramel in between, and because it sits in a gap most people spray something a step too light or too dark and live with it. Tarrago call theirs Brown Sugar, and 020 lands squarely in that gap.

Suede in this family rarely fades the dramatic way red does. It goes dull instead, as fine dust works down into the pile and takes the warmth out of it, until a boot that used to glow in daylight simply looks flat and faintly grey. Putting the golden pigment back into the pile is what brings the real depth of the shade home again.

Tarrago produce shade 020 in Spain, and it arrives as a quarter litre spray for nubuck, suede and microfibre.

Why choose this tarrago brown sugar renovator 020?

• It fills the gap between tan and cognac. Most caramel suede gets treated with something slightly wrong, because nothing in the middle exists. Brown Sugar is that middle: warm, golden and a touch red, matching the mid tan that boots, loafers and desert styles are so often made in. Getting the shade right is most of the battle here.
• Colour and water repellency in a single pass. Tarrago build the waterproofing into the same can rather than selling a separate protector, so one treatment restores the shade and leaves the pile beading. That saves a step and, far more usefully, means the protection actually gets applied rather than forgotten.
• It works on microfibre as well as real suede. Plenty of modern boots and trainers use a suede effect synthetic, and most colour products behave unpredictably on those. This one is formulated for microfibre alongside genuine suede and nubuck, which makes it much the safer choice if you are not certain what your uppers actually are.
• The pile stays soft rather than setting hard. A caramel shoe that has stiffened cracks across the vamp instead of creasing, and once the pile splits there is no bringing it back. The formula keeps the hide flexible underneath the new colour, which matters most on exactly the sort of boots this shade turns up on.
• Fine mist coverage over textured uppers. Broguing, stitched seams and the join where vamp meets quarter are the places a caramel shade dulls first and a hand applicator never reaches. Airborne pigment gets into all of them in one steady pass.
• A full 250ml can for £11.99. This is a large aerosol at a small price, and it treats a pair in seconds. Given how common this shade is, it is likely the can you reach for most, and it will still be going in several years.

How to use the Tarrago brown sugar renovator 020

Warm mid browns show dirt less than pale shades do, which tempts people to skip the cleaning. Do not. Dust trapped under pigment is exactly what makes a caramel boot look muddy afterwards.

1. Take out the laces and lift the pile with a crepe rubber block.
2. Brush any dust out of the seams and the broguing thoroughly.
3. Stand the pair on paper in a ventilated space with a window ajar.
4. Shake the aerosol for a full minute before you make the first pass.
5. Mist evenly from twenty centimetres in slow overlapping sweeps.
6. Give them roughly half an hour and brush while still barely damp.

My tip as a shoe specialist

Brush the pile back up while the suede is still very slightly damp, not once it has gone bone dry. There is a window of a few minutes near the end of drying when the fibres are soft enough to be lifted but the pigment has already set, and a crepe block used then stands the whole nap up and gives you that plush, faintly velvety surface that makes caramel suede glow. Wait until it is bone dry and the fibres will already have made up their own minds, and no amount of brushing afterwards changes them.

Specifications

At a glance

• Spray can: 250ml, fine atomising head
• Shade: 020 Brown Sugar
• Also listed as: Golden Caramel 020
• Price: £11.99
• Does: Recolours and repels water
• Made for: Suede, nubuck and microfibre
• Not for: Buffed calf and any coated upper
• Drying: Roughly half an hour
• Maker: Tarrago, Spain

Frequently asked questions

How does Brown Sugar compare with a standard tan?

It sits deeper and warmer, with a hint of red in it. Against a flat mid tan it looks richer, and against cognac it looks lighter. If your boots have gold rather than orange, this is it.

Does it really waterproof as well as colour?

It leaves a genuine repellent film, which is unusual in a coloured product and one reason I stock this range. It is no substitute for a dedicated protector on walking boots, but for town wear it is plenty.

Will it do a suede jacket or a bag?

Both, yes, and bags in particular take it well. Work in panels, keep the can moving and treat the whole side rather than a patch, so no line is left behind. Test somewhere hidden first.

Where can I buy a tarrago brown sugar renovator 020 in the UK?

Shoespecialist.co.uk carries the whole Tarrago line, which runs to a great many shades. Buy by 5pm and it leaves today, spend past £50 and the carriage is entirely ours, and 60 days covers a caramel that turns out to miss.