Tarrago Leather Paint 026 Dark Burgundy – 25ml Deep Blackberry

Description

Tarrago Leather Paint 026 Dark Burgundy – 25ml Deep Blackberry, a burgundy taken so far down that it reads black until light falls across it, at which point a deep blackberry red comes up out of it, and the finish arrives with its shine in place

I saved for these over about four months, putting a bit aside each payday because buying them outright would have felt reckless, and that slow accumulation gave them a value out of all proportion to what they cost. Shoes you waited for get looked after. Shoes bought on a whim end up in the back of a cupboard with a broken lace.

This is the darkest bottle in the whole selection. The 026 reading comes back at ten per cent of full lightness with saturation at maximum, on a hue sitting slightly to the red side of the wheel. The French label calls it prune, the Spanish borgona oscuro, and both fit far better than bordeaux does.

Tarrago dark burgundy leather paint, deglazer, brush and sponge, all for £11.99.

Why choose this deep blackberry burgundy?

• A burgundy this deep gives you all the practicality of black with something more underneath it. Polished leather at ten per cent lightness behaves exactly like a black shoe for daily wear, hiding both scuffs and dust, yet catches the light with a wine red that lifts it well clear of ordinary office footwear.
• Dark reds fade in a way that is genuinely ugly. The red pigment surrenders to sunlight first, so an old burgundy goes brown and then a sort of dusty maroon, which is why an eight year old pair looks so much worse than an eight year old black pair does.
• The covering power at full saturation is what makes it worth the money. Even across a black or a scuffed dark brown, a pair of light passes gives you a solid burgundy with none of that see through weakness in the middle of a panel which cheaper pigment always leaves.
• It hides the unevenness of a first attempt completely. Heavy and light passes look much alike once everything has gone off, no ground coat lurks below to show itself, and a shade of this depth simply swallows whatever was on the shoe before you started.
• Nobody ever thanks the preparer bottle, yet it does the deciding work. Dress shoes carry both a factory finish and years of polish, and colour over polish will part company with the shoe at the first hard bend, so that preparation bottle is what turns an evening into a lasting repair.
• You will not need a burgundy cream afterwards, and that is a saving in itself. The self shining finish means the shoe is finished the moment it has hardened, and no clear wax ever gets the chance to flatten a colour that took you a whole evening to restore.

How to use the Tarrago Leather Paint 026 Dark Burgundy – 25ml Deep Blackberry

Nothing difficult in the sequence, though a shade this dark looks identical wet and dry for the first ten minutes, so keep track of where you have been rather than trusting the surface to tell you.

1. Slip the laces free of every eyelet.
2. Work the deglazer over the polished surface.
3. Mask the welt and heel block.
4. Sponge the first coat on evenly.
5. Rest it half an hour, then recoat.
6. Do not wear them for twelve hours.

My tip as a shoe specialist

When both shoes are done, stand them heel to heel with the soles touching and look straight down the join. Deep reds are the shade where a one coat difference between the left and the right is most visible, and yet it is almost impossible to spot while the shoes are sitting side by side facing the same way. Nose to tail the two uppers sit against each other, and any difference in depth shows up in a second. If one is lighter, another thin coat while everything is still slightly warm will even it out.

Specifications

What comes in the box

• Colour bottle: Deep blackberry, 25ml
• Preparation bottle: Deglazer, 25ml as well
• Shade reference: 026 on the Tarrago card
• Depth recorded: A tenth of full lightness
• Materials covered: Polished leather, synthetics, canvas
• Works nicely on: Briefcase corners and belts
• Boxed with: Sponge, brush and leaflet
• Hardening time: Twelve hours
• Sale price: £11.99 the box

Frequently asked questions

Is 026 the same as 011 Bordeaux?

No, they are two separate shades in the same chart, and it is worth saying because the site name has confused them. Tarrago call 026 dark burgundy, and at a tenth of full lightness it is a great deal deeper than the 011 bordeaux sitting further up the card.

Will it read as black in the office?

In most indoor lighting, very nearly indeed. Step outside for a moment or stand near a window and the red comes up clearly, which is generally the whole point of choosing it.

Can I put it over black shoes?

You can, and at full saturation it covers a black upper well, though you should expect the finished colour to sit a shade deeper than the swatch printed on the box.

Where can I buy the Tarrago Leather Paint 026 Dark Burgundy – 25ml Deep Blackberry in the UK?

Shoespecialist.co.uk has 026 ready to send. There is a sixty day window for returns, the delivery charge disappears once the basket goes over £50, and an order placed before five on a working day is dispatched the same day.