Tarrago Medium Brown Nubuck Dabber 039 – 75ml Colour Reviver for Suede

Description

Tarrago Medium Brown Nubuck Dabber 039 – 75ml Colour Reviver for Suede — a warm mid brown back into a tired nap

Medium brown suede fades faster than any other shade I see, and it never fades evenly. It goes at the toe first, then along the outer edge where the shoe brushes past everything, and one morning a pair of chocolate chukkas reads as a pale, dusty tan across the front and a proper brown everywhere else. Brushing will lift the nap but it cannot put pigment back, because the pigment is what has gone.

This is the exact job the Tarrago dabber was built for. The 75ml bottle has a sponge applicator set into the neck, so you press it against the leather, the sponge charges with colour, and you work the pigment straight into the nap where you want it. Because you control the placement, this medium brown nubuck dabber will rescue one bleached panel on a boot without committing you to recolouring the whole upper.

It is a colour reviver rather than a heavy dye. It renews the tone, feeds the fibres and helps the surface shrug off water and street dirt, all while leaving the nap soft, open and properly matt.

Why choose the Tarrago medium brown nubuck dabber?

• Targeted colour, exactly where you need it. The sponge head lets you treat a scuffed toe, a worn heel counter or a single faded panel, so one thin patch does not commit you to redoing both shoes end to end.
• Keeps the nap soft and matt. The formula is made for the open fibre structure of suede and nubuck, so the leather stays velvety instead of turning stiff, glossy or plasticky.
• Feeds the leather while it tints. Napped leather dries out just as smooth leather does. This puts moisture back alongside the pigment, keeping the fibres supple where the shoe flexes.
• Adds water and dirt resistance. A treated nap sheds a shower and light street dirt far better than a bare, dried-out one, so you will reach for the suede cleaner a good deal less often.
• Generous coverage for the money. Tarrago reckon on three to five pairs from a 75ml bottle, and the screw cap means whatever you do not use keeps until next autumn.
• Not just for shoes. Medium brown suede bags, jackets, gloves and boot shafts all respond to the same treatment. If it is napped leather and the colour has gone tired, this will lift it.

How to use the Tarrago medium brown nubuck dabber

The whole job is about ten minutes of hands-on work plus drying time, and the two steps people skip are the brushing at the start and the brushing at the end.

1. Brush the shoes thoroughly with a suede brush to lift out dust and raise the nap, because dirt left in the fibres will trap colour unevenly.
2. If they are properly grubby, clean them with a suede cleaner first and let them dry naturally, well away from a radiator.
3. Shake the bottle vigorously. The pigment settles at the bottom, and a lazy shake is the usual reason people end up with a streaky finish.
4. Press the sponge against a hidden spot first, such as the inside of the tongue, and judge the match only once it is fully dry. Wet suede always looks darker.
5. Work the sponge over the faded area in light, overlapping passes, following the direction of the nap rather than scrubbing back and forth.
6. Leave the shoes to dry for around forty minutes, then brush the nap up briskly with a clean suede brush to restore the texture.

My tip from behind the counter

Judge your colour match dry, never wet. Wet suede can look two shades deeper than it will settle at, which is why people apply a second coat they did not need and end up with a toe darker than the rest of the shoe. Do one thin pass, walk away for forty minutes, brush it up, and then decide. Nine times out of ten one coat has done it.

Specifications

• Volume: 75ml bottle with built-in sponge applicator
• Shade: 039 Medium Brown (listed by Tarrago as Middle Brown on some charts)
• Type: Colour reviver for napped leather, not a covering dye
• Suitable for: Suede and nubuck shoes, boots, bags, jackets and gloves
• Not suitable for: Smooth leather, patent leather and coated finishes
• Coverage: Roughly three to five pairs per bottle
• Brand: Tarrago
• Article code: Tarrago-Dep39
• Price: £8.99

Frequently asked questions

Will this cover a stain or a dark mark?

Not reliably, and it is worth being honest about that. A colour reviver puts tone back into faded fibres; it is not opaque paint, so a grease mark or an ink stain will still show through as a shadow. For a heavy stain use a suede cleaner first, and if the mark survives that, a penetrating suede dye is the stronger option.

Can I make a light suede shoe darker with this?

Within reason, yes. Medium brown will deepen a beige, sand or pale tan suede and it will happily refresh an existing mid brown. It will not lift a black or dark brown shoe to a lighter brown, because pigment only ever works dark over light.

How long before I can wear them?

Give them around forty minutes to dry and brush the nap up before you put them on; in a cold or damp room I would leave them a full hour. Do not speed it along with a hairdryer, because heat stiffens the fibres and can set the colour unevenly. The colour goes on settling for a few hours, so I always do this the evening before I need the shoes.

Where can I buy the Tarrago Medium Brown Nubuck Dabber in the UK?

You can order the Tarrago Medium Brown Nubuck Dabber 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.