I recently acquired a used Bianchi Leather 5BHL holster with a shiny black finish. However, there are several scratches and areas of wear that goes down to the bare leather. It is not basketweave if that makes a difference. What is the best way of renewing the finish on this holster? Should I re-dye it completely, or can I just use black shoe polish? Needless to say, this is my first black leather holster. -Ed.

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Shoot the CPU, not the monitor

I would start with black shoe polish. While it will not be perfect, it will "hide" most of the issues from anyone looking at it on your belt. Probably will not pass close inspection, but who is looking that close anyway?

If that doesn't solve the problem, it will not effect the re-dye should you choose to do that later. So polish is a "no harm, no foul" solution.

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Dave

From Bianchi site:

"Because Bianchi leather is hand finished with our special leather dressing, should your leather product become dry or scratched, you can treat the exterior with a commercial leather dressing that does not contain lacquer. (Be careful when using Neat’s foot oil; large amounts will soften the leather.)"

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Dom

A sharpie will make a lot of the scratches less noticable. Follow with black shoe polish.

GREAT tip. I do that myself.

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Dave

I use black shoe polish on my pocket holster. Since it's horsehide, dye probably wouldn't work any better.

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VIVERE MILITARE EST

Thanks for the help, friends. I thought shoe polish should work, but I wanted to ask first. I have 2 black belts, but the finish on them isn't anywhere near as shiny as the finish on the holster. It almost looks like a car that has black paint with clearcoat and then polished. -Ed.

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Shoot the CPU, not the monitor

A word on black shoe polish: It will rub off on your clothing.

A little touch up with black dye followed by neutral shoe polish would be better.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

If you are using Renaissance Wax on your handguns, it is also recommended for use on leather. It should be used after you have taken care of the color problem.