Painting a Balenciaga, worth the risk?!

Hello fellow Bbaglovers!

I have always wanted a black Work with GGH. Since the gold hardware was discontinued, I never got my hands on one. Now I am thinking of painting an anthracite work black. The anthracite is very very dark grey, but I would love it to be jet black.

Do you think this could be done, and if so, by who? Will Balenciaga or LMB do it for me? Or shall I take it to a local leather specialist (since I don't live in the US, this option is a lot easier for me since it doesn't involve the risk of shipping, the high shipping costs, the long wait, ...)

As much as I would like to do this, I wouldn't want to do anything to ruin the bag. If there is a chance that my Bbag would be ruined, I wouldn't do it, but it seems so easy to paint a dark grey bag black, right?
Does anyone have experience in painting a Bbag or have any advice to give me?

Thanks!
 
I had my 05 Twiggy recoloured by LMB. They did a wonderful job, but to me it never felt like the same bag afterwards - so much so that I sold it soon after. It just 'felt' wrong - even though it looked perfect. There are quite a few threads in Maintenance about dying and recolouring, I think. Might be worth looking there,before you do anything drastic!
 
I had my 05 Twiggy recoloured by LMB. They did a wonderful job, but to me it never felt like the same bag afterwards - so much so that I sold it soon after. It just 'felt' wrong - even though it looked perfect. There are quite a few threads in Maintenance about dying and recolouring, I think. Might be worth looking there,before you do anything drastic!


Oh, dying, that's the word I was looking for! I knew painting was not it! Haha :smile: no wonder I couldn't find anything with the 'search this thread' option... In Dutch we only have one word for any kind of painting/dying.

Anyway, thanks for your input! Do you mean that the leather felt different? I would hate to see the leather look like plastic or feel like it. I read something similar about a re-dyed Bbag that was way too shiny afterwards... Not very comforting! :tdown:
 
Oh, dying, that's the word I was looking for! I knew painting was not it! Haha :smile: no wonder I couldn't find anything with the 'search this thread' option... In Dutch we only have one word for any kind of painting/dying.

Anyway, thanks for your input! Do you mean that the leather felt different? I would hate to see the leather look like plastic or feel like it. I read something similar about a re-dyed Bbag that was way too shiny afterwards... Not very comforting! :tdown:

I was told the bag would need to be broken in again and honestly, they did a fabulous job with the dying, but it didn't 'feel' right anymore, like I was carrying a fake.
I would think very carefully about recolouring, it's an expensive mistake if you end up hating it!
 
I was told the bag would need to be broken in again and honestly, they did a fabulous job with the dying, but it didn't 'feel' right anymore, like I was carrying a fake.
I would think very carefully about recolouring, it's an expensive mistake if you end up hating it!

I second, clevercat. I have read other members redye projects in the past. And it seems many of them were happy at that moment. But later they ended up selling them and said no more redye. Some had paint peeling problems later and some just didn't like after dye leather feel. If your bag is really dry, dirty, beaten up and ready to throw away, I would say go for it. Otherwise, I would say don't dye.
 
I second, clevercat. I have read other members redye projects in the past. And it seems many of them were happy at that moment. But later they ended up selling them and said no more redye. Some had paint peeling problems later and some just didn't like after dye leather feel. If your bag is really dry, dirty, beaten up and ready to throw away, I would say go for it. Otherwise, I would say don't dye.

Ok, I will definetely keep that in mind. Thanks!
DIY dyers: i would love to hear from you as well :smile:
 
Have a look in the maintenance forum, there are lots of threads on DIY dye jobs.

I'd sell your anthra work and find a gently used one to purchase. They do pop up. Anthra is lovely too, I think.
 
I wouldn't do it. You'll lessen the resale value - not many people want to buy a second-hand dyed bag, nor will they pay much for it.

Sell it as it is now, and put the money towards the one you really want.
 
I have dyed a rh Part Time that was originally seafoam or some such color. It was very faded and had a billion pen marks on the exterior. I got it very cheaply on ebay because of the pen marks--otherwise was in very good shape. It did not have the really smooshy vein-y leather, more the smooth leather. I wouldn't risk one with the really awesome leather..... anyway, I dyed it black. I used 2 kinds of dye and it did change the leather. I did it myself; I have been working with leather goods for years, and it is not easy (time-consuming to do it thorougly), but I love doing that kind of thing. It made the bag a lot more sturdy and hardy. by looking at it, it's absolutely gorgeous. It is my go-to bag when I'll be banging around more, because it's a LOT tougher. It's still smooshy, looks absolutely fabulous, and I'll not sell it, so I am very happy with it. However, it doesn't have that super soft feel, but then, it didn't to start with, either. I got a great looking, tough, authentic (per tPF), Part Time for $500 plus my time and the cost of dye (about $20), so I'm happy. I'm getting a pretty tired Anthra GGH city that I'm planning to dye black; I also won't sell it. So, hope that's helpful. The blurry photo is in poor natural light; it's the best my yucky old camera will do.
 

Attachments

  • rsz_dyed_pt_black_001.jpg
    rsz_dyed_pt_black_001.jpg
    93.7 KB · Views: 723
  • rsz_dyed_pt_black_004.jpg
    rsz_dyed_pt_black_004.jpg
    661.3 KB · Views: 771
  • rsz_dyed_pt_black_006.jpg
    rsz_dyed_pt_black_006.jpg
    529.8 KB · Views: 763
Good Grief!!! I have no idea why those photos are so HUGE!!! I resized them SMALLER (well, apparently not, but I meant to). If someone knows how to shrink those, please do. Sorry about that. My flash makes it look like you see blue areas, but you do not, not even in sunlight.