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hugo7
chez_jay
Hmmmmmm. Really tough. Not sure that the cleaning regime has helped - it may have caused the dye to come to the surface, especially with the washing machine trick.
Don’t wash it any warmer as you’ll be damaging the leather and for sure the dye will bleed out.
If it’s still rubbing off them do a solid and thorough clean with proper saddle soap, remove everything you’ve been trying to apply. Wait for it to dry and scrub again, and again. Let it dry each time. You don’t really want much temperature.
I’d consider whether a good carnauba wax would be better for giving a solid seal to the leather.
Not sure why it’s happening, probably (bad) dyeing/tanning without enough treatment after. Some industrial processes are more permanent than others, and it’s not uncommon for some colour transfer especially if it was a more traditional method.
There’s no guarantee anything you put on top will stick, because it may be sitting on top of another chemical. I’d sooner saddle soap the hell out of it, it may be too big to try isopropyl alcohol to strip the surface before treating again.
By the way, applying the wax you really want a polishing wheel to get it into the leather and remove all the excess. Some older Timpsons still have a neutral wheel alongside the brown and black. It is incredibly high speed so it will really polish up the surface better.