[Reaper]

As I understand it, Making boots darker (brown to black) is alot easier then going from black to brown. The only way I've heard of redying the boots is to strip the finish off the boots in question and then redying the color you want.

A shoe cobbler, or a REAL good shoe store, should be able to do this for you. Not sure what the cost would be, but you're right, the dyed finish would be alot more durable then painting the boots.

Now, for the record, no one shold think that saying we are "painting the boots" means that we are using spray paint or something of the sort. The paint we are talking about is Leather paint. Specifically made for leather products. The screen used boots were painted, according to Chris Pappas.

Before I actually ship my boots off to be mod'd, I'm going to check a shoe repair place in my parent's town to see if they would strip the dye from the boots I have. Like I said, they are going to fall in the catagory of "close enough" for me. but I would rather they get dyed then painted.

As for removing the name plate, if you go that way, the only way I know of to remove the pop rivits would be to drill them out. Take a drill and a metal bit then drill into one side (I'd recommend the inside fo the boot) you should be able to cut the rivet enough that it breaks off. But Gemini is correct you will be left with 4 holes in the boots.

If you do go the painting route, the plates that should be left on should be covered with masking tape so you can keep them from being painted. I would also tape off the sole as well. This will keep any drips from showing on the soles.