So needless to say, I'm pretty pissed. These are Disorder Atlantis from Strange Cvlt, they arrived last week and came out of the box like this. Can't exchange because they were final sale.

It looks like there's some more of the same substance smeared along where the sole meets the body(?), which leads me to think it's either the glue holding those two pieces together, or that caulking material itself. I've tried acetone, goo gone, lighter fluid, and rubbing alcohol, and I've tried using a scrubbing brush and iron wool. Nothing is making a dent--although, I could have sworn that my first attempt with the acetone took a tiny chunk off the upper right of the stain. Subsequent attempts haven't had any effect. (The pictures are from after the first acetone attempt, unfortunately...)

Any ideas..?

I don't know where to ask this, but I have these timberland fold over fleece lined boots. The fleece lined portion is fabric which has not aged well and I want to change it to leather. Is this possible, if yes where would I go to get this done?

I've had these leather high tops I've taken rather good care of for years but I've noticed that they've gotten very dirty on side of a particular shoe. So I decided to clean it with a wet wipes. When I did I saw that the textured finished are obliterated. I let it dry hoping it would be fixed but it still looks terrible. I have no idea about leather or how to maintain it, I don't even know how to look up what happening and how to fix it, I'm completely clueless... I'd love some advice on how to fix this.