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C&J Belgraves

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Hi All,

I just pulled the trigger on the C&J Belgraves and during my purchase I was told several times that I should use a cloth and never a brush on the shoes.

I guess I should've asked the sales guy to elaborate a bit more but the parking meter was running!

I'd appreciate your thoughts/experience on this one as I'm curious if this is now just a C&J thing or best practice on all shoes.

My footwear regime includes using a polishing cloth & brush.

Thanks
smile.gif
 

cioni2k

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I have no idea what he means by never use a cloth or a brush. Is this not how you polish shoes?

They're not shell cordovan are they?
 

Northampton Novice

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Originally Posted by cioni2k
I have no idea what he means by never use a cloth or a brush. Is this not how you polish shoes?

They're not shell cordovan are they?



Don't use a brush...cloth only.

They're not shell.
 

cioni2k

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Honestly you should be fine using a horsehair brush, I still don't see why you shouldnt. Its calfskin
 

sf_esq

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Agreed, a horsehair brush is precisely what you need. There must have been some sort of misunderstanding. I use one to polish my CJs (and every other pair of shoes that I own, except the shell cordovan ones).
 

Northampton Novice

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Originally Posted by sf_esq
Agreed, a horsehair brush is precisely what you need. There must have been some sort of misunderstanding. I use one to polish my CJs (and every other pair of shoes that I own, except the shell cordovan ones).

Yeah I'm going to contact CJ tomorrow to clarify, it's just a friend of mine recently bought several pairs of CJs from Jermyn St and was told the same. I t could be coincidence but I just got curious whether CJ had perhaps changed something about their shoes i.e leather quality...we do live in austere times.
 

Xiaogou

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Generally speaking, I only use a brush and no cloth. I find that cloth absorbs the very oils/moisturizers I am trying to infuse.
 

Ingenieur

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I've bought a few pairs from the Jermyn Street store and have not received this advice, though my last purchase of handgrades was two years ago. I use a brush to clean away any loose dirt, wipe with a slightly damp cloth, let dry, then cream and polish with a cloth. For me, brushing is not necessary when polishing, though I can't see how it would cause any harm.

Perhaps the advice is to use a clean cloth each time to avoid using a brush that might have picked up dirt after being used repeatedly.
 

Northampton Novice

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I've had a conversation with C&J regarding this and ultimately in order to retain the reddish tint in all their chestnut colored models they say a cloth is preferable to a brush.

It would appear use of brush would slightly affect the finish - as I understand it the shoe will develop a patina more readily with the use of a brush.


Thanks every one - just thought I'd share that.
 

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