**The Official Shoe Care Thread: Tutorials, Photos, etc.**



Naka said:

0:00 - 0:25 Removing laces, Brushing to remove dirt and dust.
0:25 - 0:45 Applying conditioner.
0:45 - 1:10 Shoe cream? Or maybe a form of applying pigment.
1:10 - 1:25 Second Brushing, preparing the surface for wax.
1:25- 1:40 Quick buffing to remove extra cream/pigment. Note the excess collected by the cloth when he removes it.
1:40 - 2:20 Application of wax. He seems to be using coloured and neutral wax. He intermittently dabs water onto the cloth. The water dispenser is pictured at 2:20.
2:20 - 2:32 Brushing again, this shoe won't even need to visit a dentist.
2:32 - 2:55 More water, more buffing.
2:55 - 3:15 終

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Just on a side note:

The maestro is Hasegawa Yuya from Brift H:

He works very quickly (like you can't tell)
He uses a very mild cleaner (own recipe)
The shoe creams are also home made
He uses thin strips of flannel cloth to apply wax (a Saphir medaille d'or and a neutral Kiwi Parade Gloss)
The brush he uses between and after applying wax is made of extra soft Goat hair

You can see the maestro work in person (and buy some of the original shoe shine products he uses) at his chic little shoe shine boutique at Aoyama Tokyo

www.brift-h.com



nutcracker said:

Just on a side note:

The maestro is Hasegawa Yuya from Brift H:

He works very quickly (like you can't tell)
He uses a very mild cleaner (own recipe)
The shoe creams are also home made
He uses thin strips of flannel cloth to apply wax (a Saphir medaille d'or and a neutral Kiwi Parade Gloss)
The brush he uses between and after applying wax is made of extra soft Goat hair

You can see the maestro work in person (and buy some of the original shoe shine products he uses) at his chic little shoe shine boutique at Aoyama Tokyo

www.brift-h.com

Click to expand...

Thanks for the extra info, the finer details are always interesting.

How soon after you get your shoes should you start the polish and cream routine?



mustardontoast said:

How soon after you get your shoes should you start the polish and cream routine? 

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New shoes should be conditioned before wearing. Use a conditioner such as Saphir Renovateur, Allen Edmonds leather lotion etc. etc. or at least a cream polish.



Gdot said:

New shoes should be conditioned before wearing. Use a conditioner such as Saphir Renovateur, Allen Edmonds leather lotion etc. etc. or at least a cream polish.

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Should one leave trees in after polishing or Reno-ing? Or do the trees soak up some of that moisture in a bad way?

Leave the trees in when conditioning/polishing.

The amount of moisture added by the conditioner is not that great and it is in the form of oils. It will not soak all the way through the leather, the lining and into the tree.

The tree will soak up the moisture from your feet however. Put the tree in as soon as you take your shoes off.

Tried my best. Max I could manage was this.

J

These are looking good. If it's a mirror shine on the toe you are going for you are almost there.

I advise to let them sit for a day or two. Then give them a thin coat of wax, apply a few drops of water and gently rub until the shine comes up. It looks like you have a good base going and are almost there. I find that sometimes letting the first coats harden up is the only thing that works for me in terms of coming up with a mirror toe.

If you aren't going for a mirror then I'd say you are there!

aj_del said:

Tried my best. Max I could manage was this.

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If you are trying to bull the caps, spit works great. Otherwise scotch, champagne, or water with a bit of alcohol work wonders in breaking down wax polish compound. Just water is fine but will take the longest.



aj_del said:

Tried my best. Max I could manage was this.

Click to expand...

When I feel that I'm getting nowhere, I usually just walk away. I had a shoe that I couldn't get to bull. No matter what I did, the damn thing continued to defy all attempts. Too boring to list, nor can I remember exactly what I did... but got there in the end. It's usually that the micro-bumps haven't been leveled out sufficiently. My tried and tested lip trick will help (no joke). Rub the fleshy part of your lip across the toe-box. If it feels normally warm and your lip slides off it easily, you ain't there yet. However, if it feel colder, wants to grab you lip and feels almost sticky (although it isn't), you're getting there. When I say sticky, think of a glass mirror and how that would behave if you ran your lip over it. As weird as it sounds, this helped me in the beginning.

Warning: don't mention this to anyone. Friends and family will never understand. I usually do at night, but always lock the door first.

Once there's a proper mirror going, you have the luxury of regularly applying just a single coat, allowing the previous layer to well and truly harden. It's impractical to do this at the beginning, as it would take a lifetime to achieve any kind of result.

Lear

Who makes burgundy wax (not polish)?

Saphir makes a cordovan colored wax.

Lear said:

aj_del said:

Tried my best. Max I could manage was this.

Click to expand...

When I feel that I'm getting nowhere, I usually just walk away. I had a shoe that I couldn't get to bull. No matter what I did, the damn thing continued to defy all attempts. Too boring to list, nor can I remember exactly what I did... but got there in the end. It's usually that the micro-bumps haven't been leveled out sufficiently. My tried and tested lip trick will help (no joke). Rub the fleshy part of your lip across the toe-box. If it feels normally warm and your lip slides off it easily, you ain't there yet. However, if it feel colder, wants to grab you lip and feels almost sticky (although it isn't), you're getting there. When I say sticky, think of a glass mirror and how that would behave if you ran your lip over it. As weird as it sounds, this helped me in the beginning.
Warning: don't mention this to anyone. Friends and family will never understand. I usually do at night, but always lock the door first.
Once there's a proper mirror going, you have the luxury of regularly applying just a single coat, allowing the previous layer to well and truly harden. It's impractical to do this at the beginning, as it would take a lifetime to achieve any kind of result.
Lear

Click to expand...

I do the same thing, but with my balls.

I use something a lot more sensetive, this way I actually can feel the irregularities in the leather.



patrickBOOTH said:

Saphir makes a cordovan colored wax.

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Thanks - by the way, I just answered a very old question of yours in the Rubinacci thread!