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

[Gdot]



Geez... guys just so that you know:
There are instructions on Reno...and for the intellectually challenged they are actually pictorial...

Men.........reading the directions on anything???????

You must be crazed with Reno fumes!

 

[Northampton Novice]

Polish fumes maybe...but reno - that's just moisturizer cream!

 

[Gdot]



Polish fumes maybe...but reno - that's just moisturizer cream!

Whatever gets you through the night.....................

 

[Barroomheroes]

I ended up getting rid of these shoes.. The creases were HORRIBLE after 5 wearings..
I used the AE Polish on them, then bulled the toes out with Kiwi Brown.. Kiwi will not make major changes to the color. It is a wax only. The sun will change the shoe color more than any wax will.

They polished up very well, again- the pictures did not do them justice. The Kenilworth is another shoe that
I have bulled out real nice as well... On the brown Kenilworth I am using Chili polish and Kiwi wax. The chili polish given the shoe a really nice color.. Something a little different. I will probably start alternating between Chili and Brown in a month or two..

Love the Chili color - I have two pairs...

However, you are bold going with Kiwi brown on them. I wouldn't want to overly darken my own so I am leaning toward either Kiwi Neutral on them to give them some bulling, or even the Tan (at most, Mid-Tan).

Anyone else ever "bull" or mirror shine Chili? What do you use?

 

[Bear]

I ended up getting rid of these shoes.. The creases were HORRIBLE after 5 wearings..
I used the AE Polish on them, then bulled the toes out with Kiwi Brown.. Kiwi will not make major changes to the color. It is a wax only. The sun will change the shoe color more than any wax will.

They polished up very well, again- the pictures did not do them justice. The Kenilworth is another shoe that
I have bulled out real nice as well... On the brown Kenilworth I am using Chili polish and Kiwi wax. The chili polish given the shoe a really nice color.. Something a little different. I will probably start alternating between Chili and Brown in a month or two..


I have a pair of Kenilworth in brown on the way...Could you post pics of how they look with the Chili polish and Kiwi wax? Sounds really interesting.

 

[patrick_b]

Here are my brown burnished Kenilworth when brand new. A couple of coats of AE wax and then bulled the toe with brown kiwi. It took another three or four thin coats with kiwi to get this shine.

 

[knezz]

Greeting,
I bulled the toes of my AE Moras and noticed hairline fractures upon my first wearing. Is that normal or did I do something wrong?

BTW I have a new pair of Keniworths in brown. I plan on doing the same as you. I think I shoud wear them a few times before bulling them as I would need to see where the creases appear as not to bull them. Are there any gotchas that I should avoid?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Here are my brown burnished Kenilworth when brand new. A couple of coats of AE wax and then bulled the toe with brown kiwi. It took another three or four thin coats with kiwi to get this shine.

 

[StyleSeekerATL]

After lurking here, went ahead and bought some stuff.
Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day!

 

[fritzl]



I ended up getting rid of these shoes.. The creases were HORRIBLE after 5 wearings..

well, the trees were too short. end of story.

 

[fritzl]



Sorry for all the questions above...Just finished reading the 94 page thread and I was posting the questions along the way

ok, don't do it again...

 

[fritzl]



Geez... guys just so that you know:
There are instructions on Reno...and for the intellectually challenged they are actually pictorial...

:foo:

 

[patrick_b]

knezz, I think it's a good idea to follow the 'less is more' school of thought. I think I went a bit too far up the vamp when I did these and they developed some the same type of cracking in the polish. Hairline is a good way to describe it.

I've since applied renovateur a half dozen times or so and blended the polish in a bit more. In retrospect, I'd have decreased the size of the bulled section, so the bulled portion was a half inch shorter. Put another way, the transition line between bulled and non-bulled would be closer to the toe. Right now that line of demarcation is about where a cap toe would end. I'd prefer it be a smaller bulled portion now that I've been wearing them for a while.

I think they still came out pretty sharp looking. I'm fairly new to this mirror polish thing myself. As Lear (one of our more proficient mirror polishers) has stated repeatedly, it's really a trial and error process and more about *feel* than anything else. Over analyzing the techniques posted by others can even be a detriment. Making a couple of attempts will provide you with the *feel* for developing your own method to achieve the mirror polish (paraphrased of course).

Good luck! Post some pictures of your attempts. We can all learn from each other. Also, I'm eager to see another pair of AE Kenilworth's in the mix.

 

[goodlensboy]

Just out of curiosity how would you take care of this

 

[razl]



Just out of curiosity how would you take care of this

I can't help on the care front, but I do have a question: the part of the shoe that is strapped on here, the piece of leather with the **** edges - what is that called? Loafers generally have nothing, a strap, or tassels, and sometimes the tassels will be on top of a piece of decoration like this, but what is it - if anything - called?

 

[goodlensboy]



I can't help on the care front, but I do have a question: the part of the shoe that is strapped on here, the piece of leather with the **** edges - what is that called? Loafers generally have nothing, a strap, or tassels, and sometimes the tassels will be on top of a piece of decoration like this, but what is it - if anything - called?

"Kiltie" perhaps