**The Official Shoe Care Thread: Tutorials, Photos, etc.** - Page 44

My drunken Friday night:

http://lastedleather.com/Suedecare/Suedecare.html
Edited by NAMOR - 12/3/11 at 1:59am

Wow! That's about all I can muster before coffee. I used AE's suede spray on my Alden chukka's. They've developed a small stain/mark. I'll give the suede eraser a shot. Are they all the same? Amazon carries a woodlore version (and dozens of others).

Maybe you guys can help me: I want to buy a pair of medium brown leather shoes. But due to their tanning process, they darken considerably when you use shoe polish (e.g. Saphir SMDO) on them. The only way to prevent it is to apply no or only light pressure while polishing.
What would you do? Any advice how to care for them?

Well, it depends on whether the darkening is desired or not, of course, but does this happen with even neutral or significantly lighter polish? It might indicate that the leather itself needs conditioning. Use leather conditioner [Saphir Renovateur is great], then let it dry. What it dries to is [at least from my experience] what the leather's color is when it's properly moisturized.

Use DELICATE CREAM that's intended for delicate leather (sheepskin etc..), aniline calf, and light colored leather that's prone to darken. They're low in viscosity (more water), more gentle than Renovateur. Saphir has one of those too. Use this as a stand alone conditioner, or prior to your regular shoe polish like a primer (leather will absorb oil from the polish more evenly thus avoiding dark splotches etc...)

Will renovateur help remove old layers of wax? I condition with reno every few months, but it's only been a year or less that I've achieved my mirror shine results. Therefore, I've not yet developed a system to remove the old, built up layers of wax. I'd prefer not to use a solvent if there's an easier way. I have found that once you get a good mirror on the toe, it takes just a little bit of wax and much less effort to maintain the mirror (compared to developing the original mirror). I figure this is due in part to simply using a thin coat of wax that blends in to the previously applied multiple layers.

Does Reno accomplish the same thing, i.e., blending previously applied layers of wax and/or will the reno help to ensure that you don't build up too many layers of wax? or, is a solvent like alcohol the only way to remove old layers of wax.

I suggest Saphir Renomat instead, though I believe it does contains some alcohol. It should do a good job removing built up wax. granted you use it gently in several layers if needed. If you're rough, these stuffs can strip the leather down to bare skin (natural color ) if rubbed too hard (speaking from experience).

^ No, it doesn't remove the old layers, for this try Saphir Renomat, more delicate then pure solvents.

It remove all the layers of wax in shoes gently polished but sometime in case of heavy wax build up also Renomat is insufficient, go with solvents.

Thanks guys, I completely missed the renomat option. Now that I know what it does, I'll have to pick some up when I resupply. Appreciate the help.
Edited by patrick_b - 12/3/11 at 1:30pm

My latest attempt on a pair of black cap toe loafers (Johnston & Murphy 'Handcrafted in Italy' line, circa 2008). I haven't worn them in some time which is evident in the covering of dust seen in the "before" shot. At least I I finally remembered to take a "before" picture this time around. I found it harder to capture the mirror shine in these images. it was much easier to see the nicely mirrored toe on a brown shoe with a dark, burnished section on the toe. They had so much more contrast between the toe and the vamp than these cap toe's.

Before:



After:







I have two pair of these J&M 'Made in Italy' shoes from 3-4 yrs ago. This was the 2nd pair I bought. I was really surprised at how nice the calf leather is and they fit like they were made for me. I've no idea who made them but surprisingly, they fit exactly the same as the Allen Edmonds Tresana which was from AE's short-lived 'Seven' line which were also made in Italy. They don't look anything alike but the fit is so close I wonder if they were made by the same factory.

For reference, the Tresana on far right and my other J&M 'made in Italy' 2nd from right:

Plz to explain how you did that? They look quite good.

Fulb - what products are you using here? Can you walk us through it please?

Yes sure,
1st : Universal Shoe Polish Cream this one is from Saphir but you can find from other brand (like Grison). Just a very few, the saphir is good because it doesn't leave white traces.
2nd :Shoe Polish creme Surfine this one is from Grison - saphir is good also, just depend on the colour you want to use - I have at least 4 different brown for this pair of shoes and I alternate them on every polishing session that will give the natural patina. I use an old (soft) toothbrush to apply (the best way to go in every corner specially with brogue) and again I use just very few product.
3rd : Shoe Polish Pate De Luxe from Saphir. For this step I only use Saphir it's the best for me it's an extra shine formula based on beeswax, carnauba wax and turpentine without silicone. I put this only on the toe to make the extra shine with just few drips of water.

As tools you need:
2 brush - the fist one is quiet hard boar-bristle brush to take all the dust off.- the second one is soft natural horsehair brush to make the shine.
One old toothbrush is even better than the dedicated spreading brushes you can find.
Some soft cotton polishing cloth. The best you can have is an old Egyptian cotton sheet.

they look pretty shiny to me. nice polish work!

Thanks. In person they look pretty good, it's just much harder to see it in images compared to these for instance: