Updated w/ After Pics // Need Restoration Advice for Thrift-Store John Lobb Shoes

Hi everyone,

While attending a college friend's wedding in the lovely city of York, England, I stumbled upon a pair of John Lobbs in a local thrift shop. They were my size. They were my style. I knew that they were far nicer than any shoes I'd ever owned--or had been, in their original state. And they were only £30. Unfortunately, they weren't in office-ready condition, but I bought them anyway, hoping I could find a way to restore them.

So here I am, asking the experts for help. Some pictures:



















What do you think of the condition? Structurally, they seem very sound. The soles are intact; there's no peeling or cracking or gouging or anything like that. Nothing's falling off the shoes. They're surprisingly comfortable for what I'm assuming is a bespoke product. The problem (obviously) is the leather uppers, which are splotchy and discolored and a little creased. Unless I'm missing other problems, in which case, let me know.

If you think they can be salvaged, I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have regarding how to go about it. What can/should I do myself? What should I leave to the professionals? And which professionals should I leave it to? (I live in New York.)

I don't need them to be perfect. Presentable is fine. Is that possible?

Thanks in advance,
Andrew

renovateur times a few
polish polish polish

if they still look crappy, and you are desperate to keep them, maybe send them to b.nelson or some of the other talented cobblers for a full refinish.

There's an heavy wax build up.

You should accurately remove that and after recondition the shoes, isn't a difficult work with the right products.

I recently removed loads of waxy polish from a pair of EGs. You might find the thread useful.

Malford,

I followed your polish stripping thread and as a result stripped and refinished a pair of Alfred Sargents just last night.

The stripping was very easy with the mineral spirits, and it didn't seem to have any risk of also stripping the dye. Which was great.

The stripping left a nice matt finish on the leather which took the conditioner and polish quite well. I used multiple shades of cream polish to add some patina to the shoes as the color was very consistent/flat after the stripping.

Here's the result:



With the exception of a bit too much mottling on the apron I'm quite happy. So here's a word of warning in that regard.......Navy Blue shoe creme seems to penetrate the dye into the leather like no other color I've tried - even black. Once there it's pretty hard to remove - even mineral spirits won't pull it out. No other color of creme polish that I've used has the same penetrating effect.

Again - all in all I'm happy with these. Especially since this is the first day after working on them just last night. I'm sure the effect will mellow with few more buffings and some time.

Thanks Malford!

If they were mine, I would strip them, use a light amount of conditioner, then polish them. I bet that alone would improve them 80%. If after that you're still not happy, send them to one of the well-known shops.



Gdot said:

...

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Great stuffs Next time take before / after photos!

I would love to get my hands on those Lobbs OP. If you don't feel confident doing them - I would do them free of charge. I took great pleasure in doing my EGs.



MalfordOfLondon said:

Great stuffs Next time take before / after photos!
I would love to get my hands on those Lobbs OP. If you don't feel confident doing them - I would do them free of charge. I took great pleasure in doing my EGs.

Click to expand...

Would be happy to do the same, I'm no professional but I've restored several pairs in similar condition (you can check out some of my older threads). I'm local to you here in NYC. PM me if you're interested.



DavidWatts said:

I don't need them to be perfect. Presentable is fine. Is that possible?

Click to expand...

yes.

don't use this trees, they don't fit. unfortunately, yours didn't come with the lobb trees.



cmeisenzahl said:

If they were mine, I would strip them, use a light amount of conditioner, then polish them. I bet that alone would improve them 80%. If after that you're still not happy, send them to one of the well-known shops.

Click to expand...

+1
This. The dark areas on your Lobbs, I would wager, are the result of the previous owner using the wrong brush after he polished. This is very common where a brush used on black shoes, is then used on brown shoes. Residual black polish on the bristles gets all over the next pair. That is why it is important to have several brushes, each one dedicated to a specific colour of shoe.
Follow cmeisenzahl's advice and you'll be fine. but remember to apply only a light amount of conditioner after de-glazing to restore elasticity to the leather and make sure they are completely dry before polishing and after polishing, completely dry before brushing and buffing. Use only shoe trees that work best with this last. Take your time with this project and the results should be superb.

This thread needs to be updated with pictures when finished.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Now I'm confident that I can get these shoes into great shape, either on my own (by following your advice) or with a little help from one of the kind gentlemen who offered to assist.

I'll take the Alden trees out as soon as I get home from the office this evening. While I have you, though, any suggestions for better ones? Do I have to invest in Lobb trees?

Can't wait to get started. I'll be sure to post photos when the work is done.

ALSO: Out of curiosity, which John Lobb line do these belong to? I read somewhere that bespoke Lobbs feature three crests and "London. Paris. New York." But these have only two crests...



DavidWatts said:

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Now I'm confident that I can get these shoes into great shape, either on my own (by following your advice) or with a little help from one of the kind gentlemen who offered to assist.
I'll take the Alden trees out as soon as I get home from the office this evening. While I have you, though, any suggestions for better ones? Do I have to invest in Lobb trees?
Can't wait to get started. I'll be sure to post photos when the work is done.

Click to expand...

You won't be able to get Lobb trees as these are bespoke shoes and would have come with trees shaped as the bespoke last from which they were made.

It would probably be trial and error.



DavidWatts said:

Hi everyone,
While attending a college friend's wedding in the lovely city of York, England, I stumbled upon a pair of John Lobbs in a local thrift shop. They were my size. They were my style. I knew that they were far nicer than any shoes I'd ever owned--or had been, in their original state. And they were only £30. Unfortunately, they weren't in office-ready condition, but I bought them anyway, hoping I could find a way to restore them.
So here I am, asking the experts for help. Some pictures:









What do you think of the condition? Structurally, they seem very sound. The soles are intact; there's no peeling or cracking or gouging or anything like that. Nothing's falling off the shoes. They're surprisingly comfortable for what I'm assuming is a bespoke product. The problem (obviously) is the leather uppers, which are splotchy and discolored and a little creased. Unless I'm missing other problems, in which case, let me know.
If you think they can be salvaged, I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have regarding how to go about it. What can/should I do myself? What should I leave to the professionals? And which professionals should I leave it to? (I live in New York.)
I don't need them to be perfect. Presentable is fine. Is that possible?
Thanks in advance,
Andrew

Click to expand...

I think your shoes are these from the John Lobb Bespoke Catalog:

http://www.johnlobbltd.co.uk/catalo.../V-frontshoes/V-frontplain/plain_vfront_3.htm



DavidWatts said:

I'll take the Alden trees out as soon as I get home from the office this evening. While I have you, though, any suggestions for better ones? Do I have to invest in Lobb trees?

Click to expand...

get in contact with b.nelson, if they can fit in a pair of trees for you.