Tried to polish my new shoes, think I might have destroyed them...

I read that it was a good idea to polish new shows as it gives them extra protection. My new C&J Malton shoes didn't look like they needed a polish but I thought I would try it anyway to be on the safe side. I had not polished shoes before but I'd a few read guides here and watched videos online to get an idea of what I was doing.

However I think I made quite a few mistakes:

1. I applied drops of water directly on to the shoe.
2. I rubbed the leather quite hard with a cloth and for quite a long time (at least 15 mins)
3. I applied at least 7 layers of polish as I couldn't see the leather getting any shinier.

The result of these mistakes is that the toecap on one of the shoes has became noticeably darker than the toecap on the other shoe. At first it was a dull brown whilst the other shoe's toecap was a uniform colour with the rest of the shoe.

The day after attempting to shine my shoes I went to my local shoe-shine, the girl there told me not to worry about them as the dark mark was probably water retained in the leather (from mistake 1), she said that it should be gone in 24 hours. She shined both shoes up to how they look now, 6 days later:







In real life the dark mark and the difference in color is more noticeable than what the photos show.

So what's the diagnosis now? Is the leather still drying our or have I done some more serious damage? If I have damaged them then is there anything a decent cobbler could do?

Thanks.

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I used the tan color polish that I was given by the C&J shop.



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I spent $650 on these shoes so I'd like to look after them as best as possible. I know plenty of people that have owned shoes for more than 5 years, they've had them resoled and they still look great.



Latour said:

You should aways use a neutral or lighter colour paste.And btw, you don't need to do anything to new shoes but wear them.You probably stained the shoe in thatpot by using a darker paste. Nothing you can do about that so next time don't be a shoe neurotic. It's just a piece of leather you put on your foot.You wear it a few years or when the sole wears out,throw it out, and buy a new pair.No one resoles shoes anymore.People who buy expensive shoes have numerous pairs and the soles don't wear out(they wouldn't waste money to resole an old shoe andwoud just buy a new one)The lower classes wear Nike  etc. and they too just buy a new pair when it's worn.

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The comment that "no one resoles shoes anymore" is just flat out wrong and is absolutely awful advice. Allen Edmonds offers a recrafting service that many use, and it is way better to spend $100 getting a pair of shoes resoled than spending a multiple of that on a new pair. If the uppers look like hell and are beyond repair, that's one thing, but it's idiotic to throw shoes out if the uppers are in good shape.

I don't see any water spots in the pictures so the shoes are probably fine. With polishing the shoes will take on a patina over time and the colors will even out. Next time you polish, just use the "less is more" rule. I'll only add water if I'm trying to bull the shoe, and even then, it's just a drop for the whole toecap.



Shawl Lapel said:

if I'm trying to bull the shoe

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What does this mean?

A spit shine/mirror polish. Usually just the toe.

http://putthison.com/post/18905258646/bulling-shoes-every-once-in-a-while-i-like-to

I'd never done it before reading the ultimate shoe care thread on here, and I definitely didn't strip the leather like the article mentions. But to each his own I guess.

Latour said:

You wear it a few years or when the sole wears out,throw it out, and buy a new pair.No one resoles shoes anymore.People who buy expensive shoes have numerous pairs and the soles don't wear out(they wouldn't waste money to resole an old shoe andwoud just buy a new one)The lower classes wear Nike etc. and they too just buy a new pair when it's worn.

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Congratulations - inaccurate and pretentious in one post. Would that be 'no one' like the Prince of Wales?




To the OP - This isn't damage per se - it's probably a combination of some of that water still in the leather (often happens with brogued shoes) and some burnishing from the wax. If you want to want to even them out, ask whomever deals in C&J or other high-end shoes in your area to recommend a cobbler. Ask said cobbler to burnish the other one to match.

If you found other guides on shining shoes confusing, this might be helpful: http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/shoe-care-guide.html

And just for Latour - a guide on when to resole your shoes: http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/shoe-care-guide/when-to-replace-soles.html

archibaldleach said:

The comment that "no one resoles shoes anymore" is just flat out wrong and is absolutely awful advice. Allen Edmonds offers a recrafting service that many use, and it is way better to spend $100 getting a pair of shoes resoled than spending a multiple of that on a new pair. If the uppers look like hell and are beyond repair, that's one thing, but it's idiotic to throw shoes out if the uppers are in good shape.

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It's a waste of money to spend 1/3 a shoe's value to redo a 10 yo old shoe.For the average middle classer who likely has 5-6 good shoes they will last 5 years if cared for.People who buy more expensive items have much larger amounts of them and never wear them out. I still have shoes I bought at Churches 30 years ago lying around that show little signs of sole or heel wear.No, I don't wear them because they are now 1/2 size too small (feet keep growing) and I have no intention of ruining my foot or cause knee pain over a piece of leather(only a poor young dweeb would value some dead hide over his body)
And it's idiotic to keep the same old shoe like it's an heirloom (lol) when you can just buy a new one.Clothes are disposible. You get your use out of them and then dispose of them.Besides, who wants to keep wearing the same old shoes and resoling them for 20 years. It's like shagging the same girl as she gets older and older and more dried out Put down the shoe polish and get some game. First get some money and you won't be obsessing over ordinary things like clothes.You'll just buy what people in your area and class buy and you'll have a wide choice.

Latour said:

It's a waste of money to spend 1/3 a shoe's value to redo a 10 yo old shoe.For the average middle classer who likely has 5-6 good shoes they will last 5 years if cared for.People who buy more expensive items have much larger amounts of them and never wear them out. I still have shoes I bought at Churches 30 years ago lying around that show little signs of sole or heel wear.No, I don't wear them because they are now 1/2 size too small (feet keep growing) and I have no intention of ruining my foot or cause knee pain over a piece of leather(only a poor young dweeb would value some dead hide over his body)
And it's idiotic to keep the same old shoe like it's an heirloom (lol) when you can just buy a new one.Clothes are disposible. You get your use out of them and then dispose of them.Besides, who wants to keep wearing the same old shoes and resoling them for 20 years. It's like shagging the same girl as she gets older and older and more dried out

Put down the shoe polish and get some game. First get some money and you won't be obsessing over ordinary things like clothes.You'll just buy what people in your area and class buy and you'll have a wide choice.

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I'm awaiting the amazing replies to this post.

Longmorn said:

Congratulations - inaccurate and pretentious in one post. Would that be 'no one' like the Prince of Wales?




To the OP - This isn't damage per se - it's probably a combination of some of that water still in the leather (often happens with brogued shoes) and some burnishing from the wax. If you want to want to even them out, ask whomever deals in C&J or other high-end shoes in your area to recommend a cobbler. Ask said cobbler to burnish the other one to match.

If you found other guides on shining shoes confusing, this might be helpful: http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/shoe-care-guide.html

And just for Latour - a guide on when to resole your shoes: http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/shoe-care-guide/when-to-replace-soles.html

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That's a gimmick to pretend he's a common man and thrifty and the naive fall for it.Probably cost more for the patch than a new pair Why doesn't he patch his clothes too to get the full effect?
Look at real aristocrats not this one numbskull.If he was shagging Diana rather than painting watercolours on the moor in his kilt and pining over horseface(who he later married-she's 65!)Diana would have behaved.
And btw, no one's going to mistake for anything other than you are just because you're wearing some beatup ill fitting Lobb you bought for $50 at Goodwill or fleabay.It will just make you look poorer and more pathetic.

holy troll much



lucidream said:

holy troll much

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Nah, just a noob who thinks he knows more than he does.

I was going to go for "Just a ****" but Cptjeff is a little more charitable than me!

Latour said:

You should aways use a neutral or lighter colour paste.And btw, you don't need to do anything to new shoes but wear them.You probably stained the shoe in thatpot by using a darker paste. Nothing you can do about that so next time don't be a shoe neurotic. It's just a piece of leather you put on your foot.You wear it a few years or when the sole wears out,throw it out, and buy a new pair.No one resoles shoes anymore.People who buy expensive shoes have numerous pairs and the soles don't wear out(they wouldn't waste money to resole an old shoe andwoud just buy a new one)The lower classes wear Nike etc. and they too just buy a new pair when it's worn.

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Troll!

The thing that somebody like that never thinks through, is that when you make a blanket statement -with the arrogant belief that you are the chosen representative of all human-kind, and that you know everything. When you talk as if your opinion is shared from the heavens above and that all of us little people are privileged to hear it, and when you believe that you are never, but NEVER wrong... then 99% of the rest of humanity, just really enjoy proving you wrong.

In Milan, we have a shoe repair shop that only exists to resole Goodyear welted shoes. Whenever I go in, it is packed, with shoes from all of the good UK and US shoe manufacturers, hundreds of shoes getting re-soled. I see real Gents in there, and new money -most of them are people who can afford as many new shoes as they want, but like their comfortably broken in footwear. Plus there are the people who are changing out their leather soles from a rubber type, or vice-versa, there are people adding or removing mid-soles to make the shoe look more or less chunky -all types. Plus there's the Shoehealer in the UK, and there is every single Goodyear welted shoe manufacturer -all re-soling their own shoes.

"No one resoles shoes any more"

Apart from all the people around the world getting their shoes resoled every day, he's absolutely right.