** Quintessential Crockett & Jones Thread ** (reviews, quality, etc...)

[sevenfoldtieguy]



Hey, I just got my first pair of quality shoes a few days ago - a pair of chestnut(ish) C&J. After walking in them for a few hours each day to wear them in, I decided to apply the wax polish that came with it. I polished them up to a decent gloss (not quite the mirror shine I like, but a decent gloss), but I noticed that the finish easily flaked off at any point of stress, or any point where I'd polished a bit more. I don't have any brown shoe polish at home, though I've ordered it. Right now they look... pretty patchy. Is this normal? Should I just polish with brown shoe polish all over? Or should I use mineral spirits or something to strip the rest of the finish off before polishing? Or is this a manufacturing error, should I go back with them? I live quite a bit away from my shoemaker who ordered them for me, so I'm asking around first. Here's a picture: Thanks.

Return them.

 

[LC Nielsen]

OK, I'll have to stop by the shop next week.

Anyone had anything like that happen before? What could the reason for something like that happening possibly be? The finishing looks cracked and flaky... Maybe it's been sitting around post-manufacture for far too long or something?

 

[cbfn]

I personally think it looks like you have caked on too much wax. I would advise you to apply only shoe cream on the bendable parts of the shoe and wax on the heel and toe.

 

[LC Nielsen]

I personally think it looks like you have caked on too much wax. I would advise you to apply only shoe cream on the bendable parts of the shoe and wax on the heel and toe.

The shoemaker specifically said that there was no need to apply cream until in a while, and nothing about not applying wax to any bendable parts...

Nevertheless, it seems utterly ridiculous that the finish would be ruined by a single, excessive application of wax with a soft cotton cloth the first time. It's hardly the first pair of shoes I've polished.

 

[CTBrummie]

I personally think it looks like you have caked on too much wax. I would advise you to apply only shoe cream on the bendable parts of the shoe and wax on the heel and toe.

Exactly my thoughts. Gently stripping off the excess wax from the whole shoe apart from the toe would be the first thing I'd do with these.

 

[cbfn]



The shoemaker specifically said that there was no need to apply cream until in a while, and nothing about not applying wax to any bendable parts...

Nevertheless, it seems utterly ridiculous that the finish would be ruined by a single, excessive application of wax with a soft cotton cloth the first time. It's hardly the first pair of shoes I've polished.

It's not the finishing that's flaking off, it's the wax. I would suggest reading this and this.

 

[LC Nielsen]

Exactly my thoughts. Gently stripping off the excess wax from the whole shoe apart from the toe would be the first thing I'd do with these.

A single application of wax with a soft cotton cloth to a softer area causes the finish to crumble and fall apart on a pair of otherwise fine shoes? It's not just a discoloration - the finish is very visibly cracked, and very visible flaked off while applying the wax. I've had MANY leather products of varying quality over the years, but not even the very cheapest, low-quality ones were that sensitive.

I exchanged a few mails with Justin of The Shoe Snob - he thought it was a bad tanning job. For what it's worth.

 

[cbfn]

Well, it's hard to see from the pictures, but if you have cacked the shoes with wax, this isn't faulty finishing. I'm not saying I'm 100 per cent correct, but it is difficult judging by the pictures.

 

[alexSF]

A bad use of wax polish could cause disaster.

What colour have you used?
This could happen with neutral polish

You removed the finishing from the shoes revealing the original colour of the uppers (that usually is always light tan in mid brown to brown shoes)

Now you can only strip the shoes and re do the finishing with creams and wax (only on toe and heels)

I don't think C&J could consider this a manufactorig error.

 

[LC Nielsen]

OK, on the area to the left (the bit of the leather between my fingers), I removed the (transparent) wax with bile soap, and as far as I can tell there is none left. On the area on the right, well, that's the cracked area. I'm pretty sure the chestnut color is the color of the leather finish, and the tan is the color of whatever's just beneath it.

 

[LC Nielsen]

A bad use of wax polish could cause disaster.

What colour have you used?
This could happen with neutral polish

You removed the finishing from the shoes revealing the original colour of the uppers (that usually is always light tan in mid brown to brown shoes)

Now you can only strip the shoes and re do the finishing with creams and wax (only on toe and heels)

I don't think C&J could consider this a manufactorig error.

Yes, I got a can of C&J's neutral polish when I bought the shoes, and used that.

Okay, so I can strip them completely and re-do the finish. That's fine. I was told to do that once or twice a year anyway. How do I do it? What products do I need?

 

[cbfn]

Yep, that's the finish. I have no idea how you have managed to do this, but it isn't easy to fix. And no, stripping off the finish is not something to do 1-2 times a year, that is stripping of the wax.

 

[alexSF]



Yes, I got a can of C&J's neutral polish when I bought the shoes, and used that.

This explain all.
Neutral polish should be used only in rare cases, one of them is to remove the old polish manteining some of the old layers, or is used as gentle stripper instead renomat or similar product.

Never use it for regualar care.

You removed the layer of burnishing finish process.
Here you can see the original colour of C&J Clifford and the final colour (different model but identical process):

 

[LC Nielsen]

Huh! Guess what. I shrugged and took some mineral spirits (drugstore gasoline, I think) and wiped them. The "spots" went away like magic. After wiping for a while and drying it, they're back to their original color - just a little bit brighter and less glossy.


What must have happened is that somehow my wax reacted with whatever the factory finished coating them with, making for bright, tan-like spots. Now they seem to be down to simple chestnut leather again, and I guess I'm just gonna have to get some brown cream and polish and work them up again.

Thanks for the help.

 

[chipshot]

Does anybody have the unlined Harvard fron Ben Silver. Called and the gal said all of their C&J's are on American lasts and run TTS. I know my unlined BB's Cordo's eventually stretch out hence going down a half size, glove like fit. How do I fit these? I also went down a half on the Marlow Lined Coro, they were prett tight at first but after a year they molded to my foot perfectly. I noramlly wear a thin or no sock. Thanks..