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

[cbfn]

There is more than meets the eye.

 

[Hampton]

Well, black polish may be a bit to harsh, I would use mahogany, dark brown, medium brown and a couple of coats with black. Of course, it all depends on the wanted results.

I think it various of the taste of how dark you want it. But for my next toe-polish i'll def go with your idea I think it may be a nicer finish.

 

[Wedin]

Any advice on cream+polish for C&J Coniston boots?

 

[Hampton]

Any advice on cream+polish for C&J Coniston boots?

Saphir for both cream and wax.
http://www.hangerproject.com/saphir-pommadier-cream-shoe-polish.html

 

[Wedin]

Yes. Saphir is my weapon of choice.
I was aiming for advice concerning color

 

[Hampton]

Yes. Saphir is my weapon of choice.
I was aiming for advice concerning color

I would go medium brown for cream and tan wax. Don't forget before and after pics!

 

[kimchijajonshim]

(Copy-pasting this from the AE Appreciation thread, apologies for the spamming, just realized this probably fits better here.)

I got a pair of vintage AE Townleys off ebay, however they're a bit more beat up than I expected. I understand leather cracks aren't repairable per se, but could a good cobbler minimize these in any way? There's also a loose flap of lining in the heel counter, anything I can do about that?

I'd love to send them back, but the seller is basically giving me a "caveat empor" attitude. I'm filing a claim through ebay but I'm not optimistic.

 

[Gdot]

Personally, I'd give them a good cleaning to remove old wax and build up in the creases (lexol or renovatuer) before I did anything else.

Then I'd condition.

The scrape on the toe can be minimized in appearance. The little loose bits can be carefully glued back down (somewhat) and then well polished over with cream followed by wax. You could also just take off the loose bits carefully with an exacto knife and cream polish to recolor and then wax until the surface is smooth again.

I'd plan on at least two to three coats of cream polish over the whole shoe to build up a base finish followed by three or four coats of wax on toes and heal counters.

The sole edges are going to take some work as well. I'd plan on at least 5 or six coats of wax to fill in the grainy texture. Buff between each coat.

You'll be shocked at how good these shoes will look with a few hours of effort.

Here's a great set of online directions to a full on shoe shine restoration project.

http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/presidential-shine/

You can use different products if you are not a Saphir guy.

The basic steps are always the same:
Clean,
Condition,
Cream Polish
Wax Polish

 

[goodlensboy]

sometimes simple is all what you need

 

[kimchijajonshim]

Personally, I'd give them a good cleaning to remove old wax and build up in the creases (lexol or renovatuer) before I did anything else.
Then I'd condition.
The scrape on the toe can be minimized in appearance. The little loose bits can be carefully glued back down (somewhat) and then well polished over with cream followed by wax. You could also just take off the loose bits carefully with an exacto knife and cream polish to recolor and then wax until the surface is smooth again.
I'd plan on at least two to three coats of cream polish over the whole shoe to build up a base finish followed by three or four coats of wax on toes and heal counters.
The sole edges are going to take some work as well. I'd plan on at least 5 or six coats of wax to fill in the grainy texture. Buff between each coat.
You'll be shocked at how good these shoes will look with a few hours of effort.
Here's a great set of online directions to a full on shoe shine restoration project.
http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/presidential-shine/
You can use different products if you are not a Saphir guy.
The basic steps are always the same:
Clean,
Condition,
Cream Polish
Wax Polish

Thank you for this. I'm going to try to see if I can't get them refunded first, the seller made no mention of the cracks. Clearly I can't expect new shoes, but I feel I grossly overpaid for them in this condition ($47 shipped). I've opened an eBay buyer complaint, hopefully it gets worked out.

 

[Gdot]

I don't think you overpaid. But I do think the seller should have clearly called out and photographed that scratch on the toes. Damage like that should always be disclosed/mentioned.

The 'cracks' you show on the apron are not so severe - they really just look like creases to me. Although clearly these shoes have been neglected of conditioning/polish for a long time.

 

[kimchijajonshim]

I don't think you overpaid. But I do think the seller should have clearly called out and photographed that scratch on the toes. Damage like that should always be disclosed/mentioned.
The 'cracks' you show on the apron are not so severe - they really just look like creases to me. Although clearly these shoes have been neglected of conditioning/polish for a long time.

I wasn't able to get a good shot of those, but they're definitely not just creases. I honestly don't care about those too much aesthetically, because they are pretty hard to spot unless you're looking for flaws, but I'm more concerned about how much worse they'll get and potentially making the cracks worse going over them with a brush if I happen to go against the "grain" of the cracks while polishing.

Do you think I should be worried at all about the heel counter issue? Again, not really a big deal cosmetically, but if that gets worse I will be pretty annoyed.

I figure if nothing else I can use these as a pair of beaters to learn the basics of shoe care/restoration to rock with jeans. I was hoping for something I could put together with a navy suit at weddings, but we'll see how they look after a bit of work.

 

[Gdot]

I wouldn't worry about brushing - anything fragile enough to be damaged by a buffing brush is going to fall off pretty soon anyway.

I think the creases/cracks will respond well to conditioning and probably will be pretty stable once well conditioned.

The lining coming undone in the heal is likely to continue to progress. You can have this repaired if you want it done right. Or just super glue it back down if you want to take a simpler approach.

 

[patrick_b]



Fail to see any significant difference between before & after, the shoes just appear to have had a simple polish.
This thread is sinking to new lows.

It sure is nothing like the old days, huh?

Like way back in April

 

[chogall]

Personally, I'd give them a good cleaning to remove old wax and build up in the creases (lexol or renovatuer) before I did anything else.
Then I'd condition.
The scrape on the toe can be minimized in appearance. The little loose bits can be carefully glued back down (somewhat) and then well polished over with cream followed by wax. You could also just take off the loose bits carefully with an exacto knife and cream polish to recolor and then wax until the surface is smooth again.
I'd plan on at least two to three coats of cream polish over the whole shoe to build up a base finish followed by three or four coats of wax on toes and heal counters.
The sole edges are going to take some work as well. I'd plan on at least 5 or six coats of wax to fill in the grainy texture. Buff between each coat.
You'll be shocked at how good these shoes will look with a few hours of effort.
Here's a great set of online directions to a full on shoe shine restoration project.
http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/presidential-shine/
You can use different products if you are not a Saphir guy.
The basic steps are always the same:
Clean,
Condition,
Cream Polish
Wax Polish

does lexol even work as a cleaner? why just just turpentine spirit?