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

[patrick_b]



haaa, true. anyone know how well Bourbon shines after a polish? would vodka be the "clear" equivalent to "natural" shoe polish?

I think you are on to something here...

 

[black_umbrella]



Thanks for your comments and interest.

If you mean the loafers, I used AE's "Premium Shoe Polish" in Walnut. It's a tube of cream polish, not wax based. Note, those shoes are also brand new, I just picked them up this week at the Freeport, ME Allen Edmonds outlet. They're running a decent sale on Factory 2nds through labor day. So they were brand new, I'd only worn them twice for maybe a half day total. Brand new shoes never have much of a shine so they needed the most work.

I started with a coat of the cream polish and a good brushing. Then I apply a thin coat of regular brown kiwi wax on the entire shoe. By the time I'm done applying the wax on the 2nd shoe, the 1st is dry and I brush for a minute or so, then buff with the aforementioned microfiber cloth. After I get a coat of wax on the whole shoe, I start applying thin coats to just the toe, followed by brushing and buffing. By the 3rd or 4th coat, the toe develops a pretty good shine. As Lear mentioned, you can really tell by *feel* when it's getting close. To me it feels like a freshly waxed car. As the wax builds up, I tend to brush and buff for longer periods of time. By coat 5 or 6, I'm using very little wax and buffing with the cloth using different pressures, more pressure initially, then very light pressure.

At that point, I may be reaching the point of diminishing returns...though I haven't tried to continue after 6-7 coats. Given the true mirror results that Lear gets, perhaps I should keep going. I'm clearly not reaching that level of shine yet. There's no magic bullet but the one thing that made a significant difference for me was when I started using those microfiber cloths. That seemed to help a lot.

For shoes that are older, like the other AE's and J&M's, my routine is pretty much the same. I use a paste polish once a month or so, and then apply lots of thin coats of kiwi wax polish to the toe. I use Saphir Renovateur every couple of months on shoes worn regularly.

Nice! Anybody have a link to the lear post where he describes his approach to mirror shines? Probably should be in this thread and I can't seem to find it doing a simple search.

 

[Lear]



Nice! Anybody have a link to the lear post where he describes his approach to mirror shines? Probably should be in this thread and I can't seem to find it doing a simple search.

Hi Black Umbrella

Yes, I have become obsessed with shining shoes, but that doesn't mean I'm any kind of expert. The page you want is pretty much near the beginning of this thread, and is simply my way of doing things. As I've mentioned before, there are many twists and contradictions to my ramblings. It ain't gospel. The real experts are people like Ron Rider, DWFII and others, Some of these people have spent decades working with leather, shoes etc. I'm just another SF member attempting to look a little smarter. Just dive in and do it

Lear

 

[patrick_b]



Hi Black Umbrella

Yes, I have become obsessed with shining shoes, but that doesn't mean I'm any kind of expert...Just dive in and do it

Lear

Well said. I read a handful of posts here and elsewhere but it was more trial and error than anything else. I'm still not at the level I want to achieve so I'll keep plugging away.

 

[alexSF]

Some days ago my father gave me these shoes to restore them.
The shoes were in very bad conditions, probably for the use of silicon polish.

Stripping away old layer of polish was not easy, Renomat did not remove almost anything so I used soft nailpolish remover (without acetone) that removed 80% and after alcohol that did the rest.
After stripping, the leather has returned to breathe.

And the shoes after conditioning and a simple finish with saphir wax.

 

[tailoredstuff]

I've got these ugly creases at the toe of my shoe. Any suggestions on how to get rid of them?

 

[patrickBOOTH]

You won't really get rid of them. Usually creases in the toe box like this are a sign of a fit issue. You could try putting a mirror shine on the toe. The wax will fill in some of the wrinkles making them less apparent, but depending on how much this part of the shoe actuallyt bends when you walk that might ruin the mirror itself.

 

[kook]

First time polisher... before now just have used a Kiwi sponge that polishes... clearly quite an awful product.

What equipment do I need to start off with? In terms of brushes? Cremes waxes? I see Saphir is recommended so lets stick with that brand.

Thanks sf

 

[UberDyologzz]

To start off with, I'd recommend:

Saphir renovateur as a cleaner/conditioner

For a collection of mostly calf shoes - A small brush for the welt, wax polishes, and polishing cloths/rags.

For a collection of mostly shell cordovan shoes - A small brush for the welt, and bigger horsehair polishing brushes.

I wouldn't know how to clean more exotic leathers, so cannot comment.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Has anybody ever put a mirror shine on shell cordovan? Is it even possible?

 

[uninkco]

looks great.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

That's not in response to me is it? Those don't look like shell at all. Not a mirror shine, either.

 

[coffeecupman]

Figured I'd cross post this information that I gathered today, since the other thread that I was learning this stuff in seems to have died a death.

In that thread "Shoe Care Supply Checklist", I had asked about what you do to condition suede, since it must also be subject to losing its natural oils.

I have found these things out:

Dealing with suede often is often summarized as "spray protectant on it and brush the nap when it's looking tired". That didn't satisfy me, and nor should it you.

There do in fact exist some suede conditioning products specifically with nourishment in mind.

Ecco makes a "Nubuck and Suede Conditioner Daily Care" spray. Daily was probably more than I was thinking would be necessary,
and I wasn't sure Ecco was trustworthy enough a brand. But here it is:

http://www.eccousa.com/shoes/access...suede-conditioner-daily-care/1344/detail.aspx

I also found a company called Leather Magic. Apparently their entire business is based on conditioning leather. And they seem to
have been around for a while, so OK. They have a Suede Conditioner that is pure conditioner.

http://store.leathermagic.com/nubucksuedeleatherconditioner.aspx

They also make cleaner - but that's nothing special - there's a bunch of suede cleaners on the market.

Still, they make one more interesting product for suede and nubuck: A UV guard:

http://store.leathermagic.com/uvprotectant.aspx

Particularly recommended for naked leathers like nubuck and suede. So there you are - now your shoes need sunblock. I ordered some of this, because I live in sunny drought-ridden Texas.

In addition to the brass and rubber bristled brushes recommended, I also found this product geared towards scrubbing suede/nubuck specifically:

http://www.shoeandfootcare.com/p/10...-nubuck-shoe-brush-krepp-exclusive-large.html

The above website was also a very good-value resource for horsehair polishing brushes etc for someone starting out like I am.

Remaining knowledge gap is that I can't seem to get anyone to commit to what the ideal products are for ostrich and elephant. They're fairly unique skins, and neither really fits under the banner of either the calf or reptile families. Would love some experienced comments on that from someone.

Think I dropped 300 bucks on a shoe care arsenal today. Sweet.

ccm

 

[b1os]

Is it actually possible to create a mirror shine on shoes like these?



If so, it'd look weird, wouldn't it?
Besides that, anything to consider when cleaning/careing the toes of the boot in general? Wouldn't wax etc. fill the holes?

Any tips on how to clean the soles?

 

[patrickBOOTH]

It is possible to do a mirror shine on those. I don't think it would look any more, or less weird than a mirror shine on any other pair of shoes. Mirror shine builds thin laters of wax, it wouldn't noticeably fill in the holes.

Cleaning the soles? Why bother? Just spread some Lexol on them now and again.