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

[appolyon]

1 reno and 2 wax. Rag buff, brush, and then high gloss cotton buff each coat of wax. On the second coat I added some water to the rag.

You have to put on at least 6 or 7 coats of polish on before you get close to a mirror shine. Also in between coats use the same rag and apply a bit of water to it to cut the polish back. Leave the shoes overnight for the polish to harden then buff the next day for that mirror shine.

Quote:
Ha, not yet. After putting six coats of polish on them the other week I stubbed my toe on something and now the finish has cracked! Doh ... back to polishing them back up!

 

[patrickBOOTH]



Lear,
Pretty soon we're going to be standing over cauldrons of boiling turpentine, champagne, rubbing alchohol, and eye of newt in order to shine our shoes!
Your post, as usual, intriques me.
Regarding alchohol, I was trained to use it instead of water when doing certain forms of watercolor painting, because it evaporates much faster than water. I guess this is the same thinking with the St. Crispin's polishing method. I went to their website and for the record they recommend 20-30% pure alchohol added to the water. Will definitely have to try this.
As for the turpentine, this makes sense to me. I've also softened up old wax by simply putting some water on it, closing the tin tightly and coming back to it a week later.
I wore that pair of Alfred Sargent's that I had such a hard time getting to mirror. It really showed that I had ended up with just too much polish over all, as the first crease line from the toes cracked and flaked pretty quickly. However, I just took a hair dryer to them and buffed to spread out the wax in the immediate vicinity and they were fine from that point forward. (Just a little trick for future reference.)

I've often thought of it more as a black art.
You're right, it's 20% - 30% alcohol. Been a while since I visited the Saint Crispin's site. Rubbing alcohol was the purest form I could find, so hope I've got the right stuff. Thanks for the hot air tip. Might come in useful one day.
Shoes are just the little bits that poke out from the bottom of a suit. I fully realize this, which means I'm actually quite normal and can't be obsessed.
Lear

Guys, I just tried something that is the holy grail of the mirror polish. Throw away your car polishing rags and get your hands on the weblike hymen of a virgin. Instant success.

 

[NAMOR]

applied a little saphir reno to a ptb. pic shows difference after a brush

 

[patrick_b]



Guys, I just tried something that is the holy grail of the mirror polish. Throw away your car polishing rags and get your hands on the weblike hymen of a virgin. Instant success.

Now you tell us...after all that money on creams, waxes and microfiber cloths.

 

[Lear]



Guys, I just tried something that is the holy grail of the mirror polish. Throw away your car polishing rags and get your hands on the weblike hymen of a virgin. Instant success.

If you do an Internet search, you'll find that for every hot air method there's a corresponding iced water theory. I've even heard of shoes being put inside the freezer. All a person can do is pick what works for them.

Lear

 

[patrick_b]

Lear, that's so true...well said. Here are a couple of images of the tools I use most frequently.

Horsehair brushes:



I prefer the larger size horsehair brushes. Many places (like the local AE stores) carry the 6" size as their large, but I really like the 8" brushes. They actually measure something like 8.25" or 8.5". I bought an 8" Florsheim brush some 15 yrs ago that i LOVE. I wish I bought several as it was something like $5. However, a recent ebay search came up with two of the exact same brushes (likely the same age) for $10 shipped for the pair. I clicked the BIN link immediately! My original brush is the one with the ruler.

I find that the AE branded brushes are also pretty good and reasonably priced. I use a different brush for black and brown polish. I use separate smaller AE brushes for leather conditioner like Obenauf LP on yet another different brush for cleaning dirt and salt off shoe before I polish.



Clockwise from top left:

Red Cap for water dispenser
Saphir Renovateur
Water dispenser. This is a completely unnecessary item. It's no different than tapping your cloth in a drop of water. I first saw it in a shoeshine video w/the hip japanese dude, then found it at amazon. It's designed for solvent. Note, I use only naturally distilled water from a Hawaiian volcano. I think if I combine my secret volcanic water with the virgin's hymen...I'll be unstoppable .
Polishes - Kiwi wax polish, various AE wax & cream polishes (not pictured). Also not pictured is edge dressing in black & brown.
Polishing cloths - blue microfiber cloth for buffing, strips of white tee shirt used to apply polish and cotton flannel polishing cloths (came with a travel shoecare kit).
Horsehair daubers - used along the welt and for brogueing.

 

[swiego]

Do people with calf and cordovan shoes keep a separate brush for shell cordovan upkeep?

 

[Makoto Chan]



Do people with calf and cordovan shoes keep a separate brush for shell cordovan upkeep?

I do. I can't explain it very well, but I was told something about the natural oils inside the cordovan requiring much less polish than calfskin, so you don't want to mix excess wax or cream from the brush into the shoe. I keep my cordovan brush separate (and much cleaner) than my calfskin brushes, which are slowly turning browner and blacker from their respective polishes.

 

[Makoto Chan]



Water dispenser. This is a completely unnecessary item. It's no different than tapping your cloth in a drop of water. I first saw it in a shoeshine video w/the hip japanese dude, then found it at amazon. It's designed for solvent. Note, I use only naturally distilled water from a Hawaiian volcano. I think if I combine my secret volcanic water with the virgin's hymen...I'll be unstoppable .

Nice water dispenser! Looks like this one, made in Japan?Maybe it's superfluous but I'd love to have one.

 

[patrick_b]



Nice water dispenser! Looks like this one, made in Japan?Maybe it's superfluous but I'd love to have one.

That's the one!

 

[patrickBOOTH]



I do. I can't explain it very well, but I was told something about the natural oils inside the cordovan requiring much less polish than calfskin, so you don't want to mix excess wax or cream from the brush into the shoe. I keep my cordovan brush separate (and much cleaner) than my calfskin brushes, which are slowly turning browner and blacker from their respective polishes.

I used to, but I don't anymore. The only thing I really ever put on any of my shoes is reno and wax and I have never seen an issue on my cordovan. Fwiw, I do wash my brush from times to time with dish detergent and rinse it really well. Detgergents cut a lit of grease and break down the waxes and oils on the brush. I do this maybe twice a year.

 

[NAMOR]

some great deals on Saphir: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/chelseash...&_odkw=&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3911.c0.m270.l1313

 

[patrick_b]



I used to, but I don't anymore. The only thing I really ever put on any of my shoes is reno and wax and I have never seen an issue on my cordovan. Fwiw, I do wash my brush from times to time with dish detergent and rinse it really well. Detgergents cut a lit of grease and break down the waxes and oils on the brush. I do this maybe twice a year.

I wondered about cleaning horsehair brushes. I've never cleaned mine but I just bought two old ones from ebay and didn't want to use them until I cleaned them. I'll give them a good cleaning with dish detergent.

 

[SpooPoker]

Im sure this has been covered, but in light of the new PSA I posted in the cool shoes thread for the cheap Saphir, can someone post a step by step on how to apply it properly? The three products I have in rotation will be :

1. Saphir Renovateur (not on the PSA)

2. Saphir Pate de Luxe

3. Saphir Creme

I have never been the best polisher, I usually pay the shine guys to do it. But if you had these 3 products at your disposal, what would be the steps you would take? Thanks in advance dudes.

 

[patrickBOOTH]



Im sure this has been covered, but in light of the new PSA I posted in the cool shoes thread for the cheap Saphir, can someone post a step by step on how to apply it properly? The three products I have in rotation will be :
1. Saphir Renovateur (not on the PSA)
2. Saphir Pate de Luxe
3. Saphir Creme
I have never been the best polisher, I usually pay the shine guys to do it. But if you had these 3 products at your disposal, what would be the steps you would take? Thanks in advance dudes.

Over the years I have done a lot of different things in order to protect and shine my shoes. Some of those things was rather complex in order to keep my leather shoes supple and maintain a brilliant shine. Using much of Lear's (not the ugly one) advice I used to maintain a mirror shine on the top caps and heel quarters, however as my collection has expanded my time for the obsessive art has greatly diminished. I have begun using a ritual that I feel is pretty foolproof, yet yeilds an excellent result.I start, by just buffing the shoe to get the dust off with an old cotton tee shirt and I Saphir Renovateur, the whole damn thing. I let it sit a few minutes and then I lightly buff with the cotton shirt again. I then use Saphir wax on the toe in repeated small swirls and work back towards the vamp. Doing this puts most of the wax on the toe and only the remnants end up on the vamp. This is crucial so you don't get build up in the creases. I am also aware of some people saying that wax polish dries out leather, but with Saphir I have found that it doesn't ever really dry out like kiwi and some others do, it stays gunky and maliable. I then add some wax to the heel counters and work towards the center of the shoe once again. After the whole shoe has this thin layer of wax let it dry and buff fast, yet lightly with a horsehair brush. Many people stop here, however I feel in order to bring out a really nice glow and remove excess wax it is a good idea to let the shoe dry with its shine for a bit, say 10 minutes, then apply another light coat of Saphir Renovateur, let sit and buff with the same horsehair brush in the same manner. For some reason this last application of renovateur seems to bring out a better glow then if you hadn't used it. I think the renovateur really smoothes out the finish and helps the wax penetrate into the pores more. Anyway, I feel that this ritual is a great alternative to the labor intensive and highly sought after mirror shine.This finish I feel lasts a long time as well. After each wearing I just give the shoes a good brush with the horsehair and they clean up very well. Every now and again a light coat on renovateur seems to bring out the shine and nourish the leather. It also helps to gradually pick up the old polish while conditioning as to not create any build-up. If I do this I will apply the renovateur right as I take off my shoes and put in the trees. Since the leather is still warm from my feet the reno penetrates better and picks up some of the loosened polish.Just thought that I would share. Best of luck.