Advice on Saphir shoe polish/cream color

[dr.no]

Calling upon shoe polish experts:
I would like to order some Saphir polish and cream (from Francos) and am seeking advice on the most suitable colors to choose. The shoe colors for which I am trying to match are:
1. C&J Chestnut
2. C&J Dark Brown
3. EG Dark Oak

About the cream, can I use "natural" on all 3 or should I color match cream as well?

Many thanks.

 

[Dmax]

I don't currently own any C&J or E&G so I can't comment on the color matching. I just ordered all the colors in the brown family. I think that was about 8 or so cans of cream and 4 tins of polish. On most of my shoes I mix things up and alternate the color of the creams I use.

You may want to be very particular when you order from Franco's since I ended up with two tins of the same color and so did my boss when he ordered on my recommendation.

 

[dr.no]

I followed your lead and ordered 3 shades of polish with coordinated creams. Also bought the Saphir Renovateur for conditioning.

 

[Pundit]

Interested in your findings for the C&J Chestnut match. I recently got a pair of C&J Belgrave in Chestnut and asked the C&J sales lady at the NYC T&A store what they recommended; she said they used dark brown wax on the Belgrave. Beyond that she offered that one shouldn't use a cream (I had mentioned Meltonian) as it adds color (agree) and would/could result in cracked leathers. I am new to C&J and found this surprising having used Meltonian for years on AEs for years to no ill effect.

I'd appreciate any insights from others on her comments.

 

[designprofessor]

Originally Posted by Pundit

Interested in your findings for the C&J Chestnut match. I recently got a pair of C&J Belgrave in Chestnut and asked the C&J sales lady at the NYC T&A store what they recommended; she said they used dark brown wax on the Belgrave. Beyond that she offered that one shouldn't use a cream (I had mentioned Meltonian) as it adds color (agree) and would/could result in cracked leathers. I am new to C&J and found this surprising having used Meltonian for years on AEs for years to no ill effect.

I'd appreciate any insights from others on her comments.

I still use Meltonian on all my shoes to some degree, I see no signs of cracking either. I use the Saphir and the Meltonian on my Marteganis, there has definately been some darkening of the leather going on. Looks nice IMO.

 

[The_Foxx]

I think someone on the forum should undertake a mission to obtain the shoe polishing sheet, from the John Lobb store in NYC.

When I stopped by the store last week, they consulted this magic list to find out which color polishes and creams should be used on each color leather-- and they listed a whole page of leather shades. Of course, I bought what they recommended for the parisian brown suttons, but thought that list would be a small goldmine for the forum.

 

[kirbya]

Gents-

The Hanger Project has just started offering Saphir Shoe Polish -- and this for the balance of October I am offering free shipping on one's entire shopping cart if it has a Saphir product. Use promotional code "SAPHIR" during checkout.

This product is incredible. I took my first pair of shoes to my shoe guy to be shined with the MDO collection and was really impressed with the result. In particular, a very deep scuff was completely concealed with the Pommadier Cream Polish. Incredible.