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Teacher

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Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff
32. THE CLASSIEST COLOR FOR BLACK TIE IS BLACK. How to break it: If you're a maverick, you can try midnight blue or dark chocolate.

Interesting, hadnt thought of that.


No, neither had I. I think it would have to be AWFULLY dark for it not to stand out too much, though. Still, I'd like to see one.

48. CHECK YOUR FLY BEFORE ANSWERING THE DOOR.

I prefer to check it every 5 minutes just to feel secure.
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[/quote]

...or don't check it at all, depending on whom one is expecting....
 

mmdht2

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how do you take it off if you don't like the black? i got a pair of brown ferragamo monks with pebble finish (like basketball) that i polished with dark brown polish. i don't like the "antiquing" effect much. some places are darker than others. i loaded the shoes with leatherique overnight then clean it with their cleaner but the color didn't complete go away so i re-applied a heavy layer of the same brown polish hoping to get a uniform dark brown color. after i polished it, the part on top of the toe joints got much lighter than the rest of the shoe because that's the pressure point. what can i do now?
 

Get Smart

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For a darker brown shoe, I've used navy polish with (imo) good results. Gives the brown a nice luster, similar to using black, but not so heavy

But I love using black polish on burgundy/oxblood shoes
 

mmdht2

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Originally Posted by shoe
buy a new pair of shoes and start over.

or you can use acetone to rub off the excess polish and extraneous color. dont worry, it will not harm your leather as most persons here attest .
it will be bad for your health if you let it contact your skin for prolonged periods of time though.


what about the original color? would that be affected by the acetone?
 

sho'nuff

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if your shoes were originally aniline dyed by manufacturer, the color will not come off with acetone. acetone is not strong enough to chemically undo the aniline dye.

a crust leather used by EG or some certain santoni handmade models with the hand-antiqued/polished leathers , those will be of a bit of danger to have the original color come off with acetone.
 

Arethusa

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(Full disclosure: these are from my selling thread.) These originally started off in a fairly light and plain brown. They didn't look bad, but I thought I could do better, and they took polish quite readily. It took me several hours of applying conditioner, cream, and multiple layers of polish (brown, cordovan, black, and a few more layers of cordovan and brown) to end up like this, but I think it came out reasonably well. Black needs to be used sparingly, but the effect can be quite nice.
 

B1FF

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My nicest looking pair of shoes came from mixing a rag cut from a black t-shirt and not knowing that neutral polish is a very good solvent.
 

Egdon Heath

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Huh?
 

Arethusa

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The solvents in the polish dissolved the dye out of the black tshirt he was using as a rag and transfered to his shoes.
 

hchamp

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Originally Posted by Arethusa
(Full disclosure: these are from my selling thread.)

These originally started off in a fairly light and plain brown. They didn't look bad, but I thought I could do better, and they took polish quite readily. It took me several hours of applying conditioner, cream, and multiple layers of polish (brown, cordovan, black, and a few more layers of cordovan and brown) to end up like this, but I think it came out reasonably well. Black needs to be used sparingly, but the effect can be quite nice.





Those aren't before and after pictures, right? Just different lighting? Because the ones on top look lighter. Anyway, they look nice. You can definitely see the black antiquing. For each layer of black, how many larers of cord/brown/conditioner did you use?
 

hchamp

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Originally Posted by Henry Boogers
That article was much better overall than I had anticipated. And yes, I have found that black polish used over time on mid-brown shoes will have a nice effect.....sadly I can't help but believe that it's due to build up around seems and stitching, but it looks nice in either event.
confused.gif


Originally Posted by j
I'm against - black polish never seems to look right on anything but black shoes. And I'm definitely not against using the wrong color... just black always ends up looking grainy on the surface to me, and sticks in the seams really well which doesn't look good IMO.


Pictures, gentlemen? So the unitiated can judge this "buildup" for themselves?

Btw, j, I read an earlier thread where you seemed more positive about using black polish. I take it your experience since has soured you on the idea?
 

hchamp

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Originally Posted by Get Smart
For a darker brown shoe, I've used navy polish with (imo) good results. Gives the brown a nice luster, similar to using black, but not so heavy

Do you avoid the seams and stitching? Or is the buildup of navy polish not noticeable with dark brown?
 

hchamp

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Originally Posted by Joel_Cairo
I think AEs make ideal subjects for these multicolored polish experiments, because while the leather is good quality and the company offers a number of different colors, they are invariably pretty flat an "crayola" colored. I have a whole arsenal of different creams (chestnut, dusky brown, cordovan, tan, navy, and a few others I can't recall) so that I can play around, and so that I don't end up with 4 pairs of identically colored Chilli shoes.

I might be similarly tempted if I had 4 chillis but, alas, I have but one, and I like it the way it is. Indeed, it's one big reason I bought it.
 

hchamp

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Originally Posted by NoVaguy
Well, real patina is earned, by wearing and polishing the shoes. I have Chili shoes that have some depth to them, after wearing and polishing them over 3 or 4 years.

+1

I was a natural antiquing guy, too. But at this late stage in my sartorial career, I'm willing to try any artificial means to improve the appearance of my shoes, even that means using performance-enhancing substances.

Cream, anyone?
 

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