Can you polish over wax? - Shoes

[GZero]

SF ladies & gents,

Any answers or insight to this would be much appreciated.

I understand the difference between shoe polish and shoe wax, I also understand when and why leather conditioner (such as Saphir Renovateur) is used - however ......

If a shoe has been conditioned, polished and then waxed; what is the effect of applying polish to a pre-waxed shoe, be it lightly or "water and wax"?

Does polish penetrate the wax? Does it remove the wax? Does it sit on top and have little to no effect on the leather?

Long story short > If I have a wax finish on my shoes, should one remove it before attempting to properly polish using a quality shoe polish?

Having read quite a bit on this topic, and thought it through, I am unable to understand how much of any substance applied remains on or in the leather as time passes and as shoes are re-polished, re-conditioned, re-polished, re-waxed etc.

HELP!

 

[Zoop]

What's the shoe? Some manufactures are easy to contact and very helpful.
A nude (dubbin) polish might be the answer.

 

[Fred G. Unn]



Does polish penetrate the wax? Does it remove the wax? Does it sit on top and have little to no effect on the leather?

Welcome to SF! There is an entire massive thread devoted to shoe care here:
http://www.styleforum.net/t/228153/the-official-shoe-care-thread-tutorials-photos-etc/17730_30

Cream polish is generally for repairing small scuffs and evening out color. If there's a scuff, there's likely no wax there anyway. If there is wax polish already there, why are you applying the cream polish? If the shoe has been heavily overtreated with wax polish you may need to strip it off with a product like Saphir Renomat before applying cream polish.

A nude (dubbin) polish might be the answer.

It depends on the shoe in question, but Dubbin is not really appropriate for calf leather.

 

[GZero]

Thanks for the replies,

The shoe is calf leather, handmade.

I should have been a bit clearer as to why I would want to do this.

The shoe is brown and so I opt for a neutral cream polish to condition. Before this I use a brown cream polish to beef up the luster - After several layers of this I usually wax the toe cap using a neutral wax.

In waxing the toe cap, when it comes time to give the leather another "feed", will new neutral polish penetrate the wax layer or should I strip it using a mink oil or renovateur type substance.

I've had a look through the shoe care post (excellent) but I cant seem to get to the bottom of this specific question.

Thanks again.

 

[Fred G. Unn]



In waxing the toe cap, when it comes time to give the leather another "feed", will new neutral polish penetrate the wax layer or should I strip it using a mink oil or renovateur type substance.

Renovateur and Renomat are two very different substances with similar names. Renovateur is used for cleaning and conditioning, and Renomat is for stripping. If you want to strip wax use Renomat, but I'm still not entirely sure why you are stripping the toe. If it's nicely waxed I doubt the leather needs a "feed." Does the toe look dry or something?

If you post your query over in the shoe care thread someone who has used Renomat may have a better answer for you. Personally, I'm sort of in the "less is more" camp, so while I own a zillion shoe care products (mostly Saphir and GlenKaren) I use them as often as needed but sparingly as possible. Overtreatment of shoes can be just as damaging as undertreatment IMO, perhaps even more so.