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Help me care for (polish) these Mantellassis

jpe

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I picked up these Mantellasi double monks a few weeks ago from STP; I got lucky that they just happened to re-stock my size the same weekend they were an extra 20% off. Let me first say that they are phenomenal shoes and I love them. They are a significant step up from the mid-grade Mantellassis I picked up a few months back (though those were a steal at under $150)

On to my question: as is somewhat visible in the attached picture, these have a finish that I guess is described as "antiqued". It reminds me of some EGs that I've seen. Anyway, before I wore these for the first time, I polished them with a clear wax (Lincoln). When I was done, I noticed that the rag I was applying the polish with had a black tinge, almost like I was polishing of some of the antiquing.
Is this what was actually happening and/ or should I be concerned about the permanence of the finish?
What color shoe cream would you recommend for more frequent polishing? Try to match the color, or go with something lighter?

Thanks in advance for the help.
-Jeff

 

Charley

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Yes, shoe wax contains something that will remove the antiquing. Some of the "clean up" suggestions include using neutral wax to take off old polish.

I would apply some black wax lightly to the antiqued areas. Let that dry and buff it. Then polish the whole shoe lightly with brown cream. Cream does not seem to have the same color removing properties. Occasionally use some black cream to enhance the antiqued areas. Also try to occasionally use a black brush on them. The antiquing is really a light buildup of color. Continue it - lightly. Most polish wears off or is brushed off anyway, between polishings.
 

sysdoc

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Originally Posted by jpe
I picked up these Mantellasi double monks a few weeks ago from STP; I got lucky that they just happened to re-stock my size the same weekend they were an extra 20% off. Let me first say that they are phenomenal shoes and I love them. They are a significant step up from the mid-grade Mantellassis I picked up a few months back (though those were a steal at under $150) On to my question: as is somewhat visible in the attached picture, these have a finish that I guess is described as "antiqued". It reminds me of some EGs that I've seen. Anyway, before I wore these for the first time, I polished them with a clear wax (Lincoln). When I was done, I noticed that the rag I was applying the polish with had a black tinge, almost like I was polishing of some of the antiquing. Is this what was actually happening and/ or should I be concerned about the permanence of the finish? What color shoe cream would you recommend for more frequent polishing? Try to match the color, or go with something lighter? Thanks in advance for the help. -Jeff
The color choice of the shoe polish you use depends on your polishing regime. For the normal run-of-the-mill polishing job where you just apply some wax and then shine it with a brush, you can use any color you fancy. Darker colors will eventually darken the shoe while lighter colors won't. The latter can of course even lighten your shoe in case they were covered with some antiqueing cream, because you will remove more and more of this cream as time goes by. This effect could actually also be used to personalize your shoe. Should you consider spit shining your shoes to create a really high gloss the risk of removing the layer of antiqueing cream is much smaller, as spit shining does not really do anything to the wax or cream underneath if it's done right. However, you should never use neutral wax or wax that's lighter than the shoe color when spit shining, because once you put on your shoe and walk around the spit shine will crack in some places (where the layer of spit shine wax should actually be thin) and these areas will look really bad should you have chosen a wax that is too light.
 

jpe

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Thanks both for the input...
-Jeff
 

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