Is this normal?

[scorpwk]

Hello Everyone,

I've been lurking this website for about the past month and I finally decided to take the plunge for a nicer pair of dress shoes. I ended up purchasing a 8.5 E Park Avenue during Nordstrom's sale, but I'm sort of concerned about the quality of my shoes. I started with a 8.5 D, but I found that they were too tight on my toes so I returned them and ordered a 8.5 E. When I received my first pair of 8.5E the size was perfect, but there was a break/crack about 1 inch long around the lace hole of the shoe. I returned that shoe and ordered yet another pair of 8.5E that I received today. Upon opening the shoes were perfect and I decided to condition and clean them with the AE Conditioner/Cleaner. I bought the cotton flannel cloth and I watched the AE Shoe care video about 20 times and decided to go ahead and clean/condition them. Upon doing so I noticed that the toe of the shoe became rougher and there was a lot black residue discoloring my cloth. The result is this:



That glossy finish that came on the shoes is gone, is this normal? I'm guessing its not, but at this point what can I do. I can assure you I used a cotton flannel cloth and was gentle, but perhaps I was still overzealous about rubbing? I don't know. I though that I should take it to a cobbler tomorrow on my way into work to see what they thought. Well, I appreciate any input.

I'd like to apologize for making a new post about this. I tried doing a search for it, but I only found one other thread somewhat similar to my own with little feedback in it. Anyways, I appreciate any and all feedback, thank you!

Edit: Crap I think I probably put this thread in the incorrect forum, is there a way I can move it without making a new thread?

 

[Subutai]

Re-post this in the Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread. You'll get plenty of advice. There's also a Shoe Care Thread, but the AE one gets more traffic. Experts like Cold Iron will hopefully give you advice. Just cut and paste for your own convenience.

and welcome!

 

[Cant kill da Rooster]

Are you aware that conditioner doesn't polish shoes? Pick up a polish (AE makes good stuff). Work it into the leather using a cloth or smaller brush. I prefer to let it dry for a bit and then buff it out with a good shoe brush. This alone should give them some shine. Then you use the cloth to buff it to a slightly better shine. You don't need to be gentle.

Note this takes some practice and there is a good thread on here (name?) advocating some different techniques.

 

[scorpwk]

Code:
Are you aware that conditioner doesn't polish shoes? Pick up a polish (AE makes good stuff). Work it into the leather using a cloth or smaller brush. I prefer to let it dry for a bit and then buff it out with a good shoe brush. This alone should give them some shine. Then you use the cloth to buff it to a slightly better shine. You don't need to be gentle.

Note this takes some practice and there is a good thread on here (name?) advocating some different techniques.

Yes, but given the advice of some different posts people suggest that it is a good idea to rub in some conditioner/cleaner into the shoe. I guess because you can't really know how long the shoe has been sitting in a dry warehouse its a good idea to condition it right out of the box, I'm not sure. But yeah, I was not sure how to spread it outside of using the flannel cloth. My concern was not with producing a shine, it was more with removing the previous shine that came on the shoes. I'm not sure if that coating that comes on the shoes is just a layer of wax that is okay to remove or if it is some sort of finish that shouldn't come off so easily with the addition of a little conditioner/cleaner.

Re-post this in the Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread. You'll get plenty of advice. There's also a Shoe Care Thread, but the AE one gets more traffic. Experts like Cold Iron will hopefully give you advice. Just cut and paste for your own convenience.

and welcome!

Okay, will do, and thank you!