Maintaining an Antique Finish on Shoes

[Aaron]

Hey Gents,

I recently purchased a pair of chelsea boots with an antiqued finish. The boots are a rich brown with black highlights. How do I polish these shoes and still maintain the finish? Will I have to mimic the finish with a combination of black and brown shoe cream everytime I polish them? Thanks for your help and input.

Aaron

 

[MCA]

If you want to maintain the original finish I'd recommend neutral shoe cream, and when absolutely necessary, neutral paste wax. Good, neutral shoe cream is water-based so it won't harm the finish. Paste wax, however, contains mineral spirit so you want to apply this very gently and sparingly. Buff lightly after ~10-15 min. If you buff too early while enough spirit is still on the surface you could rub off the antique finish. If you wait too long, you'd need to buff hard to get a good shine so you could also smear off the finish. Also try using a mild paste wax --one which contains natural ingredients (beeswax and carnauba).