Removing old layers of polish - photo tutorial

[MalfordOfLondon]

Thought this might help some people renovate some old shoes...

I managed to snag some EGs from eBay but when they arrived - they were caked with layers of wax polish.

I tried to use a stiff brush but to no avail so I decided to get serious with some white spirit.

This is the surface of the shoes when I received them:

I used white spirit, a bowl of water and some cotton buds:

I would quickly dab the cotton bud in the water and then up-end the white spirit bottle briefly. Wipe the shoes (not too hard) and the old layers will soon start to come off:

The right shoe has been done:

Once it was done to each shoe I gave them an hour for the white spirit to fully evaporate and then repeated the process. The surface started to look a lot better:

I left them overnight in a well ventilated area and returned in the morning to apply some shoe cream / conditioner:

Next up was some Saphir (two applications):

Followed by a single application of wax polish:

The finished product:

 

[add911_11]

Great work!

 

[facet]

Wow, what a difference. That looks fantastic; thanks for sharing.

 

[bleachboy]

What is "White Spirits" called in the US?

 

[Roger Everett]

Read the label, it's paint thinner or also known as mineral spirts.

 

[Pliny]

beautiful shoes either way

 

[DLKY]

nice tutorial, thanks!

 

[meister]



Read the label, it's paint thinner or also known as mineral spirts.

what mineral turpentine or methylated spirits? Or thinners?

 

[guyver00]

Wikipedia to the rescue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit

Shoes look a lot better after cleaning up the old wax buildup.

 

[atct86]

Can you explain why you used the sapphire product and the kiwi wax?

 

[MalfordOfLondon]



Can you explain why you used the sapphire product and the kiwi wax?

I probably didn't need to. I just thought the white spirit could have been quite harsh on the areas of stitching - especially the apron and so I applied a wax polish to form a little more of a barrier.

 

[SpooPoker]

You will be receiving a box of all my shoes next week for maintenance.

 

[Yachting Man]

Those look great! Good work!

 

[Kauai]

Thanks for posting!

 

[Booter]

Have you ever used the White Spirits on the cordovan?