Saphir Renovateur

[Academic2]

"Unless you're wearing gloves you're getting residual
reno from the cloth leeching into your skin regardless."

Not strictly speaking true if you use an applicator and pay attention.

You're right, though, that it's easy to accidentally get the stuff on you just as it's easy to get polish on you if polishing.

Also Originally Posted by SWRT:

"Unless you're wearing gloves you're getting residual
reno from the cloth leeching into your skin regardless.
Do you suggest using gloves to apply it then?"

I started wearing gloves years ago when I polish. Not, originally, because of safety concerns but because it speeds up cleanup substantially. I buy a bag of cheap disposable gloves in the cleaning materials section of the supermarket for a couple of bucks. They're called "disposable" but the pair I'm currently using I've probably used about dozen times. I squirt some talcum powder into them the first time I use them and as a result it takes no longer than about 20 seconds to put them on and 20 more to remove them. That's *much* less time than it would take to wash and scrub off polish if I accidentally got it on my hands. It just makes life so much easier. (I think I probably first started doing this back when I was still riding horses. Maintaining a dress riding boot is a much bigger deal than maintaining a pair of shoes.)

It was only later that I learned that it makes it much safer too.

Think about it. Any "leather conditioner" that works has to penetrate tanned and finished dead leather. Your live skin is more permeable than that by an order of magnitude, I would imagine.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Ac

 

[dieselman89]

I still think using the fingers is crazy. I prefer the cloth. I put my index finger and start swirling away. This method is effect since it gets off some of the dirt.

Once again, when I am just applying Saphir Ren. and not shoe polish/cream I use this method:

1. Clean the shoe thoroughly with a horsehair brush
2. Apply a small amount (pea-sized) of Saphi Renuvator onto a polishing cloth/t-shirt. Swirl from front-to-back.
3. Allow the cream to dry 3-5 minutes. Move onto steps 1-2 of another pair of shoes while allowing to dry.
4. Use horsehair brush and then polishing cloth. (one of the references below suggests using a polishing cloth. I find using the horsehair brush gets rid of the cream in the hard spots, esp. if you have shoes with leather holes in the design.

Here's some refrences:
http://www.maxtonmen.com/blogs/how-to/9092697-how-to-use-saphir-renovateur

http://www.hangerproject.com/shoe-care-guide/saphir-renovateur-mdo

https://www.bespokepost.com/box/polished

Has anyone use the cream on leather furniture?

 

[Academic2]

I still think using the fingers is crazy. [...]

That's because it is.

Cheers,

Ac

 

[DWFII]

Not looking to get sucked into a discussion about the merits of a product that has such an avid and immovable fan base but I will say this...people do their best to avoid facing the fact that leather is skin.

The better part of wisdom is to think of it as skin.

If it's good for your own skin, it's probably good for your leather.

If you'd have no qualms about putting the ingredients in any product on your skin...whether it be turpentine, benzene, silicone, or orange oil...it's probably alright for your leather. too.

Any ingredient / product that you would hesitate to use on yourself, could reasonably give one pause, I'd think.

And if that's the case, it's probably a good idea to use latex gloves, if you insist on putting it on your shoes.

 

[RogerP]

I put shoe polish on my leather shoes. It works well. They look great. I would not be keen to put it all over my skin. Doesn't make it any less appropriate for my shoes. I claim no medical expertise - but I think there might be a small difference between living human skin and dead / tanned calfskin.

But maybe I'm wrong - and what's good for one is good for the other, and what's bad for one is bad for the other.

 

[N YMutt]

I use a dauber brush to apply Reno, and I now have two reasons. The new reason, based on this thread, is that the stuff does not get on my hands, except a little when I clean the brush. The first reason is that it seems to me that using a brush gives me a better chance of loosening and removing dirt and old wax, rather than rubbing them in, especially in the creases and around the welt. I would feel even more strongly about this if I used polish, but I don't; I just use 2-3 light coats of one of the Safir cremes. Maybe I should also say that I have a couple of pair of what I consider bad-weather shoes, so my good calfskins have an easy life. The bad-weather shoes get the same maintenance regimen as the calfskins, but more often in Winter. The cordovans are a different story. Bought my first pair in November and, so far, all they have seen is a horsehair brush.

 

[Olifter]



Not looking to get sucked into a discussion about the merits of a product that has such an avid and immovable fan base but I will say this...people do their best to avoid facing the fact that leather is skin.

The better part of wisdom is to think of it as skin.

If it's good for your own skin, it's probably good for your leather.

If you'd have no qualms about putting the ingredients in any product on your skin...whether it be turpentine, benzene, silicone, or orange oil...it's probably alright for your leather. too.

Any ingredient / product that you would hesitate to use on yourself, could reasonably give one pause, I'd think.

And if that's the case, it's probably a good idea to use latex gloves, if you insist on putting it on your shoes.

I'm not sure that follows. The leather "skin" your shoes are made with is dead. I'm not so sure the chemicals in the above mentioned products are harmful to your skin. However, your skin in alive and permeable. One might not want those chemicals working their way into your bloodstream, and therefore, your kidneys, liver, glandular tissues, etc.

 

[Darell John]

Hey Gents,

I quite understand how to apply Saphir Renovateur, however

Assuming the following, 2 days a week use in no rain, high humidity weather, how often would you recommend to use it? not much walking outside probably 20 mins or so on a daily basis.

Would you use it monthly, quarterly or half yearly?

Also when restoring a pair of shoes, how many times would you apply it?
I assume the response is to when the leathers rehydrated, especially for shell cordovan, how would you tell?

Thanks people!

 

[chogall]



I'd probably use the Reno on your finger instead of a cloth. That way you don't really waste as much

Renovateur, the No.1 cause of iGent skin cancer.

 

[leetpuma]

Does anyone know where to buy larger quantities?

These 75ml bottles seem dainty once you decide you want to put it on a jacket or something (or god forbid, renovateur your leather sofa).

If the statement on the Hanger Project that they use it in the hermes factory is true (I've not seen it repeated anywhere else and you would think hermes would sell it if they used it), then there must be some bulk sources out there somewhere.

Try lexol for conditioning without any waxes. Works better than saphir for just raw conditioning and is dirt cheap so great for large articles.

 

[dieselman89]

Anyone know the difference between these two cremes other than the price?

http://www.amazon.com/Saphir-Renova...pebp=1433539995221&perid=0Y02DPJWGNGWX9RV0HA9

http://www.amazon.com/Saphir-Renova...ie=UTF8&qid=1433539945&sr=8-2&keywords=saphir

 

[shoelover]

Are the Saphir renomat and renovateur products okay to use on Shell Cordovan?

 

[gyasih]

EG uses a foam block to apply. If shoes aren't been worn frequently, conditioner can/should be applied about every month and a half or so.

 

[J o s h]



Anyone know the difference between these two cremes other than the price?

http://www.amazon.com/Saphir-Renova...pebp=1433539995221&perid=0Y02DPJWGNGWX9RV0HA9

http://www.amazon.com/Saphir-Renova...ie=UTF8&qid=1433539945&sr=8-2&keywords=saphir

+1, I was wondering the same thing. Looks like one jar is 50 ml vs 75 ml, but that doesn't explain the different names.

 

[Fred G. Unn]



+1, I was wondering the same thing. Looks like one jar is 50 ml vs 75 ml, but that doesn't explain the different names.

The Medaille d'Or line is generally considered superior to the Beauté du Cuir line. I've only used the Medaille d'Or line of Renovateur so I can't directly compare them myself.