Shoe care questions

[sportsguy]

Hello all,

I have two pairs of allen Edmonds shoes (5th avenue in dark chili and strands in bourbon) and a pair of red wing blacksmiths in copper, and have some questions regarding care:

1. Would the blacksmiths also benefit from shoetrees, and if yes which trees would you recommend?
2. I have a brush, and AE leather lotion as well as AE dark chili and bourbon shoe creme. Although I am not interested in mirror polishing, my understanding is that something like Saphir Mirror gloss will also protect my AE shoes from scuffs etc even if i don’t polish it to mirror finish, is that right? Would it be ok to take the transparent one and use with both of my pairs?
3. Regarding my boots, Is there some way to also have a bit of scuff protection? Right now I take care of them by cleaning them and then applying as much leather lotion as they can absorb. Is there something else I could/should do?

thanks in advance,
sportsguy

 

[breakaway01]

Yes, I use trees in my boots as well. I just use Woodlore shoe trees but any number of shoe trees would work.

Some people like using a wax polish -- I think that's a personal choice. I don't use wax polish much myself on shoes other than my captoes but YMMV. I am a little sceptical about how much protection a thin layer of wax offers a shoe. Brushing and occasional cream polishing as needed for scuffs has worked for me. If you do use a neutral wax polish, my advise is to apply it in very thin layers. A common mistake is to apply too much product (wax or cream polish).

For those boots, part of the appeal of the leather (looks like a pull-up leather similar to Chromexcel) is the natural patina they will acquire with use. Don't baby them too much. Brushing and a leather conditioner will be perfect.

 

[emidyl]

The mirror gloss isn't adding too much more protection but is really good at bringing the shine. DO NOT use too much and only keep it on the very fronts as further up will crease and crack off. Just use the lotion to nourish and then the cream afterwards. Wax if you like but less is more..
As for trees, I use them in all my boots. I debate if they are needed all the time as I find some of my vibergs are not too prone to creasing, but use them after each wear to reduce moisture.
Are you RW not more of a work boot? I would just use what they rec dependent on the particular leather. I use the oil for my Iron Rangers and that's it, no need for much else. and if they scuff more the better.

 

[sportsguy]

Thanks a lot for the replies. I think i'll then order normal cedar shoe trees for the boots, and also some wax - which I probably will use very sparingly, if at all.