Storing shoes - apply polish or not?

[Yoksel]

I have plenty of shoes that I don't wear and may not wear any time soon. I try to pull them out of their boxes once a year and apply leather conditioner. Currently using either AE Cleaner/Conditioner or Crema Alpina.

Normally I apply Meltonian shoe cream polish after that but I started to notice that it makes the leather feel not as smooth.

I wonder if it makes sense to just apply the conditioner and put the shoes back in the box as they are not really exposed to anything harsh and I heard that polish dries the leather out over time.

Appreciate any advice!

 

[nevaeh]

I clean, condition, and polish my shoes before they are placed In storage. The reasoning is twofold: First, it reduces the chance that dirt will sit on them on them for too long, something that can degrade the material. Scond, the material goes in nourished. Sitting for a long time, might cause them to dry out, so I’d want them to going with a fighting chance.

Placing them in shoe bags and a shoe box is important. So, too, is polishing them when you bring them back into the rotation. Shoegazing has a guide here: https://shoegazing.com/2019/03/16/the-tip-polish-shoes-after-seasonal-storage/.

That said, I will defer to others’ judgement on whether and why Meltonian makes your shoes feel not as smooth. This is cream polish and not wax, right? Are you buffing them after conditioning and applying the cream? My thought is that Meltonian’s shoe cream should act in a nourishing manner—that’s what shoe cream is intended to do.

 

[Yoksel]

Yes, it's cream polish (glass container). I usually apply it with a cotton round, let it sit ~10 minutes and then buff with a horsehair brush.

After the conditioner is applied leather feels nice and smooth but after Meltonian it feels less smooth and somewhat sticky.

 

[willyto]

Yes, it's cream polish (glass container). I usually apply it with a cotton round, let it sit ~10 minutes and then buff with a horsehair brush.

After the conditioner is applied leather feels nice and smooth but after Meltonian it feels less smooth and somewhat sticky.

You're probably applying too much shoe cream. A little goes a long way.