Suede Shoes Care: Damaging the shoes

[Anton Golding]

Hi all,

A while ago I discovered the beautiful world of shoe care and I've treated my leather shoes with Saphir products with great success. Now, however, wanting to care for my suede shoes, I've encountered a challenge, and I don't dare to continue the treatment with a risk of permanently damaging the shoes.

First, the shoes I'm trying to treat are a pair of Loake Aldwych Suede in dark brown: https://www.pediwear.co.uk/loake/products/8683.php

I have the following products at hand:
Saphir Suede Brush: https://www.hangerproject.com/brass-suede-cleaning-brush.html
Saphir Crepe Brush: https://www.hangerproject.com/saphir-crepe-brush-for-nubuck.html
Saphir Renovateur Suede & Nubuck Conditioning Spray: https://www.hangerproject.co.uk/saphir-suede-spray.html
Saphir Omni'Nettoyant Suede Shampoo: https://www.hangerproject.com/saphir-omninettoyant.html

So, having watched videos and read instructions on how to care for suede, like this one by Kirby Allison: https://www.hangerproject.com/shoe-care-guide/how-to-clean-suede-shoes/
I felt I was well prepared. As the shoes didn't have any stains or had seen rain or similar, I skipped straight to the brush part.

However, just by applying a light pressure with the Suede brush, I noticed hairs were pulled out and the suede instantly went from looking new, uniform and even, to worn, damaged and uneven.

Untreated side (before any brushing):


Treated side (after brushing for 5 seconds with light pressure):


I wasn't able to completely capture how bad it looks in the photos, but in reality it looks even worse, like obviously damaged.

I then decided to test the full procedure on an old pair of suede shoes, in case the brushing, cleaning, re-brushing, conditioning, and then re-brushing again in combination would yield a nice result. No luck, unfortunately. Although the suede became more fluffy, the numerous hairs and the tear just made the shoes look 10 years older. I didn't take a before photo, but here's the result:


The following are my thoughts for what's wrong and what I can try:
- The suede in these shoes is just too fine and dense for this kind of treatment
- I should rather be using the crepe brush <- I tried this on a small area, same result, hairs get pulled and the suede starts looking damaged
- I need another kind of brush without the brass, but perhaps something with pig hair or similar?
- I just need to keep brushing until all the pulled hairs fall off....
- I should just brush veeery lightly in the same direction in order to not pull any hairs

So, any advice is greatly appreciated, as I don't dare to continue at this point. Thank you in advance!

 

[Anton Golding]

Just a short update: I've been doing some additional research, leading me to place an order for the following brush: https://www.hangerproject.com/hanger-project-suede-cleaning-brush.html

It's with natural boar bristle, as opposed to the brush I've been using with brass. I'm hoping that brush will be more flexible and not so rough on the material, i.e. will not pull any hairs but just gentle lift the suede.

 

[TheSuitBurnsBetter]

Just a short update: I've been doing some additional research, leading me to place an order for the following brush: https://www.hangerproject.com/hanger-project-suede-cleaning-brush.html

It's with natural boar bristle, as opposed to the brush I've been using with brass. I'm hoping that brush will be more flexible and not so rough on the material, i.e. will not pull any hairs but just gentle lift the suede.

I think you'll have more luck with this brush. I've used it pretty vigorously on Alden, Meermin, and Grenson suede without any damage. A couple of additional points I've learned on suede cleaning:
1) You do NOT need to use nearly as much of the Omni'Nettoyant as Kirby uses in the suede cleaning video (looks like he uses half a bottle!). I think 1 tablespoon diluted with some water will get you a nice lather.
2) The conditioning spray will stain hard surfaces, so use it outside with your shoes on something you don't mind picking up some pigment
3) Don't forget the waterproofing spray!

 

[clarksdb]

I wore my Alden suede chukkas in pouring rain last year in NYC. Is it possible to revive the suede?