**The Official Shoe Care Thread: Tutorials, Photos, etc.**

[EZB]

I would classify that as a harsh effect of renomat. It has pulled off most of the finishing. It is easy to replace the colour in ur particular brand and colour of shoe.

Dark brown and black are easy to do as @benhour said. It’s much more difficult if u have a crust leather with hand painted finishing. Or if u have a specific patina done by hand or a unique color.

PS: those are lovely shoes and I am happy to see u have got such good results.

I don’t think it actually pulled the finish off, but just dried it out. When leather is dried, it becomes very light. You can see the opposite effect when a dried shoe is moisturized—the leather darkens. In this case, all the original color returned when I applied the Renovateur, which has no color itself.

 

[Lumaca]

For those concerned about the harshness of Renomat, here are some pictures of what it does and how to remedy.

I took Renomat to the toe caps of my AE Park Avenues in Dark Brown to remove all the mirror shine. Here are pics of the shoe after Renomat:
View attachment 1174753

Here are the shoes after the Renomat has been rinsed off with a cloth and then allowed to dry:
View attachment 1174755

Notice that the cap is now really light; these were burnished dark brown--nearly black--when original. So you can see that Renomat is pretty harsh, but don't fret: The shoe is fine! It's just severely dried out. I then took some Renovateur to the shoe and brushed it after a couple minutes, and notice that the toes are nearly normal now:
View attachment 1174754

Next, I applied two coats of Saphir Medaille d'Or in Dark Brown:
View attachment 1174756

Finally, I applied and brushed Saphir Pate deluxe in Dark Brown:
View attachment 1174757


Can you even tell that the shoes have had a Renomat treatment?


Thus, don't worry so much about Renomat. On a full-grain shoe with a proper burnishing, just remoisturizing the shoe will restore it to near normal. Apply a good polish afterwards, it is 100% good to go as original. However, do not apply Renomat to a shoe that is not full grain or has some kind of cheaper painting, as Renomat may completely remove that--permanently.

What a missed opportunity for some reverse antiquing!

 

[EZB]

What a missed opportunity for some reverse antiquing!

Not for these! They are one of three calf pairs (Park Ave or Ffth Ave) kept conservative for wear with suits and only occasionally without.

 

[Zeke90]

what saphir products can you use for nubuck leather? greasy cream? I only have renovateur, mink oil, vsc, and pommadier cremes

 

[EZB]

what saphir products can you use for nubuck leather? greasy cream? I only have renovateur, mink oil, vsc, and pommadier cremes

There is a suede and nubuck cleaner. You can also use Invuler to protect.

 

[Zeke90]

There is a suede and nubuck cleaner. You can also use Invuler to protect.

ah my apologies, I meant products for oiled nubuck leather. I already have suede conditioning/waterproofing spray

 

[Munky]

what saphir products can you use for nubuck leather? greasy cream? I only have renovateur, mink oil, vsc, and pommadier cremes

Saphir make a product called Greasy Leather Cream which they recommend for Nubuck shoes. Kind Regards, Munky.

 

[ShoeWho]

Saphir has 2 cleaning products recommended by A Fine Pair of Shoes as less harsh than Renomat.

The milder one is "SAPHIR CREME UNIVERSELLE LEATHER BALM. Neutral polish for the gentle care of leather goods. Suitable for all leather types, gently cleans, nourishes and protects.
Formula based on 28% beeswax and enriched with highly nourishing jojoba oil. Can be applied on the finest of leathers, giving it a silky appearance and a deep and durable shine, fast drying, no need to rub intensively. Does not clog up the leather, nor leave white residue.
One of Saphir's earliest products, used since 1920, it helps professionals to meet maximum requirements with a single product. Its fluid presentation is particularly adapted for fine leather goods." https://www.afinepairofshoes.co.uk/...s-price-asc/products/saphir-creme-universelle

The next strongest one is "SAPHIR CLEANING LOTION WITH CARNAUBA WAX. This Cleaning Lotion by Saphir cleans and gives a soft shine to smooth and greasy types of leather. Cleaning Lotion by Saphir is more efficient than the very gentle Universal Cream by Saphir, but less strong than Renomat by Saphir. This product eliminates dirt and excess of wax deposits while preserving patina and glazing. Its formula is rich with carnauba wax which gives protection and shine. Adapted for shoes, clothing, leather goods, furniture, luggage etc. made of smooth leather, greasy nubuck, synthetic leather or coated fabric." https://www.afinepairofshoes.co.uk/...aphir-cleaning-lotion-with-carnauba-wax-125ml

 

[aj2603]

I though i would share the process of what all i did to my tricker's stow boot before their first wear.

1. Used Chamberlain's Leather cleaner with a cotton pad. Very Little. Very Mildly to get any dust or particles off the leather. I was very gentle with this process.

2. Used Chamberlain's Boot & shoe conditioner. I conditioned both the uppers and the inner lining of the shoes. I have had a discussion on this site on the importance of conditioning inner leather lining (link: https://www.styleforum.net/threads/...ials-photos-etc.228153/page-1516#post-9717368). I let them dry for an hour.

3. One good brushing with a horse hair brush and then i applied saphir renovateur to the uppers. I let them sit for about an hour and then i gave them another brushing with a horse hair brush.

4. I let them sit over night (12hrs) and then started working on the welt and sole edges. I applied some Saphir's wax polish (Mahogany) to the welt using a soft bristle toothbrush.

5. Applied the first coat of Saphir's wax polish (Wax Yellow) to the upper using a old, clean, soft cotton t-shirt. I let them rest for an hour. Then brushed with a horse hair brush.

6. Applied the second coat of polish to the uppers. Let them sit for 15-20 mins and then gave them a good brushing.

You can see the results in the pics bellow.

Regards. AJ

 

[Munky]

Those are beautiful boots, AJ, but why did you need to do so much to them, given that they were new? With best wishes, Munky

 

[aj2603]

Those are beautiful boots, AJ, but why did you need to do so much to them, given that they were new? With best wishes, Munky

I live in a place where the temperature is above 40°C in the summers and humidity is about 20-30%.
Hence for me conditioning even a new pair of shoes makes sense. I am sure this is not an issues in colder or more humid climate.

You never know how long these boots have been on shelves. So even for new boots/shoes i like to give them a through conditioning before wearing.

 

[EZB]

I live in a place where the temperature is above 40°C in the summers and humidity is about 20-30%.
Hence for me conditioning even a new pair of shoes makes sense. I am sure this is not an issues in colder or more humid climate.

You never know how long these boots have been on shelves. So even for new boots/shoes i like to give them a through conditioning before wearing.

My sweaty feet condition them from the inside out! I live in swampland. I still use condition all my new shoe purchases before wear as a protective measure.

 

[Encore]

Not sure if this question really stick with the topic, but guess I will ask it any way.

I have a couple pair of shoes that hurts the top of my big toes. I believe it's caused by the creasing of the upper vamp area. Maybe due to the toe box to be too big? Is there any way I can address this?

Some pairs are pretty snug elsewhere, and the vamp area doesn't feel so big as well, but still hurts my toe.

Giving this a bit more thought, I realized all the shoes that having this issue are Cap toe ones.
Also, it doesn't seem to be a rare case the crease above cap toe push again my big toe, I totally agree with @DWFII that the main reason is that leather being too stiff, is there any lotion or something I can apply to soften then?

 

[Munky]

I live in a place where the temperature is above 40°C in the summers and humidity is about 20-30%.
Hence for me conditioning even a new pair of shoes makes sense. I am sure this is not an issues in colder or more humid climate.

You never know how long these boots have been on shelves. So even for new boots/shoes i like to give them a through conditioning before wearing.

That sounds fair enough, although it does sound a bit like overkill to apply all those products. I had a problem, quite a few years ago, when I put some neutral cream on a pair of brand new Loake Chester brogues. These are hand burnished with 'streaks' of darker colour. Loakes have a video clip of this being done. [Incidentally, the man doing the burnishing says: 'what people want with burnished shoes if for both shoes to match']. My point, though, is that when I put this cream on, I was removing the burnishing. What I was left with was a very nice pair of tan brogues but without the addition of the final 'painting'.

I live in a country that is pretty cool in terms of temperature and which can be pretty wet. When I get a new pair of shoes I tend to put on a very thin coat of Collonil Creme de Luxe, neutral cream. But then...only if I think they need it. With all good wishes Muny,

 

[aj2603]

That sounds fair enough, although it does sound a bit like overkill to apply all those products. I had a problem, quite a few years ago, when I put some neutral cream on a pair of brand new Loake Chester brogues. These are hand burnished with 'streaks' of darker colour. Loakes have a video clip of this being done. [Incidentally, the man doing the burnishing says: 'what people want with burnished shoes if for both shoes to match']. My point, though, is that when I put this cream on, I was removing the burnishing. What I was left with was a very nice pair of tan brogues but without the addition of the final 'painting'.

I live in a country that is pretty cool in terms of temperature and which can be pretty wet. When I get a new pair of shoes I tend to put on a very thin coat of Collonil Creme de Luxe, neutral cream. But then...only if I think they need it. With all good wishes Muny,

Agreed. I don’t do anything to my hand painted or patina shoes. It’s not such a good idea there.

But these are country boots. And I am quite comfortable with boots darkening over time. Actually I look forward to them developing patina over time. And I do intend to use them harder than my dress shoes.

Since these were combination tanned, I didn’t have any concern of taking off the finishing. I had emailed trickers about conditioning the boots as well. They said no problem

Regards. AJ