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

[Beach Bum]

Post-Saturday EPL shine. I'm always surprised how much of a difference a few wears makes after buffing the Renovateur. I also cream polish the vamp and sides(?) I use black wax for the toes and rears. Unfortunately this photo is back lit but you get the idea.

I've learned a lot from this thread about brining out the shine using wax and I would say one piece of advice I have is that you don't need to use very much pressure at all at any phase when using the wax.

I'm confused on your "buffing the reno..." comment. Are you stating that once you have worn shoes a few times after you applied Renovateur, a buffing does a great job at bringing out the shine again?

 

[Beach Bum]

And nice shoes BTW

 

[Itsuo]



I'm confused on your "buffing the reno..." comment.  Are you stating that once you have worn shoes a few times after you applied Renovateur, a buffing does a great job at bringing out the shine again? 

Yes, I always think the Renovateur is just what I apply before creme polish and wax. However just after Renovateuer alone, I get a great healthy shine.

Thanks!

 

[ErikW]

Hey Folks, I have a new pair of Alden's in Chomexcel. What do you guys recommend for care? How long do I wait before applying any polish?

 

[BootSpell]

Hey Folks, I have a new pair of Alden's in Chomexcel. What do you guys recommend for care? How long do I wait before applying any polish?

I have four pairs of CXL boots and I have never applied any "polish" to them. CXL is a very sturdy and hard-wearing leather and really doesn't need much except for brushing and shoe trees. Maybe VSC or Reno every once in a while.

 

[Itsuo]

I have four pairs of CXL boots and I have never applied any "polish" to them. CXL is a very sturdy and hard-wearing leather and really doesn't need much except for brushing and shoe trees. Maybe VSC or Reno every once in a while.

Interesting you say that BS, because my pair of CXL LHS are my neediest pair. Some of that stems from them stretching a lot and now I get persistent heel slip, but it is also because of these cracks that appeared everywhere over the shoe within months of receiving them (they appear vertically along the length of the shoe). I polish them and wax (toes/rears) regularly and really can't fathom why that happened so quickly. I have other Aldens in calf leather that I've put many more miles on with much less attention.

It's possible that some of it has to do with my care of them but they never went more than a month without Renovateur/cream. The "micro cracks" were greatly reduced with lots of polish however they appeared all over the vamp but also on the inner and outer sides(?) as well.

 

[BootSpell]

Interesting you say that BS, because my pair of CXL LHS are my neediest pair. Some of that stems from them stretching a lot and now I get persistent heel slip, but it is also because of these cracks that appeared everywhere over the shoe within months of receiving them (they appear vertically along the length of the shoe). I polish them and wax (toes/rears) regularly and really can't fathom why that happened so quickly. I have other Aldens in calf leather that I've put many more miles on with much less attention.

It's possible that some of it has to do with my care of them but they never went more than a month without Renovateur/cream. The "micro cracks" were greatly reduced with lots of polish however they appeared all over the vamp but also on the inner and outer sides(?) as well.

Hey Itsuo, it's not you or your care of them. I love CXL but one of the biggest complaints about CXL by those who don't like it is that it tends to crease and develop what you call "cracks", or micro creases. It also tends to feel like the outer layer of the leather is kind of flabby and separating from the inner portion.

To me, CXL is a very casual leather partly because of this creasing. What's weird is that some of my CXL boots have hardly any creasing at all. Not sure if it's the part of the cow the CXL leather comes from or what. Some of the more knowledgeable folks on this thread might be able to provide better input.

Having said that, to me, CXL develops some incredible patina. I only have natural CXL right now but will be getting some brown CXL because the pics of well worn brown CXL boots show some incredible patina.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Must get back to being sociable...

 

[rainbowgrease]

Good morning gentlemen.*

I am very confused as to what type of Saphir creme / wax's to get for my shoes, my new 1001 Burnished Tricker's came with cognac wax
but I believe that is only for the medallion / toecap.

Would it be ok to just add neutral wax for the black stow's and finally how do I enrich
dark brown shoes, is burgundy the correct type or cognac?

Thank you in advance for your guidance.

Here's the rundown:

* Tricker's 1001 Burnished.
* Tricker's black stow.
* Loake Cannon Tan calf.
* Vintage Cole Haan dark brown?

 

[jerryberry]

I recently decided to man up and fork over the 400 some dollars to buy some indy boots. When they came, they looked lovely. I sadly to go over the toes lightly with a neutral wax (i have no idea why). While one shoe looked fine, the other shoe was not so lucky. the cracking of the polish is very noticeable even with the slightest creasing of the toe. I have tried brushing off the cracked polish and when i do, it seems to have worked, but once i wear them and crease them in the toe, they begin to crack again. I have even tried using renomat, but sadly, to no avail. Is there anything i can do to fix this?

Here is the right shoe. It appears to be creasing normally.

And here we have the not so lucky left...

 

[jerrybrowne]



I recently decided to man up and fork over the 400 some dollars to buy some indy boots. When they came, they looked lovely. I sadly to go over the toes lightly with a neutral wax (i have no idea why). While one shoe looked fine, the other shoe was not so lucky. the cracking of the polish is very noticeable even with the slightest creasing of the toe. I have tried brushing off the cracked polish and when i do, it seems to have worked, but once i wear them and crease them in the toe, they begin to crack again. I have even tried using renomat, but sadly, to no avail. Is there anything i can do to fix this? Here is the right shoe. It appears to be creasing normally. And here we have the not so lucky left...

Are these chromexel?

 

[jerryberry]

Yes, they are chromexcel.

 

[kwhitelaw]

odd renomat couldnt help

at this point, I'd just wear the hell out of them

 

[kloss]

Are leather chamois appropriate for conditioning shoes, or just for buffing?

 

[Munky]

I recently decided to man up and fork over the 400 some dollars to buy some indy boots. When they came, they looked lovely. I sadly to go over the toes lightly with a neutral wax (i have no idea why). While one shoe looked fine, the other shoe was not so lucky. the cracking of the polish is very noticeable even with the slightest creasing of the toe. I have tried brushing off the cracked polish and when i do, it seems to have worked, but once i wear them and crease them in the toe, they begin to crack again. I have even tried using renomat, but sadly, to no avail. Is there anything i can do to fix this?

Here is the right shoe. It appears to be creasing normally.

And here we have the not so lucky left...

Jerry, obviously, you can see these 'cracks' better that anyone. The boots still look fabulous and - with my eyes - the cracks are barely noticeable. Enjoy your boots!

 

[Numbernine]

This is pretty much normal for cxl I wouldn't wax it though if it were me

Spoiler

I recently decided to man up and fork over the 400 some dollars to buy some indy boots. When they came, they looked lovely. I sadly to go over the toes lightly with a neutral wax (i have no idea why). While one shoe looked fine, the other shoe was not so lucky. the cracking of the polish is very noticeable even with the slightest creasing of the toe. I have tried brushing off the cracked polish and when i do, it seems to have worked, but once i wear them and crease them in the toe, they begin to crack again. I have even tried using renomat, but sadly, to no avail. Is there anything i can do to fix this? Here is the right shoe. It appears to be creasing normally. And here we have the not so lucky left...

[\spoiler]