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

[mstone]

Just wanted to give a shout out to Glen and his fantastic customer service. He went the extra mile and addressed the issue above. I will be purchasing his products again. grateful.

 

[SWRT]

Hey, guys. First post here and it's probably a bit big, but there's
so many varying ideas.

I'm pretty new to shoe care and obviously I haven't read through
most of this thread, but I plan to get a good bit into it. I recently
bought some Florsheim Markham shoes and so far I've used only
shoe cream to put a bit of color into them. They're saddle shoes and
they have a brown and blue/gray on them. I found a decent shoe
cream to apply on the brown, but what can I use for the blue/gray?

I've been reading up all over different places lately and I've heard
of putting lotion on the gray part since some things may not match
well. Is this a bad idea? I have gray wool pants and dont want it leeching
color into them or anything (not sure if that could happen).

So far it's looking like Meltonian Charcoal is going to be my best
bet. I dont mind if it turns the shoe a bit more gray than with the
hints of blue. And will the shoe cream alone actually provide any
protection or will it just condition the leather while adding a bit of color?

Here's, currently, what the shoes look like after the shoe cream on the
brown only. I just want to add some protection to it before I go outside
with them everywhere in case they get wet or something. No sense
ruining new shoes by not knowing how to take care of them.



I've seen that a lot of people swear by Saphir products and to be
honest I'm not sure what the Renovateur really does. Do you use
that before you do anything else to the shoe? Is it for removing the
previous polish before you apply new stuff? Is their shoe cream and
polish the best?

Like I said, I'm a complete noob when it comes to taking care of shoes
so any help would be appreciated. Sorry for the ton of questions. Thanks
guys!

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Use neutral if you're worried about the color. I think you should take some time and read through this thread. There is a ton of information and it is bound to be an enjoyable experience.

 

[SWRT]

I appreciate it.
Is neutral essentially clear?

And I definitely plan to devote many lunch breaks to this thread.
I just didnt want to wear the shoes too much without adding some
form of protection over the whole thing.

 

[SuitedDx]

This is more of a shoe repair question: what type of tool do cobblers use to install taps.

Since I moved to MI, it's been hard trying to find someone that has metal taps and installs them neatly (I'm 0 for 2 so far) so I figure to try myself.

Rubber mallet or steel hammer? Another option? I've used a steel hammer and it seems to do the trick but I figure to ask.

 

[barky]

This is more of a shoe repair question: what type of tool do cobblers use to install taps.

Since I moved to MI, it's been hard trying to find someone that has metal taps and installs them neatly (I'm 0 for 2 so far) so I figure to try myself.

Rubber mallet or steel hammer? Another option? I've used a steel hammer and it seems to do the trick but I figure to ask.

See the St Crispin video posted in the Leatherfoot's fb. Somewhere towards the end.

 

[xizenta]



A friend asked me if I can do anything to change the sad toneless uniformity of the Loake Dark brown (Berkeley model 1880 line), this is the result, just finished:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

A cheap looking brogue without any character is now a very attractive shoes, the original leather colour was a chocolate brown without any undertone or burnishing, so I've tried to enhance the contrast brown/black.

I've used:
Renomat and Acetone to strip the colour of the uppers except the broguering areas to preserve the contrast.
Saphir mdo lotion as conditioner, and saphir creme in medium brown / dark brown and lot of black in the broguering for recolouring.
Swapped also the shoelaces with a matte black pair, always to enhance the constrast.

This is cool. Can this be done to any dark leather oxfords to give some multi tones and lighten the color a bit? There's a model of Allen Edmonds on sale nearby I really like, but the color is an unfortunate and uninspiring monotonous dark brown. Wish I could get it to more of a walnut. I'm going to look for more information about possibly lightening them.

 

[patrickBOOTH]



I appreciate it.
Is neutral essentially clear?

And I definitely plan to devote many lunch breaks to this thread.
I just didnt want to wear the shoes too much without adding some

form of protection over the whole thing.

New shoes don't really require much of anything. I wouldn't worry. Yes, neutral is essentially just a non-pigment product made to raise a shine without adding color.

This is cool. Can this be done to any dark leather oxfords to give some multi tones and lighten the color a bit? There's a model of Allen Edmonds on sale nearby I really like, but the color is an unfortunate and uninspiring monotonous dark brown. Wish I could get it to more of a walnut. I'm going to look for more information about possibly lightening them.

You aren't going to lighten shoes significantly, or quickly using a lighter polish alone. You'd have to do some stripping and dyeing using an alcohol based dye like Feibings.

 

[xizenta]



You aren't going to lighten shoes significantly, or quickly using a lighter polish alone. You'd have to do some stripping and dyeing using an alcohol based dye like Feibings.

Ok, I realize I'm going to have to strip some color off. Can anyone point me to a guide? The shoe is the brown Clifton by the way. I could always buy it in Walnut but i'm kind of DIY fiend anyway .

 

[patrickBOOTH]

If they sell them in walnut I would buy them in walnut if thats what you want. I mean you could do it yourself, but then you could always make your own shoes, yes? Anything you do to turn them walnut will inherently cause some damage and stress to the uppers in the process. Wiser to just buy them in that shade if they come that way from the manufacturer.

 

[Stirling]

Pb is

 

[Stirling]

Right

 

[SWRT]

Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. I'll get some neutral to throw on there and start enjoying them And I'm going to research this thread a bit

 

[laufer]

Hey guys,

Does anyone of you know how to produce bleached effect on your shoes like this finish of Vintage Rioja with so called bleached antiquing.

More pictures and description on this address

http://www.zimmermannkim.com/blog/2013/03/19/gaziano-girling-cambridge-in-custom-vintage-rioja/

 

[patrickBOOTH]