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

[traverscao]

Travers, I don't know where you got this in your head about CXL not being able to be polished well, but it is bizarre to me. Doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. It's leather.

Greasy, oily surface(?)

And saw some of them looking rather horrible after taking wax polish.

 

[traverscao]

As someone with too much time on his hands, I often graze the internet for those shoe-cleaning videos made by handmade shoe companies (the shoes are handmade, not the companies). Almost all of them encourage the use of huge amounts of shoe product. I saw one, yesterday, where the cleaner was busy rubbing loads of shoe cream all over the uppers, over the soles and back. Do they know something that people on this site don't? The mantra, on here, has always been 'less is more'. A lot of the companies who make the shoes seem to suggest 'more is more is more'. Why is this, then, huh? [Huh is an expression I picked up from the US.] Respectfully, Munky.

This explains much why AE's shoes came back sticky as hell - both their shells and calfskin.

 

[traverscao]

Me, too.
Shell wasn't an expensive material, was it?
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w2ZSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4XwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1970,1819820

Back then? Maybe. The environment assures better farming back then, and would result in many more animals, and thus, more hides.

 

[traverscao]

And, Pat, I'll be honest, you're the first I've heard to have been successful pulling off a shine with CXL. Other people I saw had to light fire on the polish in order to achieve a shine. Personally, with something like CXL, I'd always recommend a soft finish.

 

[BostonHedonist]

I used Allen Edmonds colored Cordovan Cream to darken a pair of calf shoes and it worked well...do it small doses and over several sessions would be my advice

Wow, that cordovan cream really does create quite a pronounced effect.

What's all this nonsense about darkening red shoes? I only got my first pair, this week! I hope I don't have a crisis of confidence on their first outing.

Lollipop red Trickers are a beautiful thing, don't get me wrong. But they are quite bright...
(pardon the denim).


I wouldn't necessarily want to darken them severely. But they could do with a bit of texture.

Though it sounds like neatsfoot cream might be playing with fire. Maybe I'll brush a bit of Saphir black around the toe box and see how that works for starters...

My thanks to everyone who's weighed in on my, "crisis of confidence."

 

[Munky]

They are very red, Boston. At the moment, I am tired and emotional but aim to be very confident about wearing them, once it is dry enough.

 

[patrickBOOTH]



Greasy, oily surface(?)

And saw some of them looking rather horrible after taking wax polish.

And, Pat, I'll be honest, you're the first I've heard to have been successful pulling off a shine with CXL. Other people I saw had to light fire on the polish in order to achieve a shine. Personally, with something like CXL, I'd always recommend a soft finish.

Maybe it depends on the type of CXL? They have many varieties of the stuff. The stuff polished didn't seem all that oily, but I know what you're talking about. FWIW, Alden plaintoe bluchers have an oily pull up to them, but it is a very different finish than the 1000 mile boot, which can take a good shine if you spend some time on it.

I think when I want to pull the trigger on my next pair of boots, they will be a captoe balmoral with regular calf at the cap and heel counter and the rest some sort of waxy, or oily leather. I don't know CXL, Hunstman, dunno. This way it avoids the issue entirely.

 

[Carson]

Re: BostonHedonist: Proof that at least one other person wears Tricker's red shoes!

However, he wants to darken them...

He wants them to look more like this, and yes … I also wear red Tricker's! : )

 

[Carson]

Wow, that cordovan cream really does create quite a pronounced effect.


Lollipop red Trickers are a beautiful thing, don't get me wrong. But they are quite bright...
(pardon the denim).


I wouldn't necessarily want to darken them severely. But they could do with a bit of texture.

Though it sounds like neatsfoot cream might be playing with fire. Maybe I'll brush a bit of Saphir black around the toe box and see how that works for starters...

My thanks to everyone who's weighed in on my, "crisis of confidence."

I really think it will be ok, so keep us all posted with your experiment! Mine turned out fine…though perhaps a little darker than I originally wanted, but they look great in sunlight.

 

[Munky]

I always look better in sunlight, too. Just sayin'.

 

[DWFII]



As someone with too much time on his hands, I often graze the internet for those shoe-cleaning videos made by handmade shoe companies (the shoes are handmade, not the companies). Almost all of them encourage the use of huge amounts of shoe product. I saw one, yesterday, where the cleaner was busy rubbing loads of shoe cream all over the uppers, over the soles and back. Do they know something that people on this site don't? The  mantra, on here, has always been 'less is more'. A lot of the companies who make the shoes seem to suggest 'more is more is more'. Why is this, then, huh? [Huh is an expression I picked up from the US.] Respectfully, Munky.

Most importantly, that's what the customer expect. If I lay two hides out on the table for my customer to inspect and one has a mirror finish and the other has a matte finish, most customers will choose the shiny leather every time, regardless of quality...unless I give him a reason to not.

Then the customer expects the shoe to be every bit as shiny as when he saw the leather on the table.

You can see a similar phenomenon here on SF with the emphasis on antique finishes and bulling and simply in the shoes that makers put forward to represent themselves.

I suspect those same makers know...even hope...that the customer won't try to maintain that kind of shine all over for very long.

It goes to an old saying" "Presentation is everything" or "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

 

[traverscao]



Maybe it depends on the type of CXL? They have many varieties of the stuff. The stuff polished didn't seem all that oily, but I know what you're talking about. FWIW, Alden plaintoe bluchers have an oily pull up to them, but it is a very different finish than the 1000 mile boot, which can take a good shine if you spend some time on it.

I think when I want to pull the trigger on my next pair of boots, they will be a captoe balmoral with regular calf at the cap and heel counter and the rest some sort of waxy, or oily leather. I don't know CXL, Hunstman, dunno. This way it avoids the issue entirely.

Best bet design - a galoshed balmoral with the vamp and toe out of thick veg tanned calf with a Horween Wooly, Kudu, Cavalier, or Vintage CXL upper.

 

[patrickBOOTH]



Best bet design - a galoshed balmoral with the vamp and toe out of thick veg tanned calf with a Horween Wooly, Kudu, Cavalier, or Vintage CXL upper.

Whats the difference between Wooly (which I have never heard of), Cavalier, and "vintage" CXL?

As I understand it the only difference between regular CXL is Kudu (which isn't really a kudu hide) is made from calf and not cow.

 

[traverscao]



Whats the difference between Wooly (which I have never heard of), Cavalier, and "vintage" CXL?

As I understand it the only difference between regular CXL is Kudu (which isn't really a kudu hide) is made from calf and not cow.

_Wooly has got heavy lanolin stuffing - softer, mellower.
_Cavalier - can be used for brighter leather, and the appearance tells me the leather is smoother and can take a polish.
_Vintage CXL - vintage look, softer feel.

Kudu was just stuffed and hand curried. They're all cows or calf.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Yeah, I just found this on Horween's site in the comments section on the different Chromexcels:

-Aniline Chromexcel WP – the classic, hot stuffed pull-up leather
-Beaufort Chromexcel – the same as the above, but with a different oil/wax blend. Designed to be cementable due to less oil.
-Wooly Chromexcel – receives a different stuffing blend with a heavy addition of wool grease (lanolin)
-Plainsman Chromexcel – A duller version with a more pronounced grain character
-Kudu Chromexcel – Plainsman that has been hand-curried (oiled by hand)
-Cavalier Chromexcel – Similar to Beaufort, with a lighter colored base tannage, allowing us to produce brighter colors.
-Huntsman – a.k.a. Waxed Flesh, this version is finished on the flesh side, give it a slicked-down-suede look
-Casual Chromexcel – A mellow (softer) version with less pull-up
-Stampede Chromexcel – Chromexcel with a matte, nubuck finish
-Marine Field Shoe – A natural, flesh out version tanned for the use in boots during WWII (North African Theater)
-Natural M’s Chromexcel – A heavy, mechanical leather used for oil seals
-Glace Chromexcel – A version with a high gloss finish
-Vintage Chromexcel – softer with a slightly pre-aged look
Just about all of the above can be run on either cowhide or horsehide.

I wonder what Glace Chromexcel looks like?