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

[patrickBOOTH]

What do you mean? I prefer emulsified oils because they are absorbed easier, also it limits over saturations of oil.

 

[rostov]

All that said...and as nebulous as this may sound...do you love your shoes? If you love something or someone, you love them for what they are, not what you wish they were. If you aren't willing to avoid getting your outsoles soaked; if you can't be accepting of the wear you incur when you do; if you don't like the fact that leather outsoles probably wear faster than rubber, then don't buy shoes with leather outsoles.

Thanks-

It's just that I feel I wear through my soles very quickly. I was careful with my AE Strands, pampering them, staying out of water, etc... but after 30 wearings or so, I needed to resole. Where I live, we do have quite a lot of salt on the roads, so it's possible this had an effect.

We condition and wax our uppers, so it's reasonable to consider if we might protect the bottoms, especially from salt and water. If there was an advised product for protecting them against water and salt and that might extend its life, I'd buy a bottle. If there isn't, then, as you suggest, I just have to deal with it.

I use leather honey and have been happy for my shoes that see wet weather.

Sounds like a toppy may be your friend.

Certainly, I was referring primarily to water protection. I've heard of people using Leather Honey and this was what prompted the question, realizing this might be something that others do. Because wet soles wear faster, I thought this could extend their life. Amazon reviews seem to imply that Leather Honey was originally formulated for treating leather soles...

Also, yes, I have taken to having the AE v-thread applied when it comes to recrafting, or I outright order shoes with rubber of some sort (Dainite, v-thread, or lug soles).

 

[traverscao]

What do you mean? I prefer emulsified oils because they are absorbed easier, also it limits over saturations of oil.

"Fat on lean" - light coats, one at a time, even with emulsified oils, based on what everyone here went through, including you ;D

 

[DWFII]



Thanks-

It's just that I feel I wear through my soles very quickly. I was careful with my AE Strands, pampering them, staying out of water, etc... but after 30 wearings or so, I needed to resole. Where I live, we do have quite a lot of salt on the roads, so it's possible this had an effect.

We condition and wax our uppers, so it's reasonable to consider if we might protect the bottoms, especially from salt and water.  If there was an advised product for protecting them against water and salt and that might extend its life, I'd buy a bottle. If there isn't, then, as you suggest, I just have to deal with it.

It was Cavalier (not Esquire) that the made the fluorocarbon based water repellent--Protect-All. I dunno if they still make it.

I have also experimented with various silicone based water-repellents. No real gain.

But you have to understand that leather is a fiber mat. The fibers are bound to each other by their proximity and nature and collagens.

So when you apply oils and greases you are lubricating the fiber mat--the fibers have a greater propensity/ability to slide past each other. That's the reason stretching a shoe is done wet. That's the reason why over-oiling a shoe will make it soggy and sloppy on your foot.

And bark tanned leather is significantly different than chrome tanned leather. It is a drier tannage and wants to stay drier.

 

[traverscao]

It was Cavalier (not Esquire) that the made the fluorocarbon based water repellent--Protect-All. I dunno if they still make it.

I have also experimented with various silicone based water-repellents. No real gain.

But you have to understand that leather is a fiber mat. The fibers are bound to each other by their proximity and nature and collagens.

So when you apply oils and greases you are lubricating the fiber mat--the fibers have a greater propensity/ability to slide past each other. That's the reason stretching a shoe is done wet. That's the reason why over-oiling a shoe will make it soggy and sloppy on your foot.

And bark tanned leather is significantly different than chrome tanned leather. It is a drier tannage and wants to stay drier.

Silicone doesn't do a damn good to leather but suffocates them, right?

And as of oiling and greasing, I hope you believe the same thing I do - "fat on lean" is the top rule.

 

[AAJJLLPP]

Yes they are all non-polar and will mix, but at room temperature the state of the carnauba and beeswax will harden again. Either there is a solvent to keep it soft, it needs a bit of body heat to make it soft, or something else. I've wondered this about Saphir's Renovateur, creme universelle and others where they claim they are "water-based" but are very creamy. As, I am sure you know, water IS polar and WON'T mix with those oils so I am at a loss at how they form a creamy emulsion. The only thing I can think of is solvent, but they don't really smell of VOC's.

If enough there is a large enough percentage of oils, it will be soft enough to apply at room temperature.

Solvent is not the only way to mix water with oils and waxes, you can also create emulsions using emulsifying waxes. They work on the principle that the water and waxes/oils do not dissolve with each other, but the wax hardens enough after a thorough mixing to suspend water molecules throughout the mixture. This will give a mixture that is much softer than the waxes alone at room temperature. After the mixture is spread out, the water will evaporate. I do not know much about emulsifying waxes but i believe most of them are petroleum distillates, and would be poor for your shoes. That said you can make an emulsion with beeswax by adding a little bit of borax to the mix. I do not quite understand how this works on the molecular level, but the little bit of borax will allow you to make a homogenous mixture of water and beeswax, as well as any other oils/waxes you want to throw in the mix.

I am not sure however whether or not borax would be harmful to leather if it was used in shoe care products.

 

[traverscao]

Yes they are all non-polar and will mix, but at room temperature the state of the carnauba and beeswax will harden again. Either there is a solvent to keep it soft, it needs a bit of body heat to make it soft, or something else. I've wondered this about Saphir's Renovateur, creme universelle and others where they claim they are "water-based" but are very creamy. As, I am sure you know, water IS polar and WON'T mix with those oils so I am at a loss at how they form a creamy emulsion. The only thing I can think of is solvent, but they don't really smell of VOC's.

Saphir Reno and Creme Universelle, at any rate, MUST contain a fair amount of solvent in them. Other than that, consider one other mysterious ingredient in these products as an emulsifying wax.

Crazy thought - I think they may just mix milk into the product, regarding how "creamy" the texture is, and how milk is just emulsified oils LOL!!!

Or, suspiciously, it may have involved ammonia or any other kind of chemical based agents. There are technologies to deodorized these chems, so, it makes sense if we cannot detect them effectively.

 

[mry8s]

Shoe polishes could probably be comprised of typical food emulsifiers like lecithin or mustard too. Who knows. I'm no shoe grease chemist.

For what it's worth, milk is mechanically homogenized. The process used essentially breaks down the fat globs into tiny particles that disperse in the milk so you don't notice they are present. I suppose you could do the same with polishes, but I doubt that's how it's done.

I did run across one druggists reference in google books that suggested borax as an emulsifier. @AAJJLLPP mentioned that...

 

[traverscao]

Hence forth, gentlemen, with many deodorizing technologies, and with these researches, we can confirm our suspicion that almost all shoe polishes, including the mysterious Saphir of Avel, contains a large amount of unknown man made chemicals in their products.

 

[traverscao]

Gentlemen,

How do you take care of lint strands sticking on smooth leather shoes? Sometimes I have to pry them out VERY meticulously with the tip of a small knife or so in order to get rid of them.

 

[cbfn]

Lint from what?

 

[traverscao]

Don't you use cloths for applications of polish and polishing the leather? AND get them from trouser cuffs/hems and God-knows-where?

 

[cbfn]

I use shoe bags, never had lint from them. And if lint is sticking to your shoes, aren't they a bit sticky?

 

[traverscao]

No no no Christian, you're not getting me right. I have this problem where lint from applicator cloth, along with the product (polish, conditioner, lotion), sticks and adhere to the surface, and are annoying as ****.

As of shoe bags, it depends. Some required laundering before use.

 

[Fred G. Unn]

I've never had any lint issues either, and I store all of mine treed, in bags, on a rack. I keep a brush on my dresser that I use for lint and dirt. Before putting shoes on and after taking them off I give them a quick brushing to remove any lint, dust, dirt, whatever. What type of cloth are you using? I've just never encountered that issue.