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

[willyto]

No need to do anything. It's actually better because it will dry quicker when you apply it.

 

[troika]

I actually don't know, a second hand purchasing TBH. Just droped a msg to the seller regarding this.

Return if you can, it can be fixed but it's a pain, especially since you can force a return if you weren't appropriately notified of the stain. Unless you got a killer deal and are willing to put in work, release this fish back into the ocean.

 

[Encore]

@troika Thank you for the kind advice,

I forgot to update the group, I used the Two Face Plus Lotion from BootBlack

I put the damped cloth (using Two Face Lotion) on the upper for some time until the cloth is dried, and repeated a couple times, I forgot to take a final photo but attached is the photo after repeating 3 times, the stain is significantly lighter, I repeated twice more after taking the photo and the stain is almost gone.

 

[The Apostle]

This doesn't really count as shoe care, but I couldn't find a thread that was dedicated to, modifications? I also didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of starting a thread for my first post.

Quick overview... I have many pairs or dress shoes ranging from crappy JM's I'll wear on snowy days to AE's, Magnanis and Mezlans. I've been reading the forum for a while and looking for the right time to make an account and post. I guess this is it.

I just purchased my first pair of eBay shoes. They are a pair of AE Sanford (Oxblood, I think) and they appear to be bookbinder / Corrected. So, here's my question.

Can that crappy shine be removed? Keep in mind, I paid $15 for these. I don't care at all if I try and ultimately throw them in the trash. I don't care how advanced of a process or labor intensive the this project might be, if even possible. I only care about, can it be done.

I feel like it can and here's why. I started with Acetone and quickly realized the surface started to look worse. Sticky and tough to rub the Acetone in. Then I started going back and forth from Acetone to Running Alcohol. The RA seemd to act as a lubricant and help the process. After heavy rubbing and a few back and forths of Acetone to RA and, again and again it's slowly coming off. Is there an easier way? Is it futile? Will it come off and then never look good?

All answers welcome. I'm even fully prepared to be flamed! ??

 

[Munky]

Hello and welcome! You may, by some means or other, be able to remove the corrective coating of your shoes but you won't be able to do much after that. As you will know, the coating is used to cover inferior leather that is not, itself, going to take a shine. I don't know how you remove the finish on corrected grain shoes but only know I wouldn't do it. One caveat is that not all 'corrections' are the same - but that is another story. If in doubt, leave the top layer alone.

All of the above is dependent on your shoes really being made of corrected grain leather. I live on the other side of the pond and I am not familiar with AE Sandford shoes. I do note, though, that they were made in corrected grain pairs and regular grain pairs.

With very best wishes, Munky.

 

[The Apostle]

Hello and welcome! You may, by some means or other, be able to remove the corrective coating of your shoes but you won't be able to do much after that. As you will know, the coating is used to cover inferior leather that is not, itself, going to take a shine. I don't know how you remove the finish on corrected grain shoes but only know I wouldn't do it. One caveat is that not all 'corrections' are the same - but that is another story. If in doubt, leave the top layer alone.

All of the above is dependent on your shoes really being made of corrected grain leather. I live on the other side of the pond and I am not familiar with AE Sandford shoes. I do note, though, that they were made in corrected grain pairs and regular grain pairs.

With very best wishes, Munky.

Thanks for the reply. In case anyone asks, here's a pic I have to show the leather.

 

[1up]

Is this cracking across the vamp from dryness, and just needs a good condition, or is it from caked on polish/wax and needs to be stripped a bit?

 

[Luigi_M]

^^ I'd say both. Nice shoes, by the way.

 

[1up]

Thanks! Carmina in the Simpson last!

I have Saphir Renovateur, but I've never tried stripping off some polish/wax. Do I need to buy Saphir Reno'mat and apply it to that isolated area, or the whole shoe?

 

[Luigi_M]

I'd follow @Munky 's wisdom and just brush a lot. A little renovateur might help. I, for myself, use GlenKaren (now Pure Polish) Cleaner/conditioner and find it very effective.
I never used Renomat, but I'd stay away from it - for sure you'd better not use it on isolated areas, unless you want a zebra shoe

 

[eTrojan]

Hello and welcome! You may, by some means or other, be able to remove the corrective coating of your shoes but you won't be able to do much after that. As you will know, the coating is used to cover inferior leather that is not, itself, going to take a shine. I don't know how you remove the finish on corrected grain shoes but only know I wouldn't do it. One caveat is that not all 'corrections' are the same - but that is another story. If in doubt, leave the top layer alone.

All of the above is dependent on your shoes really being made of corrected grain leather. I live on the other side of the pond and I am not familiar with AE Sandford shoes. I do note, though, that they were made in corrected grain pairs and regular grain pairs.

With very best wishes, Munky.

I’ll respectfully disagree with @Munky here.

Yes, you can do it. Whether or not you should depends on several factors.

Several members of the Vintage Shoe Appreciation thread have successfully stripped the plastic overcoat from their CG shoes. Of late, I would posit that the chemical of choice is paint stripper. If you can find a couple of the example posts, they often name their brand of choice.

Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

"They don't make them like that anymore." This saying is especially true when it comes to dress shoes that were made in the USA. In prior decades US had numerous dress shoe brands that included lines of excellent, classic and well built shoes. Nettleton, Hanover, Alden, Allen Edmonds...

www.styleforum.net

Results vary considerably, and to some degree it depends on what you plan to do with the shoe afterwards. AE from the 1980s have pretty high quality leather under the correction layer. Apparently, the CG was mostly for convenience of care, not to cover inferior leather. They can be dyed and polished pretty easily.

Most of those who have done it are trying to remove old cracked CG coating to resurrect what is a structurally sound shoe. They usually find an adequate leather underneath to color and polish. I think most do it for the sake of doing it, to better understand the process.

It is not easy. It is a lot of work. But folks seem to find it rewarding in a perverse sort of way. Kind of like accomplishing the impossible.

YMMV

 

[Reiver]

I’ll respectfully disagree with @Munky here.

Yes, you can do it. Whether or not you should depends on several factors.

Several members of the Vintage Shoe Appreciation thread have successfully stripped the plastic overcoat from their CG shoes. Of late, I would posit that the chemical of choice is paint stripper. If you can find a couple of the example posts, they often name their brand of choice.

Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

"They don't make them like that anymore." This saying is especially true when it comes to dress shoes that were made in the USA. In prior decades US had numerous dress shoe brands that included lines of excellent, classic and well built shoes. Nettleton, Hanover, Alden, Allen Edmonds...

www.styleforum.net

Results vary considerably, and to some degree it depends on what you plan to do with the shoe afterwards. AE from the 1980s have pretty high quality leather under the correction layer. Apparently, the CG was mostly for convenience of care, not to cover inferior leather. They can be dyed and polished pretty easily.

Most of those who have done it are trying to remove old cracked CG coating to resurrect what is a structurally sound shoe. They usually find an adequate leather underneath to color and polish. I think most do it for the sake of doing it, to better understand the process.

It is not easy. It is a lot of work. But folks seem to find it rewarding in a perverse sort of way. Kind of like accomplishing the impossible.

YMMV

I suppose if the shoe is so far gone cosmetically that there’s nothing to lose then why not have a go.

I would imagine the majority of corrected grain leather is of lower quality but like you say there are some higher quality CG’s, Church and C&J for example have polished binder and cavalry calf which I’m sure are decent quality.

 

[Reiver]

Thanks! Carmina in the Simpson last!

I have Saphir Renovateur, but I've never tried stripping off some polish/wax. Do I need to buy Saphir Reno'mat and apply it to that isolated area, or the whole shoe?

I would imagine a light application of renovateur might help to take a few layers of built up polish off.

I agree with @Luigi_M that you should avoid renomat in this case. I don’t think they need anything so drastic.

A light coat of similar coloured quality shoe cream afterwards, leave to dry and then plenty of brushing may help.

I can’t see any cracks really and think the shoes look in good shape. If anything it’s possibly just a light wax build up emphasising the creases a bit.

I rarely use much wax polish on the vamp area, more so on the toe and heel counter.

 

[Reiver]

Thanks for the reply. In case anyone asks, here's a pic I have to show the leather.

View attachment 1312711

Hard to be sure if that is corrected grain or not from that photo.

It may be the lighting but they don’t look too bad to me.

One test can be to put some droplets of water on the surface and if they don’t penetrate straight into the leather then it most likely has a corrective coating on top. Unless of course it’s something like a zug grain leather which seems to resist water penetration quite well.

 

[eTrojan]

I suppose if the shoe is so far gone cosmetically that there’s nothing to lose then why not have a go.

I would imagine the majority of corrected grain leather is of lower quality but like you say there are some higher quality CG’s, Church and C&J for example have polished binder and cavalry calf which I’m sure are decent quality.

There are Florsheim CG from the late-90s to early-00s that are complete and utter disasters, not worthy of the effort. The CG starts to looks like lizard scales, and the underlying leather is garbage. Older shoes from quality manufacturers seem to fare better.