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

[San780]

Hope it helps.

Before you do any soaking, show us what the shoes look like so we can give you advice.

As you say, there's nothing to lose right now, so it's either the dump or this works, just be careful of green mold. Once your shoes get moldy, there's not much you can do as the leather can be ruined entirely, and you definitely have to resole.

Plus, as someone else mentioned, you might even ruin the shoe trees.

Of course, Sir. Will show you the pics after it’s done drying.

I’m keeping the shoes in an airy place so that should technically work.

 

[JFWR]

Of course, Sir. Will show you the pics after it’s done drying.

I’m keeping the shoes in an airy place so that should technically work.

Yes, that's good. Keep them elevated if possible, too, so they aren't on the floor. On some grating of some sort would be nice if you have any available.

 

[florent]

Does it look like bookbinder?

Definitely not bookbinder

 

[Goofy]

Good point actually. Even Church’s does bookbinder so why not Heschung, I suppose. You might have a valid point there. Unfortunately I discovered them only last week. Please find the pic below as I found them (after brushing them a bit). Does it look like bookbinder? In my opinion, the leather was too matte for it to be bookbinder...

View attachment 1465656

It doesn’t appear to be, but it’s hard to tell. Given the shoes are old, the coating may have worn off over time due to wear or it may be covered in dirt. An easy way to determine whether it’s bookbinder leather is to try to rehydrate a small portion of a heavily creased are. Untreated leather should smoothen out after application of lotion or renovating cream, whereas in bookbinder leather the creases should persist due to the coating preventing the lotion or cream from penetrating the leather beneath.

Or else apply a tiny bit of cream or lotion to a small area followed by a vigorous rub with a damp cloth. If this brings out a shine, then it’s certainly bookbinder leather.

 

[San780]

It doesn’t appear to be, but it’s hard to tell. Given the shoes are old, the coating may have worn off over time due to wear. An easy way to determine whether it’s bookbinder leather is to try to rehydrate a small portion of a heavily wrinkled are. Untreated leather should smoothen out after application of lotion or renovating cream, whereas in bookbinder leather the creases should persist due to the coating preventing the lotion or cream from penetrating the leather beneath.

Thanks for the tip. Already tried it and it seems that it isn’t bookbinder.

Yes, that's good. Keep them elevated if possible, too, so they aren't on the floor. On some grating of some sort would be nice if you have any available.

Done, Sir. Thank you.

Definitely not bookbinder

Thought so. Merci, Florent.

 

[Munky]

Thoughts about shoe care: observe the KISS principle, exercise parsimony, use Occam's Razor, remember that simplicity is genius. If in doubt, leave them alone. Yours truly, Munky.

 

[nevaeh]

Thoughts about shoe care: observe the KISS principle, exercise parsimony, use Occam's Razor, remember that simplicity is genius. If in doubt, leave them alone. Yours truly, Munky.

And even too much of "good" things can sometimes be bad! For example, my cobbler once repremanded me for using Renovateur too frequently--it left an oily layer. And here I thought I was only nourishing my shoes with the "liquid gold" stuff.

 

[CWL317]

Is there any danger in mixing different brands of polish?

 

[nevaeh]

Is there any danger in mixing different brands of polish?

I don't think so, as long as they are all quality products and you are not applying too much. Something to consider, though, is that you may get an interesting patina, because polishes from different brands may have different colors.

 

[CWL317]

I don't think so, as long as they are all quality products and you are not applying too much. Something to consider, though, is that you may get an interesting patina, because polishes from different brands may have different colors.

thanks! I’m going to burnish up some new shoes and want to play around with different shades

 

[JFWR]

Is there any danger in mixing different brands of polish?

Nope; however, be careful that the ingredients are good. Lower-quality polishes, like Kiwi, have lots of silicones and petroleum stuff in them. I'd stick with the higher quality stuff.

That being said, Kiwi is not nearly as bad for shoes as some people make it out to be.

 

[Shoedreams]

Hi Styleforum! Having been a near-on 10 year long lurker, I finally decided to become active and hope to receive help from this forums crowd wisdom! I have been getting quite into shoeshining but I have been noticing some uneven coloring on the polished areas, both the heel and the toe caps that becomes apparent after a high mirror shine and under strong light. I assume the discoloration is being made visible after the wax polishing stage and am curious about your opinions on why this arises and what could be done against it. Is it the leathers fault or me doing something wrong?
Insights highly appreciated!

 

[Goofy]

Hi Styleforum! Having been a near-on 10 year long lurker, I finally decided to become active and hope to receive help from this forums crowd wisdom! I have been getting quite into shoeshining but I have been noticing some uneven coloring on the polished areas, both the heel and the toe caps that becomes apparent after a high mirror shine and under strong light. I assume the discoloration is being made visible after the wax polishing stage and am curious about your opinions on why this arises and what could be done against it. Is it the leathers fault or me doing something wrong?
Insights highly appreciated!
View attachment 1466579 View attachment 1466574 View attachment 1466575

This problem mainly arises when hand painted crust leather is treated with creams or lotions like bick4 or saphir renovateur. Besides conditioning and softening the leather these products also strip some of the paint which result in an uneven discoloration. The way to remedy this is to add pigment by evenly applying coats of colored waxes or creams before working up a high polish shine. Neutral colored shoe cream or wax may also strip some of the underlying pigment while being applied.

Tannery dyed leather which is thoroughly dyed during the tanning proces is less likely to develop this problem.

So next time you shine your shoes, add generous amounts of pigment before working up that shine and it should be alright.

 

[Mickson]

I have Morjas PTB in dark brown (see pic) I really like the red-ish color. However, I don't know what color I should choose for my shoe cream. I was thinking about dark brown, then again, it is better with mahogany? Or maybe havana? Please help!

 

[Shoedreams]

This problem mainly arises when hand painted crust leather is treated with creams or lotions like bick4 or saphir renovateur. Besides conditioning and softening the leather these products also strip some of the paint which result in an uneven discoloration. The way to remedy this is to add pigment by evenly applying coats of colored waxes or creams before working up a high polish shine. Neutral colored shoe cream or wax may also strip some of the underlying pigment while being applied.

Tannery dyed leather which is thoroughly dyed during the tanning proces is less likely to develop this problem.

So next time you shine your shoes, add generous amounts of pigment before working up that shine and it should be alright.

So the marks are not dark discoloration from shoe cream but rather spots where tanning has been removed?
I don't know whether the leather on these shoes is crust leather, I just assumed factory tanning. Would the cause of the discoloration be the same if it were in fact factory tanned?

In any case, I will test your recommendation next time I work on the shoes!