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

[JFWR]

Thanks guys

Yes I have watched some of Kirby's videos and others

I have been using conditioner with my fingers

I used a cotton cloth/rag for the conditioner. Do you just reuse the same rag/cloth/chamois?

Dauber seems like it is easier to just keep reusing and then for tight edge I can use my finger, but not sure

I rinse my chamois out every few months when I have covered every part of it in cream/wax and no longer can find a fresh spot. Until then, I just use a clean part of the rag. Some people just toss it, too. Either way works. An old t-shirt makes a fine chamois.

I like the tooth-brush like daubers, as you can get down into the welt easily with that. I will use a dab of the conditioner on one of those so I can make sure the welt gets moisturized.

 

[nzahir]

Are plastic gloves ok for cream/wax?

Seems to not really matter what you use, but you need to rub it in well and not use too much

 

[JFWR]

Are plastic gloves ok for cream/wax?

Seems to not really matter what you use, but you need to rub it in well and not use too much

Yes. Dornstar does that on YouTube.

 

[Munky]

Selvyt cleaning and polishing cloths are very good. The are made of unbleached cotton and can be thrown in the washing machine. Recommended by the British military for bulling boots. One side is smooth and the other side has a nap finish. They are lint free. The idea is that you use the smooth side for applying polish and the nap side for buffing. They come in a range of sizes and my experience has been that the largest are most useful. Micro fibre cloths are great for a final buffing.

These days, I use my finger to apply cream. It gives me more control over where the cream is going and allows me to keep it off the white stitched welts of my Tricker's. If I used it, I would do the same with wax. More important than what you use to put on polish, perhaps, is having two brushes. One for regular, everyday brushing and one for brushing after the cream has dried. I have lots of them, paired off according to colour. For day-to-day brushing, I use giant Collonil Collector's brushes. They not only do the job very well but also do it quickly.

 

[JFWR]

Selvyt cleaning and polishing cloths are very good. The are made of unbleached cotton and can be thrown in the washing machine. Recommended by the British military for bulling boots. One side is smooth and the other side has a nap finish. They are lint free. The idea is that you use the smooth side for applying polish and the nap side for buffing. They come in a range of sizes and my experience has been that the largest are most useful. Micro fibre cloths are great for a final buffing.

These days, I use my finger to apply cream. It gives me more control over where the cream is going and allows me to keep it off the white stitched welts of my Tricker's. If I used it, I would do the same with wax. More important than what you use to put on polish, perhaps, is having two brushes. One for regular, everyday brushing and one for brushing after the cream has dried. I have lots of them, paired off according to colour. For day-to-day brushing, I use giant Collonil Collector's brushes. They not only do the job very well but also do it quickly.

I'll have to try that cloth.

 

[Goofy]

I prefer applying conditioner and cream by hand. I wear latex gloves for protection from possible harmful chemicals that some products may contain. Better safe than sorry.

I use a goat hair brush for everyday use. It‘s so soft that it won’t damage the finishing of polished shoes.

 

[Munky]

@Luigi_M

On lowering, finally, the tone of my red shoes:

Is bliss, then, such abyss
I must not put my foot amiss
For fear I spoil my shoe?

Hope you are well and very best wishes
Munky

 

[te0o]

Lately when I've been bored, I've been improving on the mirror shine on my EG 915 captoe oxfords. That's the latest result:

For some reason, only on those shoes, I've had some trouble getting rid of the nasty micro scratches on the mirror shine that develop after the final buffing. Would be great to hear how some of you have handled this.

 

[JFWR]

Lately when I've been bored, I've been improving on the mirror shine on my EG 915 captoe oxfords. That's the latest result:

View attachment 1482273
View attachment 1482274

For some reason, only on those shoes, I've had some trouble getting rid of the nasty micro scratches on the mirror shine that develop after the final buffing. Would be great to hear how some of you have handled this.

Try a coat of regular saphir pate de luxe first, and if that doesn't work, then use a blow drier to slightly melt the surface, then buff gently.

 

[audog]

Lately when I've been bored, I've been improving on the mirror shine on my EG 915 captoe oxfords. That's the latest result:

View attachment 1482273
View attachment 1482274

For some reason, only on those shoes, I've had some trouble getting rid of the nasty micro scratches on the mirror shine that develop after the final buffing. Would be great to hear how some of you have handled this.

Dauummmmm!

 

[BoydsShoes]

I use Saphir Hermes Red on my oxblood shoes. It looks fantastic.

Me too.

 

[Luigi_M]

@Luigi_M

On lowering, finally, the tone of my red shoes:

Is bliss, then, such abyss
I must not put my foot amiss
For fear I spoil my shoe?

Hope you are well and very best wishes
Munky

I'm fine Munky, and I'm sure you are too. Brave move with your Tricker boots!
Since I didn't know your quote, I could not help but google it.
I usually try not to do so, but "I can resist everything except shoes".

 

[Munky]

Me too.

I want to try this. I am thinking about putting Hermes red on the toe caps of my Tricker's Kudu Sign shoes. Has anyone put coloured cream on Kudu? The usual advice is to wipe down with a damp cloth, occasionally and otherwise just brush them. My kind of shoes! But, as the Tricker's have red/brown and burgundy shades in them, it would be nice to brighten up the toe caps.

This does, though, seem a bit contradictory coming from someone who has just reduced the redness of another pair of Tricker's. We are, I fear, not rational people. Yours in shoes, Munky

 

[Munky]

I want to try this. I am thinking about putting Hermes red on the toe caps of my Tricker's Kudu Sign shoes. Has anyone put coloured cream on Kudu? The usual advice is to wipe down with a damp cloth, occasionally and otherwise just brush them. My kind of shoes! But, as the Tricker's have red/brown and burgundy shades in them, it would be nice to brighten up the toe caps.

This does, though, seem a bit contradictory coming from someone who has just reduced the redness of another pair of Tricker's. We are, I fear, not rational people. Yours in shoes, Munky

[PS] I missed the point here, entirely. One of the things that makes Kudu such an interesting leather is the fact that it has an uneven colour. No two pieces of the leather are particularly similar and Tricker's Kudu shoes are burnished to highlight this. To use red polish on the toe caps would be to disregard this and be an attempt to 'normalise' the colour of the shoes. Highly recommended shoes, by the way. Yours, Munky.

 

[JFWR]

@Luigi_M and @Munky

Yet each man shines the shoes he loves
By this let each be heard
Some do it with a horse hair brush
Others with cloths till wax unblurs
The poor man uses a kiwi tin
The rich saphir his toes confers!