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

[venividivicibj]

What is this part of the shoe called?

(Ordering a MTO shoe and want the back to be clean, no brogueing or anything like that, but don't know how to explain it)

 

[Ironist]

I may be wrong, but I believe that is called a heel counter? Did I win?

 

[jerrybrowne]



I may be wrong, but I believe that is called a heel counter? Did I win?

Yes, you won.

 

[DWFII]

counter.

 

[RIDER]

Back to some refinishing work this weekend.....

Not sure what happened to the first pics, but these started out as a green color and I worked them over to mid brown with some highlights.....probably hard to see on a cell pic. Not sure why the product Juvacuir never really has been popular in our consumer selling - it's a very easy cream/dye combo that is great for doing some color variations - much easier than dye. But, anyway, the results were good on this one -

 

[namdaemun]

Hey!

I saw a blog post of a guy who dyed his sand suede shoes to a dark brown using Fiebings suede dye. Pretty cool.

So, I thought I should do this to my medium brown cap toe brogues and change the color to a NAVY! I already have dark brown suede chukkas.

Does anyone know how I would go about this without using a cobbler?

Thank you

 

[Munky]

Is it possible to clean and polish your shoes too frequently? What are the possible outcomes?

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Yes. Cracking leather and/or rotting.

 

[Munky]

Well, that doesn't sound ideal, Patrick.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Somewhat less than ideal.

 

[AAJJLLPP]

What is the best way to go about restoring old, dry leather. The object is a vintage leather belt (I know this is a shoe care thread but I figured that it would be the best place to ask). It is made of very thick leather, 11-12 oz by my rough measurements, and has a lovely patina. But the leather is old, dry and quite stiff. When you bend the leather, these little micro cracks appear, much lighter than the rest of the leather. The cracks do not seem to go through the top grain but they do leave a bit of a crease. Oiling the leather helped a little, but not that much. I know just soaking it in oil is probably no a good option, are there any other products/methods that would help minimize the cracking and make the leather more supple?

 

[Reosymes]

I found a pair of Allen Edmonds loafers that I like but there's some discoloration in the back. Crappy picture but you get the idea. Is there any way one can get rid of it? I have Lexol cleaner, Lexol conditioner, and a variety of Kiwi wax polishes with me.

Also, a general question regarding 'mirror shine'. All pictures that I've seen here and at other places have the mirror shine in the toe area, maybe at the sides but nowhere else. Is there a reason for this? Why not do it all the way up the shoe?

Thank you for this great thread!

 

[DWFII]

From the photo, it looks like the finish has been rubbed off somewhat by hitting the shoe with the heel of the other shoe. And maybe those are just rubber marks. Will they come off? maybe...probably not...not entirely.

As for spit shining the whole shoe, any where the shoe flexes, even a little the spit shine will crack and the shine will be lost immediately. But worse the build-up of wax over flexing areas is bad for the leather and will cause cracking of the leather underneath.

 

[Reosymes]

Thanks a lot, DWFII. So, can I use the lexol cleaner to try to take the discoloration off?

 

[Augustus Haynes]

Followed the advice in the OP and I'm not 100% sure on the results. I've ordered a better horsehair brush and don't think a cut up cotton t-shirt is doing enough in terms of the shine.



Shoes are maybe 2 months old and have been worn 5 times. The image quality and light isn't great so they look a bit duller than they actually are. But still not great.