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

[Romeomikehotel]

Want to start using a cotton chamois for applying cream polish. Between uses how do I go about washing it?

I take all my shoe care rags and hand wash them all in a bucket with dish soap

 

[mosy]

I take all my shoe care rags and hand wash them all in a bucket with dish soap

Thanks. And then you rinse with clean water under the tap I assume? (Excuse my ignorance pls.)

 

[Romeomikehotel]

Thanks. And then you rinse with clean water under the tap I assume? (Excuse my ignorance pls.)

Exactly

 

[Munky]

I take all my shoe care rags and hand wash them all in a bucket with dish soap

Just put them in the washing machine and tumble them dry. Nothing awful happens.

 

[M635Guy]

Want to start using a cotton chamois for applying cream polish. Between uses how do I go about washing it?

I think the general recommendation is "don't wash it" - keep different cloths for different colors and just run 'em.

 

[starro]

I'm not sure if the two above me are tongue in cheek or in earnest. But washing polish cloth with the rest of laundry runs the risk of transferring the colored polish to your clothes. Not washing it at all leaves a dry hardened mess. Just soak in soapy water, scrub, rinse, dry. Simple.

I also don't know what's the point of buying fancy cloths for just applying the polish. Any rag will do, so why spend $$ on it?

 

[Munky]

I'm not sure if the two above me are tongue in cheek or in earnest. But washing polish cloth with the rest of laundry runs the risk of transferring the colored polish to your clothes. Not washing it at all leaves a dry hardened mess. Just soak in soapy water, scrub, rinse, dry. Simple.

I also don't know what's the point of buying fancy clothes for just applying the polish. Any rag will do, so why spend $$ on it?

I really do wash my cloths in the washing machine. Obviously, they don't go in with clothes. It works well and one company, who make cotton shoe cloths, Selvyt, say that washing their cloths make them 'better than new'. I have quite a few cloths, so I use the washing machine only when I have a reasonable bundle of them. Washed in this way, no colour is left in the machine.

 

[rbhan12]

I think the general recommendation is "don't wash it" - keep different cloths for different colors and just run 'em.

I disagree with this wholeheartedly. Why would you want to use the old, dried up polish (mostly wax now since the solvents have evaporated) built up into the cloth rather than a clean part of the cloth? I've read numerous times people saying the same thing about horsehair brushes and the need for "wax and old polish to build up in the brush." Makes no sense--just makes the brush harder and stickier and harder to build a soft shine. The same people have probably never washed their dauber brushes with soap and water to clean the bristles, make them soft again, and adequately spread polish around.

TL;DR, wash your dauber brushes frequently, polishing cloths occasionally, and polishing brushes regularly.

 

[Munky]

I disagree with this wholeheartedly. Why would you want to use the old, dried up polish (mostly wax now since the solvents have evaporated) built up into the cloth rather than a clean part of the cloth? I've read numerous times people saying the same thing about horsehair brushes and the need for "wax and old polish to build up in the brush." Makes no sense--just makes the brush harder and stickier and harder to build a soft shine. The same people have probably never washed their dauber brushes with soap and water to clean the bristles, make them soft again, and adequately spread polish around.

TL;DR, wash your dauber brushes frequently, polishing cloths occasionally, and polishing brushes regularly.

I suspect that, in the end, all that really matters is that you clean and brush your shoes, regularly. What you use to do that, is not particularly critical.

 

[mreams99]

Since the picture of my shoes was used on the front page directing people to this thread, I thought I should give an update.
I used some cordovan cream, which helped a little. I think this is as close as I'm going to get to getting them to match.

 

[suitforcourt]

I bought a pair of used AE MacNeil burgundy cordovans.

Do you guys recommend AE's own cordovan cream? Or Saphir's? Also, worth investing in the deer bone?

 

[mreams99]

I bought a pair of used AE MacNeil burgundy cordovans.

Do you guys recommend AE's own cordovan cream? Or Saphir's? Also, worth investing in the deer bone?

AE recommends their shoe cream for their shoes.
Nick Horween recommends VSC.
I think either is fine.

 

[suitforcourt]

AE recommends their shoe cream for their shoes.
Nick Horween recommends VSC.
I think either is fine.

What's VSC?

 

[mreams99]

What's VSC?

VSC = Venetian Shoe Cream.

 

[jc848]

I recently used saphir renomat on a pair of shoes and stripped the dye by accident on the toe area. I've since been able to restore most of the colour using a saphir shoe cream but when I come round to using a water polishing technique, this seems to strip off all the shoe cream and go back to the colour when renomat stripped it prior.

any suggestions to fix this?