Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[JFWR]

Yeah, I've used saddle soap, Renomat, naptha, and VSC on this pair. The polish cloth keeps turning burgundy. And once I think I'm done, I can still scrape wax off with my fingernail.

It might be time for acetone.

...Damn, son. That's a lot of wax build up.

 

[nikolau]

Hi folks- have you ever seen cracking insoles on vintage shoes? How, if at all, do you deal with it?

Also, can this be avoided in the future on other pairs?

 

[vestbash]

View attachment 1544598
Hi folks- have you ever seen cracking insoles on vintage shoes? How, if at all, do you deal with it?

Also, can this be avoided in the future on other pairs?

Yes, I have seen it. You can use an insole insert and cover it, however the only real way to fix it in my estimation is to replace the footbed which requires rewelting the shoe as the insole is stitched via gemming to the welt.

I am not sure on the best procedure to prevent it, but good storage conditions I think are ideal over the time and effort of using a product to condition the insole.

 

[JFWR]

Cobblers can usually replace the insole/lining for you.

 

[stook1]

Yes, I have seen it. You can use an insole insert and cover it, however the only real way to fix it in my estimation is to replace the footbed which requires rewelting the shoe as the insole is stitched via gemming to the welt.

I am not sure on the best procedure to prevent it, but good storage conditions I think are ideal over the time and effort of using a product to condition the insole.

I was just talking with someone about this yesterday who was discussing his removing the insole from AE shoes. I had the same view, which was that this was a bad idea since the insole is structural. Am I right in thinking that the insole is glued to the gemming?

 

[Nealjpage]

View attachment 1544598
Hi folks- have you ever seen cracking insoles on vintage shoes? How, if at all, do you deal with it?

Also, can this be avoided in the future on other pairs?

Yes, I've seen it. I've stabilized a few pairs with copious amounts of neatsfoot oil (like pouring it into the shoe, coating it like a frying pan, and pouring the excess out). But once the damage is done, it's done.

I always condition the linings and insole with Bick 4 while I'm working on the outers. An ounce of prevention. . .

 

[JFWR]

Yes, I've seen it. I've stabilized a few pairs with copious amounts of neatsfoot oil (like pouring it into the shoe, coating it like a frying pan, and pouring the excess out). But once the damage is done, it's done.

I always condition the linings and insole with Bick 4 while I'm working on the outers. An ounce of prevention. . .

I do this every once in a while, too. It's good to keep the insides nicely conditioned.

 

[eTrojan]

I am not argue with you on that. It's the DeLorean of shoes.

DeLoreans are AWESOME!

Some days. Under the right circumstances. As long as someone else paid to restore it.

I wouldn't wholly agree that Corfam is ****. It's certainly not an ideal material, but some of the shoes made with it are higher quality than some of the CG crap we regularly run across here. I like my Corfams. No better shoe on a rainy day.

 

[eTrojan]

Some of you who went hog wild in removing the CG PU coating ended up using paint stripper. Was it the JASCO premium paint and epoxy remover? @wasmisterfu @Shoonoob @mreams99 ???

I have a pair of Church's CG saddle oxfords. In the process of trying to remove caked layers of built up wax, some portions of the PU have lifted. Since I can't get the CG to take a stain, I'm assuming I'm now all in on stripping the coating. Given the nuisance that is doing it with acetone, I was trying to recall which paint stripper seemed to work for folks.

 

[mreams99]

Some of you who went hog wild in removing the CG PU coating ended up using paint stripper. Was it the JASCO premium paint and epoxy remover? @wasmisterfu @Shoonoob @mreams99 ???

I have a pair of Church's CG saddle oxfords. In the process of trying to remove caked layers of built up wax, some portions of the PU have lifted. Since I can't get the CG to take a stain, I'm assuming I'm now all in on stripping the coating. Given the nuisance that is doing it with acetone, I was trying to recall which paint stripper seemed to work for folks.

I use acetone.
I tried paint stripper once, and it seemed to be a lot messier and no more effective than acetone. It might have just been the paint stripper that I used, but I’ve never tried it again.

 

[sam67]

I use acetone.
I tried paint stripper once, and it seemed to be a lot messier and no more effective than acetone. It might have just been the paint stripper that I used, but I’ve never tried it again.

My buddy tried xylene on these LBs. It still didn't take it all off. You can see the old color.

 

[vestbash]

I was just talking with someone about this yesterday who was discussing his removing the insole from AE shoes. I had the same view, which was that this was a bad idea since the insole is structural. Am I right in thinking that the insole is glued to the gemming?

Yes, the insole (some people call it the "footbed"), is structurally integral to she shoe and is cemented to the gemming, you can't just easily yank it out and replace it.

 

[stook1]

Yes, the insole (some people call it the "footbed"), is structurally integral to she shoe and is cemented to the gemming, you can't just easily yank it out and replace it.

Alright, that's what I thought as well. He was discussing this to create more instep room due to his use of orthotics. It's one thing to do this with a sock liner, which isn't structural, but altogether different with the insole, as you noted.

 

[ccpl14]

I use acetone.
I tried paint stripper once, and it seemed to be a lot messier and no more effective than acetone. It might have just been the paint stripper that I used, but I’ve never tried it again.

Someone on reddit posted a better technique than we've discussed here in the past. I haven't tried it personally, but hope to in the spring.

AE McAllister (Polished Cobbler aka corrected grain) restoration and refinish : allenedmonds (reddit.com)

 

[Nobleprofessor]

I had to run an errand so I had a chance to wear real shoes. Why not bring out the big guns. 1965 Florsheim 93605. It is odd how the lighting changes the color so much between these two pictures. The darker color is more accurate. But, the other picture shows the character and variation. Despite being 55 years old, these are in amazing shape.

Im way behind on the forum. I have been swamped. I’m looking forward to catching up on the last couple dozen pages!