Taking care of Black Leather Dress Shoes

Hi everyone, I was wondering how you took care of your dress shoes.

I just bought http://www.zappos.com/calvin-klein-g...ack-dress-calf a couple weeks ago and I see wrinkles and white marks on them.

I was told to purchase black Meltonian Shoe Cream Polish?

However, this dress shoe isnt shiny shiny. it's more of a matte black shiny finish so Im not sure what to do.

You have a lot to learn here my friend. Lets stick with your question though. Leather needs conditioning and polishing. Saphir Renovateur is one of the best conditioners. Black wax polish will work for you. You can get Saphir, Angelus, Lincoln those are the better brands. Wax will shine up better than cream, but the cremes in those brands are also among the best.

Hi sorry but can you provide some links of which products to buy?
I was told that Meltonian Shoe Cream Polish is one of the best, but wouldn't polish make my shoe shiny? My shoe was never "shiny" it is more a plain leather finish like a wallet.

Also, how much does a shoe shine cost at the train station or airport? Maybe I should just get it done there once in a while instead of buying $40 worth of shoe cleaning supplies? What do you think. I only own 1 pair of dress shoes that I wear twice a week.

I use a conditioner occassionally and use AE shoe cream about every 8-10 wears. This will even help cheap shoes last for a couple of years. If you find AE creams or Saphir too expensive, Meltonian as you suggested is quite popular.

There are lots of threads on types you can buy and how to polish and maintain your shoes if you look for them.

Originally Posted by econkid89

Click to expand...

Hi sorry but can you provide some links of which products to buy?
I was told that Meltonian Shoe Cream Polish is one of the best, but wouldn't polish make my shoe shiny? My shoe was never "shiny" it is more a plain leather finish like a wallet.

Also, how much does a shoe shine cost at the train station or airport? Maybe I should just get it done there once in a while instead of buying $40 worth of shoe cleaning supplies? What do you think. I only own 1 pair of dress shoes that I wear twice a week.

Just google the brands I mentioned. People who say meltonian is one of the best don't know any better. Not their fault.

It doesn't matter what the finish on those shoes looked like before you polished them. Any leather could use some good conditioning and polishing to keep it in shape.

I wouldn't ever get my shoes polished by one of those shoe polishers because I know I can do a better job and I use better products. It is really up to you. Your shoes are of lower quality, so the leather and construction is only going to hold up so well and for so long. So, using the best shoe care products might not make that much difference in the end.

yeah the saphire is way too expensive. I am just a broke college student looking to find lesser expensive ones that can make my shoes look better.

wouldn't the meltonian polish make my leather shoes shiny?

My question was what kind of polish or cream would be best for my shoe as shown in the link above

Originally Posted by econkid89

Click to expand...

yeah the saphire is way too expensive. I am just a broke college student looking to find lesser expensive ones that can make my shoes look better.

wouldn't the meltonian polish make my leather shoes shiny?

My question was what kind of polish or cream would be best for my shoe as shown in the link above

While I do believe that there are differences between polish brands, I think the big thing in caring for leather is actually caring for it. Being diligent about conditioning leather (Lexol is cheap and works well...not the best, but good enough) and polishing it (Kiwi is cheap and also works well...once again, not the best, but good enough) will keep any full grain leather shoes looking good for years.

Highly recommend a bottle of Lexol ($5-6) and a tin of Kiwi ($2) and you are good to go. Combine them with a rag and a horsehair brush ($10) and you have the start of a shoe shine kit that will last you for years.

Quick Dirty Instructions

use a tooth brush (or the small circle brush you can buy at shoe stores) to spread a thin (very thin) layer of polish/cream over your shoe.

let it dry for 15-20 minutes

Brush with a large horse hair brush to get rid of the big chunks

then "sand" the shoe down with a cotton T-shirt or strip of cotton cloth. Just stretch the cloth between your 2 hands and rub the shoe down.

Simple and easy.

Condition ever so often

If you use wax, strip it every 6 month or so to let the leather breath.

Originally Posted by econkid89

Click to expand...

yeah the saphire is way too expensive. I am just a broke college student looking to find lesser expensive ones that can make my shoes look better.

wouldn't the meltonian polish make my leather shoes shiny?

My question was what kind of polish or cream would be best for my shoe as shown in the link above

The Meltonian you mention is a cream. If you really want to make your shoes extremely shiny, then use a polish.

I use Meltonian and like it, but it's hard to create a mirror shine with cream.

Additionally, some shoes aren't meant to have mirror shines, not sure if yours is one, but guessing that it's not.

1. Go to grocery store. 2. Buy groceries including a banana. 3. Go home. 4. Peel banana. 5. Eat said fruit. 6. Use peel to shine shoes. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...ObdfyPRciF1kVA

Just suck it up and buy the Saphir stuff. Lasts for years. I was a broke college student when I bought that stuff, and it has saved me money in the long run. And moar before buying more shoes!

Originally Posted by 997CTSurg

Click to expand...

1. Go to grocery store.
2. Buy groceries including a banana.
3. Go home.
4. Peel banana.
5. Eat said fruit.
6. Use peel to shine shoes.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...ObdfyPRciF1kVA

wtf?

Originally Posted by econkid89

Click to expand...

Hi sorry but can you provide some links of which products to buy?
I was told that Meltonian Shoe Cream Polish is one of the best, but wouldn't polish make my shoe shiny? My shoe was never "shiny" it is more a plain leather finish like a wallet.

Also, how much does a shoe shine cost at the train station or airport? Maybe I should just get it done there once in a while instead of buying $40 worth of shoe cleaning supplies? What do you think. I only own 1 pair of dress shoes that I wear twice a week.

Menitonian is crap. Buy Saphir (available at hanerproject.com). That may not be the exact web site, but they have an add on this website or use google. Also, it is well worth your money and sanity to invest a modest sum for shining materials. Your shoes will last longer, and you can always shine your shoes if you have an important event (I personally think you shoes should be shined weekly if you wear them often. If you wear them infrequently, then before every wear).

Meltonian, IMHO, is fine quality for the shoe you're looking at.

It is also a cream polish, the cream version of kiwi's wax products.

Even the wax product will not make the shoe 'super shiny' without a terrific amount of effort. The 'really shiny' shoes you've seen are corrected leather, they have ground down cheap leather and sprayed a coating over them.

Polishing your shoes is not going to make them shiny like that unless you really, _really_ buff them.

If you want to take good care of your shoes, there are two steps - conditioning and polishing.

Lexol is an inexpensive conditioner. I have not used it, its probably fine. I've used allen edmonds conditioner. Arguably Sapphir is better. When you start wearing $500 shoes, I'd worry more about what type of conditioner you use.

Polishing can be done with a cream polish or a wax polish (or cream then wax). When I first started caring for shoes, I liked the cream - it was easier to cover scratches that showed through, etc. I kind of prefer wax now - I like the fact it shines a little more, and I believe the wax creates more of a protective coating.

As well as using the right cream polish and/or conditioner, it a cedar shoe tree is a inexpensive item and a great investment. They help maintain the shape of your shoes and prevent cracking. They also absorb moisture which may avoid the white marks.