Taking care of Black Leather Dress Shoes

i can get the meltonian and horsehair brush for like $3 more.. Some people are saying to get kiwi and some are saying meltonian for a budge cleaner

This isn't some huge investment. At this point, but whatever is easier to get. Otherwise go with the prettier label...

haha Im going to order it right now on amazon. KIWI Kit or Meltonian seperately???

Using a banana peel is a good idea, I'll have to keep that mind next time I'm stranded and need to polish my shoes. I personally polish my shoes with bacon fat, it leaves a nice shine!

I ordered the Meltonian.
Quick Question, What exactly does putting on creme polish do? I used to just dampen a cloth and clean any white marks on my leather dress shoes. Does creme polish make the shoe look "newer?"

Originally Posted by sportin_life

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Using a banana peel is a good idea, I'll have to keep that mind next time I'm stranded and need to polish my shoes. I personally polish my shoes with bacon fat, it leaves a nice shine!

Originally Posted by econkid89

Click to expand...

I ordered the Meltonian.
Quick Question, What exactly does putting on creme polish do? I used to just dampen a cloth and clean any white marks on my leather dress shoes. Does creme polish make the shoe look "newer?"

Leather is skin. In order to keep it supple and healthy, it needs oils. But unlike your skin, it can't generate those on its own. So you have to put them in. That's the main point of polish.

For ages, leather was kept well fed with simple, rendered fats. The guy using bacon grease isn't far off, though it would be best to filter particulates out of it first. It was processed fat, and those oils keep you shoes healthy, though they don't impart much of a shine. But what's known as dubbin developed fairly soon, a mixture of those fats, oils, and wax. It was made to preserve and protect the leather, and did a good job of that. That was used for ages.

Later on, people started adding various other things to the mixes, which at that point, were almost entirely homemade. Wealthy households would have the servants mix stuff up once a year, a big messy process, since they had to make enough for a year. For people who couldn't afford all that trouble (but could still afford shoes) there were shoe shine boys, who would make their own polish and sell their services for an affordable rate.

The stuff they added included dyes and cleaners (such as naptha), which were added to give the shoe a nice shine and to protect the shoe from the elements somewhat. That basic formulation is still what governs shoe polish. Different brands use slightly different takes on the idea, and the ratios differ. Concurrently, people were beginning to sell premade polish and dubbin in tins. No more trying out a bunch of different recipes at home and suffering through the results, or trying to find the best shine in town, you could now buy nice, reliable products. Kiwi was the first to really catch on with a product. They started in 1904 and it caught on in 1906. From there, army use and affordable shoes helped the product take off.

So there's the history and why we use the stuff. It keeps your shoes healthy and shiny.

The big distinction in polish is wax versus cream. Both contain both waxes and creams to feed the leather. The divide is in which is more prominent. The flat tins are wax, and the deeper tubs are cream. Either will protect and maintain your shoes fairly well.

But in order for leather to be healthy, it needs to be maintained. Rinsing off a salt stain is a good idea, but you'll need a good conditioning and polish to keep the leather healthy and protected.

A general question about creme while we're on the subject:

When I tried using a creme product on my shoes, I've found that it is leaves a coat on the shoe and changes the color? It is almost like a thin layer or coating. Is this normal? For this reason, I've gone back to only using wax polishes.

How often should one use conditoner and cream?