Good Leather shoes conditioner(s)? Any advice?

[Bertrand]

Just took some time to condition my leather shoes with Saphir .. I wonder if there are any other good leather shoes conditioner out there? Would really love to buy some and try ; Any suggestions? Thanks !

 

[konoyaro]

I like Saphir Renovateur and use it from time to time but I still recall the horror when it took off the antiquing on a relatively new pair of shoes.
Since then, based on research from SF, I've added Bickmore Bick 4 Leather Conditioner to my kit. It's more gentle than Renovateur and yet still does a good job.

 

[Bertrand]

What brand was the shoes with antique? Was it a crust leather st Crispin or EG?

thanks for reminding ! I was conditioning my bontoni with the Saphir too..

I like Saphir Renovateur and use it from time to time but I still recall the horror when it took off the antiquing on a relatively new pair of shoes.
Since then, based on research from SF, I've added Bickmore Bick 4 Leather Conditioner to my kit. It's more gentle than Renovateur and yet still does a good job.

 

[Goofy]

thanks for reminding ! I was conditioning my bontoni with the Saphir too..

I accidentally removed the finish off my Bontoni chukka boots with Saphir renovateur as well. Fortunately I did manage to totalay restore the finish.

I wouldn’t suggest using renovateur on any shoe with a hand painted finish.

 

[konoyaro]

What brand was the shoes with antique? Was it a crust leather st Crispin or EG?

thanks for reminding ! I was conditioning my bontoni with the Saphir too..

Fortunately nothing as refined as those - it was a pair of "Vinci" from the short lived Seven collection from Allen Edmonds.

 

[Bertrand]

I accidentally removed the finish off my Bontoni chukka boots with Saphir renovateur as well. Fortunately I did manage to totalay restore the finish.

I wouldn’t suggest using renovateur on any shoe with a hand painted finish.

What would you use instead?

 

[Goofy]

What would you use instead?

Saphir Lotion or Bick4

 

[BXpress]

I use Famaco Gelee Delicate. It's Argan oil based instead of Mink oil. It does basically the same thing as Renovateur in that it conditions and cleans the leather (i.e. not to be used on pre painted patina), but i simply did not like the oily look that Renovateur leaves on my shoes.

Famaco's premium line shoe cream, Creme Sublime is also recommendable. Argan oil based and from the looks and feel of it, less wax content than Saphir Pommadier. It also seems to have no solvents.

 

[JFWR]

Bick4 seems to be the consensus here for leather conditioner. Venetian Shoe Cream is also highly regarded.

I myself love the renovateur and creme universelle from Saphir. The universelle is much less hard on the leather, though, and seems to not have the colour leak problems some people have attested that the renovateur can have.

 

[Bertrand]

Thanks for the input.

Any more sugggestions?

 

[dogjaeja]

I have started using Collonil 1909 in Neutral for a bit of shine.
I still use Bick 4 for hydration and Saphir Renovateur with Saphir Cream Polishes for maintenance.

But I like using the Collonil 1909 for a bit of luster and shine without having to break out the hard waxes.