Shoe wax residue

[Rocker]

I polished a pair of shoes this past Sunday morning using Kiwi Shoe wax (Brown and Cordovan). After applying the wax, I let the shoes stand for about 20 minutes, went over them with a horsehair brush, followed by a final buffing with cotton flannel. Before putting them on this morning, I ran a horsehair brush over them, again. I noticed however, that towards the end of the day, after having worn them, when I run my finger along the leather, I get a dry, shoe polish residue on my finger (fairly significant amounts). I've noticed this along the inside of the cuff of on some of my lighter colored suits, as well. Any suggestions on how to prevent this; is it preventable; anyone noticed this with other brands?; I suppose shoe creams do not pose this problem?

 

[DSM]

I had the exact same occurence when I tied to use Kiwi and other polishes--a residue after a day's wearing. The polish also had the effect of highlighting the creases in my shoes. I have since gone back to shoe cream.

So I concur--what am I doing wrong?

 

[A Harris]

What sort of shoes are they?? The only thing that comes to mind is that they may made from corrected grain leather, in which case the wax would probably flake right off...

 

[DSM]

Mine are Edward Green

 

[Rocker]

Mine are Allen Edmonds - Byron model - not corrected grain (At least, i don't think they are).

 

[Phil]

My guess would be that you are simply putting too much polish on your shoes. No matter how much you buff and brush, there is so much its leaving some behind on the shoe. I would completely clean off whatever polish is on there with some Allen Edmonds polish remover, then apply a very thin coat of polish, and see if the results are any better.

 

[BjornH]

What sort of shoes are they?? The only thing that comes to mind is that they may made from corrected grain leather, in which case the wax would probably flake right off...

Andrew, is this totally correct ? My thought was that corrected grain implied that imperfections of the leather had been sanded away but not nescessarily that it had been coated afterwards.

Leather with artificial coating that has a glossy, wipe clean finish does not benefit from waxing. The appearance may get better but it's health will not. Leather that's only sanded should need the same care as it's more distinguished causins. Does this always go hand in hand ?

Two cents from me...

B

 

[montecristo#4]

Try going over the shoes with neutral shoe cream. That will tend to remove a lot of the excess wax that may be on your shoe. Then complete the process by wiping the entire shoe with a slightly damp rag and polishing VIGOROUSLY.

Montecristo