**The Official Shoe Care Thread: Tutorials, Photos, etc.**

[Thilgela]

Hi all,

2 general questions regarding leather cleaner/polish stripper/conditioner as I don't see many discussion around it. Recently I acquired several pairs of museum calf and crust leather shoes (e.g. Carlos Santos Patina Service & Carmina Vegano leather shoes).

1. As a general consensus on SF, Saphir Renomat is no good for these leathers in terms of stripping built-up polishes as it will also strip off factory finish. In this case, what product is best as a leather cleaner/polish stripper? Is Saphir Renovateur capable of stripping off built up polishes? If not, what products should I be looking at?

2. Some people suggest that Bick 4 is better for museum calf/crust leather as a conditioner than Saphir Renovateur as it does not darken the overall finish of museum calf/crust leathers and said to be more nourishing. Is it true?

Thanks so much!

 

[Christian GV.]

Thilgela, if you like Saphir I recommend testing the Saphir Cleaning Lotion, here on afinepairofshoes.co.uk. It's made for cleaning waxes on patinas, you can't go wrong with it. Another example would be THE CLEANER from Brift H.

What do you guys use as a cloth for mirror shining? I want something cheap and easy

T-shirt is great, but it can lint and you risk getting cotton fibers stuck in your polish. So you can also try a high-quality cotton shirt fabric, non-stretch. With a tight weave they don't lint. You can thrift premium shirts for a cheap price or use an old, abandoned one of yours.

I like the look. Return to the club.

Try baking soda.

And if that doesn't work, the alternative is using some "earth:" Terre De Sommieres by Saphir or Fuller's Earth.

And if that doesn't work, with extreme caution use Detacheur Cuir Textiles spray.

But warning: these things, particularly the Detacheur spray, really dry out the shoes, and need some recovery time involving conditioning, etc. They extract oils from the shoes as well as the spot, so I am not convinced this stuff is all that great for your shoes. But I like chemistry, so even a weird result is interesting to me.

At any rate, the club has some advantages.

That is great advice. I'll try the baking soda and post some results. Detacheur and Terre De Sommieres look very interesting as well, I might need those for later use... Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

 

[Luigi_M]

To me this thread provides a whole wealth of knowledge.
I'm often unable to give any answer to some questions, but the simple fact that they are put - and the answers they eventually get - helps me moving further in my learning curve.
Best wishes, Luigi.

 

[right_hook]

That is great advice. I'll try the baking soda and post some results. Detacheur and Terre De Sommieres look very interesting as well, I might need those for later use... Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

I've seen info that Detacheur is a water/vinegar solution with some secret components (preserving and aromatizing agents maybe). I believe that there are cases when it is not necessary to pay more due to marketing reasons only.

 

[Thilgela]

Thilgela, if you like Saphir I recommend testing the Saphir Cleaning Lotion, here on afinepairofshoes.co.uk. It's made for cleaning waxes on patinas, you can't go wrong with it. Another example would be THE CLEANER from Brift H.

Thanks so much for your reply. Do you have experiences working with these products? The cleaner from Brift H, is it possible to get in the U.S.?

What about Saphir renovateur on crust leather/museum calf/burnished leather? Does it take factory finish off as well? Any one has experiences with renovateur on say, Carlos Santos Patina Service shoes?

Thanks again!

 

[Munky]

Thanks so much for your reply. Do you have experiences working with these products? The cleaner from Brift H, is it possible to get in the U.S.?

What about Saphir renovateur on crust leather/museum calf/burnished leather? Does it take factory finish off as well? Any one has experiences with renovateur on say, Carlos Santos Patina Service shoes?

Thanks again!

The advice I was given for my two pairs of Carlos Santos hand patinated shoes was never to use any sort of renovating cream as this can remove the finish. It was suggested that I only use very mild shoe cream. I use Collonil Supreme de luxe cream, rarely and in tiny amounts. You really do need to think about what you put on crust leather. Best, probably, to rely most on brushing. Bear in mind, too, that if 'museum calf' is corrected grain leather, you need to treat it different. Mostly, all that corrected grain needs is to be wiped down and buffed with a cloth.

It is important to note that crust and corrected grain are polar opposites. Crust will absorb the stuff you put on it, while corrected grain won't absorb anything.

Yours, Munky.

 

[Thilgela]

The advice I was given for my two pairs of Carlos Santos hand patinated shoes was never to use any sort of renovating cream as this can remove the finish. It was suggested that I only use very mild shoe cream. I use Collonil Supreme de luxe cream, rarely and in tiny amounts. You really do need to think about what you put on crust leather. Best, probably, to rely most on brushing. Bear in mind, too, that if 'museum calf' is corrected grain leather, you need to treat it different. Mostly, all that corrected grain needs is to be wiped down and buffed with a cloth.

It is important to note that crust and corrected grain are polar opposites. Crust will absorb the stuff you put on it, while corrected grain won't absorb anything.

Yours, Munky.

Thanks so much, Munky! I appreciate your advice. 'Museum calf' is not corrected grain leather. They are just dyed differently so the leather itself will have the marble/antiqued effect. I am thinking if they are not patina'ed, they should have the similar qualities as regular dyed calf leathers.

 

[vmss]

The advice I was given for my two pairs of Carlos Santos hand patinated shoes was never to use any sort of renovating cream as this can remove the finish. It was suggested that I only use very mild shoe cream. I use Collonil Supreme de luxe cream, rarely and in tiny amounts. You really do need to think about what you put on crust leather. Best, probably, to rely most on brushing. Bear in mind, too, that if 'museum calf' is corrected grain leather, you need to treat it different. Mostly, all that corrected grain needs is to be wiped down and buffed with a cloth.

It is important to note that crust and corrected grain are polar opposites. Crust will absorb the stuff you put on it, while corrected grain won't absorb anything.

Yours, Munky.

I thought that museam calf is full grain. Where did you get that info that museum is corrected grain?

 

[Munky]

I thought that museam calf is full grain. Where did you get that info that museum is corrected grain?

Sorry, I think I have got this wrong. My apologies.

 

[EnglishShoes]

...
Crust will absorb the stuff you put on it, while corrected grain won't absorb anything...

It does confuse me when I watch videos of those airport shoe shine guys doing work on corrected grain shoes. One guy had very pale tan shoes with the characteristic high shine look of corrected grain. The shoe shine guy slaps on the water and saddle soap, which does not change the colour of the leather at all. (crust calf would have instantly absorbed the water and gone very dark). The guy then applies conditioner, cream and then wax.

Surely, every one of these products would have just wiped away when he brushed them?

Is there any point in applying ANY product to corrected grain with a shiny finish?

 

[Solari]

Some buffoon stepped on the back of my EGs the other day and left this scuff.

Any thoughts on how best to treat/mend it?

 

[armedferret]

Having trouble getting mirror shine on AE strands. I got to a point where no matter how much more I buff them with Saphir Pate de Luxe + water, there's no improvement. The surface is somewhat shiny, but I can still see the pores very clearly. Any advice?
View attachment 961912

FWIW, it took a *LOT* of work to get my AE Park Aves built up. Some folks from the 2017 AE appreciation thread will recall my frustrations, which I may have vented once or thrice in the process.

As others have mentioned, keep at it and allow lots of time for the layers to dry. Also look into getting some Saphir Mirror Gloss, as the Pate de Luxe--while excellent--has a lot more solvents and takes longer to fully dry at least with what I've used it for to date. The Mirror Gloss seems to dry more quickly and thicker build up is more easily accomplished.

We "cheated" back when we still wore black combat boots we had to polish, and used a hair dryer or (the more adventurous of us) cigarette lighter to help melt the wax and get it built into the pores a little more quickly. I may have eventually engaged in similar behavior with my Park Aves. I regret nothing.

 

[josef1]

Some buffoon stepped on the back of my EGs the other day and left this scuff.

Any thoughts on how best to treat/mend it?

View attachment 967713

I say cover those up using a similar color shoe cream then a few layers of wax polish to buff.

 

[freshstyle]

does suede shoes need to be conditioned or moisturized in some way?

and is it ok to wear suede shoes in the rain?

 

[SeaDweller]

does suede shoes need to be conditioned or moisturized in some way?

and is it ok to wear suede shoes in the rain?

Kirby Allison has a great video on suede care. I’d say wear in the rain if you’ve treated it with repellent.