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

[kayjaybee]

Not sure if this would be considered "damage", but I'm a bit concerned with the way the left shoe of my Carmina PTBs is creasing...when I received them I noticed the leather was not as supple as I was used to getting from Carmina. The surface appeared dry and not smooth and the leather was very stiff and not soft like all the other pairs I have.

Well after about 7-10 wears the left shoe is creasing in a very ugly way and I'm afraid I've damaged them. Over the course of the last week I've applied a layer of Reno then some black Saphire creme polish. I let the shoes stand for about 5 days but the leather still felt the same so two nights ago I used some AE leather conditioner, let dry overnight, then applied some neutral Saphire creme polish as the conditioner would not buff very well. I then applied a few thin layers of wax to give them a slight shine but the left shoe would not take a shine as well as the right one, almost as if the leather was different.

The applications of creme and conditioner has seemed to help a bit but as you can see from the pics the leather still looks "grainy" and while a bit softer, it's still not as supple as my other pairs of Carmina shoes. Carmina is known for their fairly high quality calf sources but these have disappointed me.

I understand the left shoe may be a bit too long and that's why they are creasing more but I never expected the crease to be this extreme, especially with quality calf leather. Are the shoes ruined??? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[Busa]

Thanks, I hadn't heard of that before...

Out of the Saphir products I have already ordered, can anyone tell me what will give a matte finish rather than a high gloss? No FedEx in this part of Africa, tough to shop here- have to order and pick up when I get back to the US...

I have my first pair of RM Williams yearling leather boots soon to arrive, and also Saphir Renovateur, creme polish, and wax polish. What should I do if I do NOT want them to look "shiny", just a matte finish, black leather boot that is well-protected??

^You can use dubbin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubbin

 

[Lear]

@Glenjay: Great tip on smoothing water ridges. I'll give your method a go next time.

@SHS: If I had a garden, I'd seriously give the flame treatment a try... just for fun you understand. If it's so effective though, why do we ever need to strip the wax off, instead of just remelting the stuff?

Here's the best SF links I've found on edge treatment. I'm referring to the reply by DWF11 further down the same page. Definitely worth a read:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/247209/diy-cobbler-ing-changing-sole-edge-color

Lear

 

[Buffnuts]

Mr. Moo,

What brand and model of shoes are these? Where can I get them??

Quote:

-----

These shoes are made of shell cordovan, and they were quite dusty/a bit dry looking prior to using Saphir Renovateur (a trending theme...). They were worn about 8 months without any care other than brushing.

Before:

Top after, bottom before:

Before in foreground:

After:

Both after:

My technique for both of these pairs of shoes is very simple. I wipe with a just every so slightly moist cotton cloth, and follow by applying the Renovateur with a horse hair dauber. The product goes everywhere on the upper. I let it dry for 3-5 minutes or so, and then brush it out with a horse hair brush. To achieve slightly more shine, I use a polishing cloth (the $3 ones from Allen Edmonds work great) for 20-25 seconds all around the shoe.

 

[Thanks SF (a new me)]

[quote "]Mr. Moo,What brand and model of shoes are these? Where can I get them??[/quote] buy here , read thread here

 

[gettoasty]

Please tell me if I am being too OCD..
After receiving these shoes last month and noticing a small blemish (natural I assume), I took these shoes in to the cobbler today to see if the small "discoloration" can be corrected. I was told as confirmed that the small spot is where the natural leather is after the finishing was applied. If I wanted to darken the cap toe or the shoe as a whole, that area would still be lighter, uniformly, than the rest.

I tried taking some photos under natural light settings. The color of the shoe is chestnut in calf.

See if you notice what I am referring to.

 

[max_r]

Has anyone tried changing the color of shoes with colored shoe polish? I found this polish on amazon in tons of colors:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Woly-Black-Shoe-Cream/dp/B0055CPRK6

I thought it may be interesting, I have some light-brown boots that look a bit dull to me, I wouldn't mind adding some color to them. I would love to see pictures if anyones done this before.

 

[Numbernine]



Has anyone tried changing the color of shoes with colored shoe polish? I found this polish on amazon in tons of colors:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Woly-Black-Shoe-Cream/dp/B0055CPRK6

I thought it may be interesting, I have some light-brown boots that look a bit dull to me, I wouldn't mind adding some color to them. I would love to see pictures if anyones done this before.

The Official Shoe Care Thread

 

[easy_golfing]

what color edge dressing do I need for these?

http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4360407

Im thinking either Neutral or Brown??

 

[emiristol]

Can anyone direct me to the best threads regarding shoe antiquing? I'm sure there are some that have cropped up through the years. I'm not looking for a full blown re-dying and antiquing, but just some color differentiation at the toecap. Any advice/references?

 

[chogall]



Can anyone direct me to the best threads regarding shoe antiquing? I'm sure there are some that have cropped up through the years. I'm not looking for a full blown re-dying and antiquing, but just some color differentiation at the toecap. Any advice/references?

Read the thread. Basically use darker color shoe creams in very small amounts in the areas you want to "antique".

 

[hanskl]

Just noticed this on my C&Js as I was doing some maintenance.. Is that mold?

 

[cbfn]

Looks like it, do you put the shoe trees in immediately after wearing? I've read that this may lead to growth of mold.

 

[mediahound]



Looks like it, do you put the shoe trees in immediately after wearing? I've read that this may lead to growth of mold.

How long should one wait before putting shoetree in?

 

[hanskl]



Looks like it, do you put the shoe trees in immediately after wearing? I've read that this may lead to growth of mold.

Hmm, I usually wait an hour or two before I insert the shoe trees.. But it seems likely the shoe trees are the cause.. How do I exterminate this? I noticed tendencies of this on my other boots too.