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

[stephenaf2003]

Lol original shoe box or plastic one lol

all of mine are in the original boxes...some are a little worse for wear, as my Neo puppy got a hold of a few occasionally as I'm polishing/cleaning them before I notice and shoo him away.

 

[Munky]

If you think that shoes take up a lot of space, think about how much more space fedora hats, in their boxes, take. I am on my 16th pair of shoes and 9th hat. I could squeeze in another pair of shoes but not another hat (well, maybe I could squeeze one in, if I tried.).

The idea of storing your shoes outside doesn't sound too great, if you mean just putting them outside of the back door. I admit to having thought about putting some, in sealed boxes, in the garage, but I'm not sure the boxes would do much for the shoes. I would also worry that I would forget about them. Nothing worse than a forgotten pair of shoes.

With many fraternal greetings, Munky.

 

[EnglishShoes]

From a distance, my shell cordovan looks fine.

Up close, I can see these small spots. They are slightly lighter in color, and a little bit raised from the surrounding surface.



Do I just ignore this?
Is there something that I should do?

I got caught out in the rain in my favourite boots (Trickers, calf leather) and each rain spot has left VERY similar looking raised/dull spots on the leather surface.

Is there anything I can do to remove them on calf?

I can't believe that rugged winter boots can "suffer" so much with a few drops of rain!

 

[patrickBOOTH]



I've worked these out with back of a spoon and some saphir renovateur and similar results with a deer bone. Takes a little bit of work but they go away. Brushing afterwards of course. Others have said itll go away with time and brushing.

Yeah, it is when the leather gets wet and swells under the wax polish. I was going to suggest working it with a bone, or spoon. Also, a thin hit of renomat does the trick, but then you have to condition and rebuild the finish. Kind of a pain **********. This has always been my gripe about shell which swells and leaves spots with the smallest dusting of moisture.

 

[masernaut]

I just keep them on a rack. I don't put them in bags unless I am travelling. I don't put them in boxes, either. I look after them in terms of polishing and the occasional use of conditioner. I brush them a lot, too.

A question related to the above. Is temperature critical when storing shoes? I do not have the heating on in the room in which I store my shoes. Obviously, the room can get pretty cold in the winter. In the summer, it gets a bit warmer, although, as I have written before, we don't really do summer, here in Wales.

Despite my question and all of the ones, above, I am inclined to think that shoes are for wearing and for not for treating like sensitive children.

I don't bother storing shoes in bags or shoes, either, unless I know I'm not going to use them for a very long time to come. I brush my shoes before and after wearing them. I feel this is enough care along with regular cleaning/conditioning. I agree that shoes are meant to be used for what they are made for - to be worn. Admittedly, I baby my shell cordovans, but my bovines get used.

As for temperature, that's definitely a factor. Leather is skin, after all. Too much heat or dry air isn't good for skin. Canadian winters are very dry and the heat is always on. The temperature is constant and not too high (lower hydro bills), so I'm not worried about that. My concern is how dry the air is.

Yeah, it is when the leather gets wet and swells under the wax polish. I was going to suggest working it with a bone, or spoon. Also, a thin hit of renomat does the trick, but then you have to condition and rebuild the finish. Kind of a pain **********. This has always been my gripe about shell which swells and leaves spots with the smallest dusting of moisture.

Rain sucks!

 

[kbuzz]

I small cracked has developed on my Edward greens. I know this process cannot be reversed. But is there anyway to "seal" the crack to stop it from spreading and to prevent moisture which could exacerbate the situation. Sort of like a liquid band aid ?

 

[kbuzz]

Second But unrelated question of the Day

Anyone happen to know the difference between the three Saphir/Avel soaps. I know saddle soap is not recommended here but winter does not allow me to use renomat indoors, so looking for a milder alternative....

Saddle Soap: https://www.amazon.com/Saphir-Made-...8&qid=1489352862&sr=8-1&keywords=Saphir++Soap

Saphir Leather Rejuvenator Cleaning Soap [https://selektsupply.com/collection...enator-cleaning-soap-made-in-france-100ml-tin

Savon Cuir Lisse AVEL - Leather soap https://selektsupply.com/products/s...-made-in-france-100ml-tin?variant=16501456193

Thanks....

 

[EnglishShoes]

Has anyone used Saphir Creme De Luxe 1789

It is supposed to be a water proofing agent for smooth leathers.

I'm looking for somthing to regularly use on the vamps of my calf shoes/boots as I find that Saphir cream polish just flakes off the vamp after an hour or so.

 

[Adria]

Does anyone happen to use Salamander Professional Wetter Schutz cream for smooth leather?
Is it ok that this cream is washing out with water?

I have Ecco shoes with Gore-TEX. So I was told to use "special", TEX-compatible creams. I suppose, they are water-based, what prevents sealing of the shoes pores.
So I've found this Salamander Professional Wetter Schutz cream, which is Gore-TEX compatible, and also protects shoes from water and dust (should has some wax, but I couldn't find its ingredients).

I polished my shoes with this thing and tried to test this cream's waterproofing abilities, but the water spread around the toe of the shoe and didn't rolled down.
The most fascinating part was coming - after I touched the water on the shoe toe, my finger became black with dissolved cream.
I moved finger around and it was getting more and more black.

So, I'm curious, what it was. Is it ok for this cream to be this way and it should be accompanied by a senior wax or cream to protect it from water?
Or it's just its "professional quality"?

Pardon me for potentially noob question, but I faced it for the first time and failed to google an answer or get it directly from Salamander

 

[freshstyle]

I'm looking for advice. I want to lighten my brown strands just a shade to a medium brown like bourbon. First pic is my brown strand. Second pic is bourbon color.

Should I use acetone, lighter fluid, rubbing alcohol? Mix in water?

 

[Diego65]

I'm looking for advice. I want to lighten my brown strands just a shade to a medium brown like bourbon. First pic is my brown strand. Second pic is bourbon color.

Should I use acetone, lighter fluid, rubbing alcohol? Mix in water?

Hi!
Those are beautiful shoes, and the colour looks perfect.

 

[mreams99]



I'm looking for advice. I want to lighten my brown strands just a shade to a medium brown like bourbon. First pic is my brown strand. Second pic is bourbon color. Should I use acetone, lighter fluid, rubbing alcohol? Mix in water?

I don't think that you'll have much luck making them much lighter. You can remove some built-up polish to lighten shoes, but yours don't seem to have much of that. I've recolored several pairs myself. I even tried to make one pair lighter, using a leather bleach (after stripping them with acetone). They did not lighten significantly, even with all time and effort that I gave them.

 

[rwtc]

Does anyone know if you can use Renovateur on leather painted with a patina? Berluti said it's okay via-email, but this website says it's not:

https://www.cobbler-union.com/products/saphir-renovateur

Would appreciate some insights - thanks.

 

[kbuzz]



I don't think that you'll have much luck making them much lighter. You can remove some built-up polish to lighten shoes, but yours don't seem to have much of that.
I've recolored several pairs myself. I even tried to make one pair lighter, using a leather bleach (after stripping them with acetone). They did not lighten significantly, even with all time and effort that I gave them.

I'm pretty sure having read a number of threads on this topic that consensus is you can go darker but not the other way

 

[100 yrs]

thought i was solid enough on shoe care, but these scotch grain chukkas (c&j brecons) are proving a little tricky. i essentially treat them as a wet weather shoe, and it shows. all i've ever done is some reno and cream polish on them. I let them rest between wears and use trees. some issues:

some lighter colored residue showing in creases and crevices between the grain (first pic). can't tell if the leather is just really dry or if i used too much reno last time.
water stains along the toe of both shoes (first and second pic)
circular stain on right vamp, not sure what it's from. maybe from food oil/grease (second pic)

would love any advice. i'm not super concerned with getting rid of all the stains. the residue between the cracks is more concerning. just want to make sure they're well conditioned.