Author Topic: Shoe care thread  (Read 11546 times)

Offline takashi78

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Shoe care thread
« on: January 04, 2013, 07:13:57 PM »
Since we have a shoe appreciation thread why not a shoe care thread?  ;D

Come share your rituals of the products and methods you use.

Whatever the shoes.

Offline mykita

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2013, 06:28:21 PM »
Started trying to learn how to do a mirror shine! This is my third attempt.




A snapshot of my shoeshine box  ;D I'm continously upgrading my shoe kit but this is where it stands.




I actually use common products for each stage like Lord Sheraton's Leather Balsam as a conditioner and Kiwi saddle soap for cleaning.

I have tried Saphir. I personally think it is a really good product but it is too expensive at my stage. I'm learning so the tendency to overdo things makes it wasteful to use such a good product.

-MK

Offline lanatir

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2013, 10:17:11 AM »
very nice... a few more layers and u can fall into the reflection!  :)
Regards
Kelvin

Offline takashi78

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2013, 11:14:46 AM »
Can we have too much cream/conditioner on a shoe?
Is there such a thing?

not talking about my dress shoes, on my Red Wings i applied 2 coats of cream/conditioner and left it half day and overnight and it seems to soak it all up, still kinda looks "dry"

Thinking about a third coat.

Offline ranj85

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2013, 04:28:28 PM »
Im on church shoes, feels as close to perfection on feet..... :Cheers:

Offline takashi78

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2013, 04:55:09 PM »
And this is related to the shoe care topic how?

Offline ranj85

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2013, 05:19:22 PM »
Sorry,what i wanted to add is, get a pair of cedar shoe trees,the best to keep them in shape, and if possible, add a rubber sole, on top of the leather standard one the shoe comes with... makes them last longer. As for polishing, at least twice a week.....

Offline mykita

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2013, 05:40:14 PM »
Can we have too much cream/conditioner on a shoe?
Is there such a thing?

not talking about my dress shoes, on my Red Wings i applied 2 coats of cream/conditioner and left it half day and overnight and it seems to soak it all up, still kinda looks "dry"

Thinking about a third coat.

I think I always overdo it :) I would recommend trying saddle soap too. I had a pair that was pretty dry. I used saddle soap, rubbed 3 coats of lord sheraton leather balsam into the leather with a welt brush and buffed the shoe with a furniture polishing cloth. Kept repeating application of lord sheration and buffing. It worked.

My experience is leaving too much conditioner stains the leather and you should test on the sole before rubbing it into the leather. Otherwise I have read of people using mink oil, saphir renovateur and lexol. Good luck!

Offline mykita

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2013, 05:44:48 PM »
very nice... a few more layers and u can fall into the reflection!  :)

Thanks Kelvin. I am a fan of your shoe thread!

Offline gapnap

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2013, 06:15:07 PM »
I send my shoes to my neighborhood cobbler for polishing every 3 weeks once .
Its like RM10-RM15. I think the ones in shopping malls are charging RM20-RM25.

I treat my cobbler like my tailor . He knows what i want , what i like etc..so i don't need to worry about my shoes.
Sometimes he will sms me to remind me which shoes need polishing.

Me thinks it is more worth it this way.

Offline takashi78

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2013, 06:19:54 PM »
I use Obernauf cleaner for my Red Wing boots.

When its finished maybe i will think about saddle soap.

Offline DolCeAddicT

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2013, 07:01:42 PM »
May I know where can I find products from Saphir? Thank you.

Offline kiamat

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2013, 12:09:41 AM »
Started trying to learn how to do a mirror shine! This is my third attempt.




A snapshot of my shoeshine box  ;D I'm continously upgrading my shoe kit but this is where it stands.




I actually use common products for each stage like Lord Sheraton's Leather Balsam as a conditioner and Kiwi saddle soap for cleaning.

I have tried Saphir. I personally think it is a really good product but it is too expensive at my stage. I'm learning so the tendency to overdo things makes it wasteful to use such a good product.

-MK

do you need to remove previous polish before starting?

if yes, what are you using?

Offline takashi78

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2013, 04:32:11 AM »
Usually when you clean the shoe it removes the polish or whats left of it anyways.

Offline mykita

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2013, 04:41:19 AM »
My experience is  try brushing with a shoebrush using saddle soap to remove excess polish. If that doesn't work use an alcohol stripper. I personally use lighter fluid with a cotton ball.

I have read on some forums and websites that you can use products Cutex, Acetone and Saphir. Never tried them but I reckon it must work or no one would recommend them; only be careful. Stripping the polish can remove some of the finish so do some testing on the shoe before you do anything. You need to also have the right color creams to restore the color. I took off to much finish but luckily I managed to save the shoe (somewhat). Just my $ 0.02.

Offline lanatir

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #15 on: January 09, 2013, 07:23:27 AM »
takashi - most creams should be given time to dry up and soak into the leather but it's not advisable to leave them on for too long. and you don't need to keep topping up the cream. just make sure u regularly polish lor.

for me, always remember these rules

- use shoe trees
- use a shoe horn when putting on shoes
- brush after use (sole and upper with different brushes)
- never use a pair 2 days in a row (alternate please)

i don't like to baby the shoes but am also a bit more careful (within reason lah).
i don't want to use any siliicon based products.

essentially, i try to polish every month

1) saphir renovateur (if got mood lah) and buff
2) cream (saphir or woly if saphir ran out) - in matching colours or neutral
3) brush
4) layer wax the topcaps
5) damp cloth to bring out shine in toecaps and also the rest of the shoe to even out the residual cream

as i have quite the several pairs of shoes, i don't like to do it all in one go (mampus fingers). maybe 1-2 pairs every week or so.
Regards
Kelvin

Offline sartorialistic

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #16 on: April 17, 2017, 03:56:09 PM »
shame that this thread has died off...

Offline engkow

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Re: Shoe care thread
« Reply #17 on: April 18, 2017, 09:43:23 AM »
Stop buying shoes since the last bought four pairs at Tangs Sales Pavillion in April 2010 now wearing slipper more often.
All my shoes are formal/office type not casual wear.