Shoe Maintenance For A Complete Noob

[Toothpick]

What would you recommend for a complete noob to shoe shinning and maintenance? I have my dad’s shine box. He always kept his shoes shined and looking sharp. He passed in 2017 and this stuff has been sitting exactly like he left it since then. I don’t even know if it is still good. Or how to even use it.

But assuming I’m ready to dive in and start maintaining my own shoes. What would I need to get started? Brushes, polish, rags, etc etc..

What online stores sell the stuff? And what are some good brands. Like the best brands of this stuff?

Thanks!

 

[tankerjohn]

Here you go: How To Take Care Of Your Shoes – Put This On - https://www.putthison.com/how-to-take-care-of-your-shoes/

That's a really cool shoe shine box there! Great heirloom. Looks like it could use a little sanding and tongue oil itself. I'd go ahead and bin that Kiwi. Looks very dried up and not usable. Per the link above, I prefer to use soft creams these days to keep the leather supple and don't bother with a wax shine except for special occasions. Rotating shoes/boots so they can dry out between uses and brushing after each wear is more important for the long term health of the shoe than a fresh spit shine.

I like to buy my shoe care stuff from the local cobbler. Do a google or yelp search and see if there are any shoe repair shops in your area. Cobblers aren't as common as they once were, but they are still out there and most enjoy giving shoe care advise. Conditioner and polish from the shoe shop might be a few bucks more than Uncle Jeff's Internet Emporium, but its worth it to keep these small businesses around.

 

[tankerjohn]

Another guide from reddit:

Spoiler

https://www.reddit.com/r/goodyearwelt/comments/77am8t

 

[Toothpick]

Excellent! I will digest that

 

[Toothpick]

Seems I need some shoe trees. And boot trees.

 

[tankerjohn]

Seems I need some shoe trees. And boot trees.

They are a good investment that will help keep your footwear nice. In the meantime, ball up some newspaper and stuff it in the toes of your shoes/boots to absorb moisture between wears.

 

[hugosf]

The gold standard in wax and conditioner is Saphir (Saphir Shoe Polish Cream - https://saphirshoecream.com).

Saphir medaille d’or (color polish cream) and Saphir renovateur (cleaner and conditioner) are top notch. This products are made from natural oils, much better for leather than petroleum base products like Kiwi.

Bickmore cleaner and conditioner are good budget options.

Get also a good horsehair brush. The cheaper ones like Kiwi are good enough. I have one for black shoes and one for brown shoes.

It’s simple to clean your shoes. I use dress shoes every day. My routine is:

1. Brush the shoes everyday after use. The dust acts like a abrasive in the nooks and crannies of the shoes.

2. If it’s possible, use a shoe tree. You can use newspaper inside if you don’t have a shoe tree. The best shoes trees are made of cedar.

3. Conditioner and polish cream every 10-15 days.

 

[hugosf]

I only use this high end products in my good shoes. Only quality leather absorb the oils.

Most cheap leathers are “corrected”. They sanded out the outer layer and put some kind of plastic film. In my cheaper shoes I use cheaper wax and conditioner I get free in airplanes, hotels, etc.

 

[Doc4]

What would you recommend for a complete noob to shoe shinning and maintenance?

Starting point: for dress shoes, Saphir "Renovateur", and for casual/work shoes Obenauf's LP.

Apply the Saphir with a clean, dry rag, allow to dry, then buff off with the rag and/or that larger brush you have. This will nourish the leather, and give you a pretty good shine as well. It will not change the leather colour (but may darken it a bit as the leather goes from "dry" to "wet" or "oiled").

Apply the LP with a clean, dry finger. Rub it in good. Done. Ditto on not changing the colour but potentially darkening the leather a bit as it's no longer too dry.

You can move on to adding actual polish later, but this is a good first step and even doing just this will greatly improve the condition and appearance of your footwear.

I don’t even know if it is still good.

IMHO the brown is toast. The black still looks to have some life in it.

And what are some good brands. Like the best brands of this stuff?

Saphir.

Kiwi is not nearly as good, sorry. It'll still work ... especially if you are wanting to black-up some motorcycle boots that are getting a bit scuffy and grey ... so using it isn't the end of the world, but ... once it's used up I'd transition to Saphir.



... too bad there's nobody hanging around B&B who really really really knows about shoes.

 

[Toothpick]

Can you use regular shoe trees in boots? I know they make boot trees but I’m having a hard time finding some good ones that are in stock.

 

[johnniegold]

Like @Doc4 said, the Saphir Renovateur is essential for proper shoe maintenance.

You can visit The Hanger Project and watch a bunch of shoe care videos by Kirby Allison. He also sells most Saphir products as well as most of the accompanying horse hair, goat hair, yak hair and pig bristle brushes, daubers, chamois, deer bones, sleeking bones, water dispensers….

In other words, Kirby has a lot of my money.

On YouTube, catch some of the shoe shine artists (that’s right, artists) from Japan. The vids themselves are mesmerizing and the results are simply incredible.

For some, shoe maintenance can be a very “zen-like” thing.

You may want to consider a shoe butler as well.

My usual maintenance routine is quite simple:

I wipe my shoes off with a barely damp cloth and dry them just as quick. (If need be, a toothbrush is used along the outsole).

I apply Saphir Renovateur to each shoe and then brush off after about 2-3 minutes. This provides the ultimate nourishment and conditioning for the leather.

Then I use a cloth (cut from old 100-120 ply cotton shirts) and wipe off the shoe of any excess product. This is done after every step.

Next, I apply Saphir Medaille d'Or Pommadier Shoe Cream and brush off after 2-3 minutes. This adds a bit of pigment (as well as conditioning) to the leather.

(Wipe off with a cloth).

Next, I apply Saphir Medaille d'Or Pate de Luxe Shoe Polish Wax. This gives it a bit of a high finish as well as the thin layer of wax adds a bit of protection to the leather.

Once again the shoes are brushed off and then lightly wiped off with a barely damp cloth.

If the shoes have a leather sole, I will apply the Saphir Sole oil to provide nourishment and protection to the part of the shoe that absorbs the most punishment.

(Not only do you have to take care of the upper part of the shoe but the bottom part as well. )

The finishing touch is some sole edge dressing (I use Fiebings).

Finally, if there is any stray stitching, I will quickly run a Zippo lighter across the shoe and burn it off.

If the mood strikes me, I may bull the captoe for the next 2-3 hours.

As indicated above @hugosf, this kind of care is given every 10-15 wears. Every shoe has shoe trees (which should be considered part of every shoe purchase and part of overall proper shoe maintenance.)

If the shoes came with shoe bags (i.e. shoes from Alden or Velasca) they are placed back in their shoe bags.

It may seem a bit much (no actually, it is a bit much ) but dust is a destroyer of fine leather as it can dry it out. So if your shoes are not getting worn on a regular basis than protection from dust with a shoe bag is not a bad idea.

At the start and finish of every day, I brush off my shoes, insert shoe trees, into the shoe bag they go and back on the rack.

In between the 10-15 wears, I may apply just a dab of Renovateur (a little goes a very long way) just to add some luster to the shoe.

With the recent influx of suede shoes in my collection, I may delve into some suede cleaning products. I have the eraser and suede brushes but I may take it up a notch with some Saphir Medaille d'Or Omninettoyant which is their suede shampoo.

I’m not gonna lie, seeing Kirby Allison applying water and shampoo to suede goes against every impulse I have when it comes to suede and H2O but it seems to work.

 

[johnniegold]

And don’t forget once a year, after giving your shoes all this care and maintenance, to then strip off all the layers of wax and polish buildup with Saphir Renomat.

Two pointers:

1) Wear gloves.

and;

2) Do it in a well-ventilated room.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I am not a shoe cleaning expert as is about to become obvious but I use Kiwi shoe polish, although I will try Saphir as my next purchase. When my Kiwi polish has dried out and cracked I revive it with a few drops of olive oil - seems to work a treat and allows the polish to be applied much more easily.

 

[Toothpick]

I ordered a few things to get me started. When it all arrives I’ll post a photo. I have leather boots and suede boots. And I’ll likely get a nice pair (or 2) of shoes because boots can be pretty hot in the height of Summer.

 

[musicman1951]

Can you use regular shoe trees in boots? I know they make boot trees but I’m having a hard time finding some good ones that are in stock.

Sure. I use regular shoe trees in all my boots. The purpose of the cedar tree is to absorb the moisture that your feet have left behind and to help the leather keep its shape - so it's essentially the same part of the boot as a shoe.

 

[Toothpick]

I always worry that the shoe tree with stretch out the shoe. I got a medium shoe tree that says it fits size 9-11(?). And my boots/shoes are a size 9. It fits snuggly.

Anyway - Here’s the new stuff I got to start with. I do have 2 pair of suede and I got A suede brush tool thingy but nothing to actually clean or treat it with. Brushes are Allen Edmonds. Man, I love the way cedar smells.

 

[FoolishMortal]

Welcome to a new rabbit hole.

There's a lot of good info here and it's easy to start buying lots of supplies. If you're into that, go for it!

I'm not nearly as fastidious as @johnniegold or @Doc4 (or others), but I find that Bick 4 provides effective nourishment for my leather shoes when I don't need or want to go as far as polishing them. I have some cream polishes, which work well on smooth leather dress shoes, but I'm happy with the clean-up, moisturizing and added resilience that Bick 4 gives to my more casual footwear. At some point, I'll probably step up to Saphir Renovateur.

My wife is a photographer and tough on shoes. She's on her feet, on her back, on her belly, whatever it takes to get the shot. She believes - as I do - in BIFL ("buy it for life"); in other words, spend the money to get the quality. She has two pairs of "work boots" ; one brown and one black. That means that I'm conditioning and polishing her leather boots fairly often, especially in the rainy season.

Really, almost anything that you do will be a step up from doing nothing. The basic rule is that dry leather is dead leather; eventually, it will crack, rip, crumble or otherwise fall apart. You're on the right path and you'll settle into a groove that works for you.

Oh, and yes, almost all my footwear uses shoe trees (including my boots and casual trainers). I prefer the split version, but what you have will work just fine.

 

[Toothpick]

loaded up in the old box. I tossed all the stuff that was in there. Starting new.

 

[Toothpick]

Welcome to a new rabbit hole.

There's a lot of good info here and it's easy to start buying lots of supplies. If you're into that, go for it!

I'm not nearly as fastidious as @johnniegold or @Doc4 (or others), but I find that Bick 4 provides effective nourishment for my leather shoes when I don't need or want to go as far as polishing them. I have some cream polishes, which work well on smooth leather dress shoes, but I'm happy with the clean-up, moisturizing and added resilience that Bick 4 gives to my more casual footwear. At some point, I'll probably step up to Saphir Renovateur.

My wife is a photographer and tough on shoes. She's on her feet, on her back, on her belly, whatever it takes to get the shot. She believes - as I do - in BIFL ("buy it for life"); in other words, spend the money to get the quality. She has two pairs of "work boots" ; one brown and one black. That means that I'm conditioning and polishing her leather boots fairly often, especially in the rainy season.

Really, almost anything that you do will be a step up from doing nothing. The basic rule is that dry leather is dead leather; eventually, it will crack, rip, crumble or otherwise fall apart. You're on the right path and you'll settle into a groove that works for you.

Oh, and yes, almost all my footwear uses shoe trees (including my boots and casual trainers). I prefer the split version, but what you have will work just fine.

Is there any advantage to the split version? I have 1 pair of those as well that were my dads.

 

[CarloMNL]

Is there any advantage to the split version? I have 1 pair of those as well that were my dads.

The split version can compensate for variances in width, within reason.

I don't know what kind of shoes you have to maintain but for smooth leather, you've gotten some very good recommendations from the previous posts. For waxy leather, like Chromexcel, the Saphir Leather Cleanser (a light, liquid version of Renovateur) works although Saphir makes a Greasy Leather Cream that is purpose built for such tannages.

Will reiterate the value of a horsehair brush or two. I have an inexpensive short loft version that is great for brushing off dust and stuff, and one with a taller and softer loft for maintaining shine. Dusting off the shoes before and after use go a long way towards keeping them looking great for years.