What did I just do to my shoes?

[vidro3]

very new to the quality shoes scene and in a bit of a panic that I've either ruined my shoes or that they're crap to begin with.
Crosby Square shoes in tobacco, purchased from Gilt around August/September.
Worn once, literally. got them shined at a booth that day.
It's been really hot in my apartment and i figured the shoes would be drying out just like the people, plants and cats.
Decided to give them a shine tonight.
Wiped with a dry cloth. Soaped them up with Kiwi Saddle soap, though did not get much of a lather compared to my other shoes, which I thought odd.
Used Kiwi neutral shoe polish, since this is what the shoe shine guy used.
I first noticed that water was absorbing into the leather a bit more than I thought it should. Or more than compared to two other pairs of shoes I was shining tonight.
Worked in the polish and was buffing with a clean towel when I noticed more and more black appearing in the leather.
Rubbed some more and it seemed like there was gummy stuff coming up off the shoe.
And beneath that was a lighter color leather.
Here are some pictures so you can see what I mean.

So did I ruin them somehow?
Did I polish/rub too much and take off the original coloring - can one even do that?
Or have I not polished enough? should I get all that gunk, probably from the shine I got when I first wore them, off the shoe?

Thanks for the help.

 

[babydials]

Wow. I would contact Crosby Square.

 

[vidro3]

Can you postulate what the cause/problem may be? That is; crummy tanning, over polishing, if there is such a thing?
A major downside of Gilt purchases is nobody supports their product if it goes bad, they it's point at each other. So I'm not optimistic that Crosby square will give me a new pair even if this can be chalked up to a defect.
These really soak up water when I spritz with a bottle.

 

[NRK]

Neutral polish is mostly solvent. It's great at cleaning shoes, or removing a build up of old polish, but it will remove any finishing that's been applied to the shoe. It looks like that's what happened here. From the look of the leather I'd say an application of cleaner/conditioner followed by a bit of shoe cream would be a more appropriate regimen than neutral polish.

 

[Doc4]

At a guess, I'd say the root problem is a poor colouring job (hard to say "polishing") by the maker ... the colouring seems to be very superficial and easy to remove.

A major downside of Gilt purchases is nobody supports their product if it goes bad ...

Okay, so on the assumption that you are looking for ways to dig yourself out of this hole rather than get compensation from Gilt or Crosby2, I'd suggest the following:

Give the shoes a coat or two of a leather revitaliser ... I recommend Saphir "Renovateur"; a second choice would be Obenauf's LP. These are "clear" treatments, although they may darken the leather a bit ... there is no added pigment.

Then, decide what you want to do with the shoes, colour-wise. IF you are looking for a deeply-coloured shoe, you want to use a shoe cream (cream, not polish, as the cream will have more pigment) in the colour you want, and polish the shoes with that; with each successive application/polishing, you get a better and better colour.

IF, on the other hand, you are looking for a more "natural", patina-forward shoe, stick with clear creams and waxes, and let the natural appearance of the leather slowly shine forth.

 

[vidro3]

According to Kiwi customer service the only difference between neutral and brown polish is the dyes used, so I don't think it's accurate to imply its more of a solvent than other polish.

 

[vidro3]

Thanks for the advice Doc.