Shoe care products?

[vanNek]

Who can help me?

I'm looking for some good shoe car products, mostly a good polish for fixing scuff marks. I know waproo make a rejuvenating polish, but is it any good & where can I get online?


I just bought a huge tub of oak wood leather cream some I'm set there for a bit.

 

[Mong.]

Saphir seems to be the most hyped online by the fashion snobs. It's pricey but seems to be the go-to product for mid to high-end shoe retailers. Personally, I've always done okay with the Kiwi stuff from the supermarket. I always assumed that the result was often down to method and time invested. It's only recently that I gave much thought to using cream to condition the leather before polishing though, so maybe my method isn't all that sound.

 

[Question]

The problem with buying saphir is the shipping cost...im not sure why, but a small tin costs a ton to ship...probably by sellers overcharging on shipping....

 

[Mark1966]

So any suggestions on the Saphir products to get and options to purchase from?

 

[Bucephalus]

I'm a 25-year Vet and I spit-polished the toe caps of my shoes but NOT with Kiwi Parade Gloss, just plain old Kiwi Shoe Polish. The remainder of the shoes were polished by brush - GENTLY! The easiest way to remove scuff marks from polished shoes is to buff them with a rolled-up pair of the wife's old tights. You don't need fancy expensive creams, etc.
Tip: Use an old toothbrush to clean and polish the welts. There's nothing worse than a well-polished pair of shoes with a months build-up of crud in the welts.

 

[Korbz]

The easiest way to remove scuff marks from polished shoes is to buff them with a rolled-up pair of the wife's old tights. You don't need fancy expensive creams, etc.

Local cobbler that's been around since Joseph was a boy gave me the same advice.

 

[todras]

I use Colonil 1909 for my black Italian business shoes (soft leather), their 1909 Shoe Leather cream is fantastic for care and the 1909 Creme De Luxe for shining, I use the black but they do a range of colours depending on your leather colour and type.

 

[Mark1966]

I'm a 25-year Vet and I spit-polished the toe caps of my shoes but NOT with Kiwi Parade Gloss, just plain old Kiwi Shoe Polish. The remainder of the shoes were polished by brush - GENTLY! The easiest way to remove scuff marks from polished shoes is to buff them with a rolled-up pair of the wife's old tights. You don't need fancy expensive creams, etc.
Tip: Use an old toothbrush to clean and polish the welts. There's nothing worse than a well-polished pair of shoes with a months build-up of crud in the welts.

... or in the broguing!

Local cobbler that's been around since Joseph was a boy gave me the same advice.

... would probably know - but not be posting on many forums!

I use Colonil 1909 for my black Italian business shoes (soft leather), their 1909 Shoe Leather cream is fantastic for care and the 1909 Creme De Luxe for shining, I use the black but they do a range of colours depending on your leather colour and type.

Interesting alternative to Saphir. Comes with some good reports but not as 'famous' as the French option.

Might investigate further ...

You can get Saphir here in Australia.

Good range here - https://www.littlelusso.com/collections/shoe-care

Smaller range here - http://bootblack.com.au/products/wax-creams-polish/

Nice overview of offerings here - http://bootblack.com.au/products/wax-creams-polish/

 

[Mark1966]

After some poking around last night I placed an order!

Took the advice of @todras on the Collonil which is certainly well rated and MUCH cheaper than the Saphir.

Picked up:

1909 Crème de Luxe - https://www.collonil.com.au/1909-creme-de-luxe-1331.html
1909 Leather Cream - https://www.collonil.com.au/1909-leather-cream.html
Polishing Cloth - https://www.collonil.com.au/tuch.html
1909 Tiegelcremebürste - https://www.collonil.com.au/1909-tiegelcremeburste-556.html
Glanzbürste - https://www.collonil.com.au/glanzburste-570.html

Also noticed in my searching the ULTIMATE shoelace site - http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/index.htm

Now you know.

Thanks for the advice guys

 

[todras]

After some poking around last night I placed an order!

Took the advice of @todras on the Collonil which is certainly well rated and MUCH cheaper than the Saphir.

Picked up:

1909 Crème de Luxe - https://www.collonil.com.au/1909-creme-de-luxe-1331.html
1909 Leather Cream - https://www.collonil.com.au/1909-leather-cream.html

Polishing Cloth - https://www.collonil.com.au/tuch.html

1909 Tiegelcremebürste - https://www.collonil.com.au/1909-tiegelcremeburste-556.html

Glanzbürste - https://www.collonil.com.au/glanzburste-570.html

Also noticed in my searching the ULTIMATE shoelace site - http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/index.htm

Now you know.

Thanks for the advice guys

A man of great taste

I have that collection too. I was going to do the hotlink thing for all of them but was too tired after work. The wooden brushes are excellent, they allow you to get the creams and paste deep into the leather for proper nourishment. I really like the 1909 range, the price point is excellent and it's a quality product recommended to me by my cobbler (Strand Arcade Sydney if anyone was wondering).

 

[Mark1966]

After some poking around last night I placed an order!

Took the advice of @todras on the Collonil which is certainly well rated and MUCH cheaper than the Saphir.

Picked up:

1909 Crème de Luxe - https://www.collonil.com.au/1909-creme-de-luxe-1331.html
1909 Leather Cream - https://www.collonil.com.au/1909-leather-cream.html
Polishing Cloth - https://www.collonil.com.au/tuch.html
1909 Tiegelcremebürste - https://www.collonil.com.au/1909-tiegelcremeburste-556.html
Glanzbürste - https://www.collonil.com.au/glanzburste-570.html

Also noticed in my searching the ULTIMATE shoelace site - http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/index.htm

Now you know.

Thanks for the advice guys

Well finally got around to giving my shoes their New Year back to work clean. Ran out of time a little so only got a chance to do a brush clean -

Use stiff brush to clean dust etc off shoes
Wipe down with clean cloth
Apply creme with Tiegelcremebürste
Leave for 30 mins
Polish off with Glanzbürste

So no chance to do a higher quality polish with clothes.

Results still very good. The creme is rich and fairly liquid so covers well including those hard to get at places. Brush polish could probably be improved with a cloth but still fairly impressive.

Next time I will do a couple at a time and take more time.

So I would recommend the Collonil on the basis of this first use!

 

[TomG]

Some very interesting reading on shoe care. I use Neats Foot oil for conditioning, and Angelus wax polish for bringing up the shine. Have a large horse hair brush that helps.
I've recently purchased some Collonil Ultra Classic cream, on the recommendation of the local Cobbler. However, having read the above, the 1909 Creme de Luxe sounds very interesting.
When applying my wax, I use a method I picked up in the US watching the shoe-shine guys at work. They heat up the wax by briefly applying a small blowtorch to the wax surface - this melts the wax, and allows you to get a thin even coat of liquefied wax onto the surface of the leather. It comes up like a mirror when you buff.. I don't bother with a torch; just use a simple long-stem butane gas lighter available for a few bucks at any supermarket.

 

[todras]

So I would recommend the Collonil on the basis of this first use!

I have been using Collonili on all my hand made Italian shoes for a year or two now, my cobbler in Strand Arcade Sydney (a pair of Italian characters ofc) recommended it highly when I had some shoes in for a service. I have never looked back, it's an ideal product at an excellent price point. I particularly like the restorative shoe cream with the applicator in the lid, it does a wonderful service on older shoes restoring older leather. I reserve the black for the new, soft leather business shoes I go for.

 

[Holiday]

I knew I could rely on P&C to provide advice on quality shoe care products.
I recently purchased this little kit for work and need a shoe polish.
Is the Collonil Classics Shoe Cream ($20) enough to maintain business shoes or shall I opt for Saphir Pate de Luxe ($32)

 

[lastkey]

@Holiday Your "need" depends on what you're trying to achieve. For regular polishing/maintenance or even long-term, I would be happy with Collonil. I think Saphir would be needed if you are doing some restoration. You don't need to spend extra if you regularly maintain your leather shoes with a good quality cream like Collonil.

 

[Mark1966]

Still using the Collonil and have no complaints!

 

[Gargravarr]

I knew I could rely on P&C to provide advice on quality shoe care products.
I recently purchased this little kit for work and need a shoe polish.
Is the Collonil Classics Shoe Cream ($20) enough to maintain business shoes or shall I opt for Saphir Pate de Luxe ($32)

You can get a mirror shine with good old Kiwi. The best polishing cloth is your wife's oldest pair of undies.

 

[TomG]

Collonil is good stuff.
Have also had great results with Angelus.

A tip I learnt from a shoeshine guy in the States if using paste wax from a tin. Heat the wax with a cigarette lighter or gas lighter - the liquified wax will give an amazing shine.

 

[Holiday]

You can get a mirror shine with good old Kiwi. The best polishing cloth is your wife's oldest pair of undies.

I have good old Kiwi Parade Gloss at home but want something a bit more nourishing for my Italian Leather shoes at work, also Woolies don't appear to sell Kiwi products anymore

You can get a mirror shine with good old Kiwi. The best polishing cloth is your wife's oldest pair of undies.

Oh I have so many cheeky responses going through my head at the moment and best I keep them all to myself

 

[Holiday]

@Holiday Your "need" depends on what you're trying to achieve. For regular polishing/maintenance or even long-term, I would be happy with Collonil. I think Saphir would be needed if you are doing some restoration. You don't need to spend extra if you regularly maintain your leather shoes with a good quality cream like Collonil.

Cheers @lastkey no restorative work just removing scuffs and maintaining the leather