A while back I bought this pair of Alfred Sargent Handgrade Benson to a very cheap price on Ebay. A shoe from a not too big brand like AS which looks really beaten up doesn’t go for much. But withs some simple true love and care they came out looking real nice again. Here’s a series of photos showing of the difference.
This is how they looked when I got them. The previous owner obviously didn’t treat them too well, they had a lot of scuffs and the sole edges looked quite terrible.
The way the soles were worn it looked to me as they had been used a lot in wet weather, rather than have been worn for a long period of time.
Here all the old cream and polish have been stripped off, they have been thoroughly washed and then let dry.
And voilà, after a proper shoe care session they look like this. Nothing special used, just four thin layers of pigmented cream to really cover up all the scuffs, and then some wax polish.
Here the refurbished ones are out in daylight.
The waist have been treated with black shoe cream, the rest of the bottom with neutral cream.
And finally some pics of them on the feet.
Congrats!
That’s an example of how with dedication (I was going to say love) and patience you can bring back to life fine things that have been mistreated, Can you detail which products you used? When I have to bring back to life mistreated shoes I always apply some dubbin (Grison’s Grassie Le Phoque) and leave the shoes resting a couple of days exposed to the sun.
JM: Thank you! It was a while ago I did this (the post was made for the Swedish version of Shoegazing originally), so don’t remember what specific products I used (I normally just pick something out of one of my shoe care boxes and go with that, if it’s from Saphir, Collonil, Burgol, Boot Black or something else doesn’t really matter).
You write, “A shoe from a not too big brand like AS which looks really beaten up doesn’t go for much.” I really enjoy refurbishing eBay shoes, but often have trouble knowing which brands to watch. I’ll keep this on my radar. *Are there any more brands like this that you recommend watching?
Thanks!
Johnatan: Oh, there are so many. But a good idea could be to check through the outsiders post I’ve made (a couple on the English version, but a lot on the Swedish page. Search for “outsiders” and you’ll find them).