A detailed step by step shoe care guide with lots of information on how and why you should take care of your nice leather shoes, including a film showing every step. Also reviews two different techniques for shoe shining, one of them being the express spit shine method, with which you can achieve a proper high gloss in 15 minutes.
Overview and direct links:
Video – The whole guide in four minutes
Introduction
Step 1 – Cleaning
Step 2 – Deep conditioning
Step 3 – Recolouring, care and protection
Step 4 – Shine and protection
– Traditional spit shine method
– Express spit shine method
Links to other articles about shoe care
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Video – The whole guide in four minutes
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Introduction
This is of course not the only way to polish shoes, but this is one that I can vouch for. Since the idea is that people with different levels of knowledge should understand and benefit from the guide, I will write it as clearly as possible. Therefore, the complete guide will be quite long, but as you’ll understand below, you can choose which parts of the one you use, and since it’s thorough, I hope that also beginners will get answers to most of the questions. Otherwise, feel free to ask questions in the comments section below.
We begin with some basics, that after each use you should brush the shoes with a horsehair brush or wipe the shoes with a damp cloth. Then insert the shoe trees directly to straighten out the sole and creases and have the shoes retain its shape. Then let the shoes rest for one day before using them again. If they are really wet, they may do good by resting two days, to be completely dry. The reason that it’s important that the shoes become completely dry is that both the upper leather, the sole and the cork filling inside the shoe wear much more if they are used when moist.
The products used in this guide. Upper row, from the left: Saphir Reno’mat, Bick 4 Leather conditioner, Boot Black shoe cream, Boot Black Polishing water, nylon sock, big brush with horse hair. Bottom, fr. l.: Cotton cloth, Boot Black shoe shining cloth, application brush, Saphir Medaille d’Or Pate de Luxe wax polish, goat hair brush from Edoya.
And then, of course it is necessary to polish the shoes on a regular basis. To make it easy, the guide is written in different steps, and depending on the needs, you can choose which steps to use.
Here’s how the guide is arranged:
Steps 1-4: Full cleaning, conditioning, recolouring and polishing. The whole shebang is appropriate to do maybe once a year or so, depending on how much the shoes are used to remove some old shoe cream and moisturize the shoes from scratch.
Steps 2-4: Conditioning, recolouring and polishing. Something you should do about every 3-4 months or something like that, to build up your basic protection and give it some good care. Again, differs depending on how often the shoes are used.
Steps 3-4, but only one round each: Standard shoe polishing. When the shoes have been through a more substantial routine, it is possible to restore the shine easily on the shoes with one round of cream and wax polish, or sometimes only wax, about every 5-10 use, depending on what conditions they are used in. Sometimes step 2 can be included here if the shoes are a bit dirty and/or the leather feels dry.
Only Step 3: Minimal care. If you only want to make the absolute minimum for your shoes, it’s step 3 – the shoe cream – that you can not skip. It cares and protects. You should not use impregnation spray for shoes in regular leather, you only use this for suede or nubuck.
I’m also of the opinion that new shoes always should get a round of shoe care, even though new quality shoes have been treated at the factory, the protection is often insufficient, and the shoes may have been in a box for a long time, the leather may have dried and benefit from some care before use. One might say that it may not always be necessary to take care of new shoes, but it can never be wrong, so my recommendation is to always do it.
Personally, I use many different brands of shoe care, it works well to mix between products (as long as you do not use any with silicone or other bad chemical substances), most of them consist of more or less the same content, its mostly variations in amounts, in some cases ingredients, but the natural substances that good shoe care products contain work well together. Examples of good manufacturers of shoe care products include Saphir, Boot Black, Collonil, Turms, Springyard, Columbus, GlenKaren/PurePolish, Tarrago, La Cordonnerie Anglais, Famaco, Burgol, and many others.
The shoes that get a total revamp in this post is a bespoke pair from Japanese Yohei Fukuda. They are quite saturated with forestry products, have a bunch of scratches and are in need of some restoration.
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Step 1 – Cleaning
First of all, the shoes should get a good cleaning, and if needed (as in my case here) old shoe cream and polish removed. Start by removing any shoelaces (however, they can stay in the standard everyday routine) and wipe the shoes with a damp cloth so that they are completely free of dust and dirt. Then you can either take a form of leather shampoo/leather soap or gall soap that lathers and wash them thoroughly under running water, whereupon the shoes must be left to dry first with wrinkled newspaper and then shoe trees in them until they are completely dry. This is best for shoes that are really dirty. Otherwise, a good option is to use with a leather cleaner such as Saphir Medaille d’Or Leather Cleanser or the stronger Saphir Reno’mat, where the shoes do not need to be rinsed in water, you apply the product on a cotton clothand rub hard and carefully over the entire shoe. If there is a lot of cream that needs to be removed, as in this case, opt for Renomat and go over them again until you feel that the leather starts to get clean and pores open. Then allow the shoes to rest until they are completely dry, it may vary the amount of time needed, but at least 30 minutes.
Start by removing the shoelaces and wipe the shoes with a damp cloth.
The leather cleaner Saphir Reno’mat and a cotton cloth, take an old one for this job.
Take a small amount of laundry on the cloth and rinse properly over a shoe area. Often you have to cross it several times, not least on the toes where several layers of polish need to be removed.
The shoes after they’ve been cleaned and left to dry. They are matte, clean with open pores ready to receive new caring ingredients.
If using leather shampoo/leather soap, wash the shoes under running water and work up a proper lather. Could be better if the shoes are really dirty. Here, however, they need to dry at least overnight to get completely dry before proceeding with the next step.
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Step 2 – Deep conditioning
After a wash, it is good to restore the leather with a product that conditions and moisturise. You can use different varieties of leather balm or lotions, especially if you find that the leather has been very dehydrated, but for shoes it is usually best with a form of conditioner. Here I use Bick 4, other options include, for example, Saphir Creme Nappa, Saphir Renovateur, Collonil 1909 Leather cream conditioner, Boot Black has several good conditioners, and many others.
Take a cotton cloth and a very small amount of conditioner, which, as above, is applied step by step over the entire shoe with circular movements, using less pressure this time. Also on the sole and heel edge. It does not require much of the product, with a good conditioner only a very thin layer is needed. Conditioners usually also cleaned to some extent, and can be used for simpler cleaning, which is good if you do the conditioning, recolouring and polishing with steps 2-4 . Apply it only gently in small amount gives mainly the moisturising effect, rubbing harderfor a few more runs cleans and remove cream and dirt more.
Allow to dry for about 5-10 minutes before going over them with a horsehair brush.
Bick 4 is a conditioner that provides proper conditioning and moisturises the leather, and also cleans a bit. It do contain silicone though, so nowadays I prefer Saphir Medaille d’Or Nappa conditioner.
Only a small amount of conditioner is needed, applied in thin layers. This above can be used for the entire toe and vamp section.
When the shoes already have been cleaned, you can apply the conditioner gently, since it’s the moisturising and caring effects we’re after.
The trail begins to regain its luster, and should feel less dry and more supple now.
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Step 3 -Recolouring, care and protection
Now it’s time for shoe cream, a thick cream often found in glass jars or tubs, not to be confused with wax polish that we use in the next step.
It is caring, protective and if it is pigmented it also recolours. I recommend using pigmented cream, or at least polish (which does not color as much), since it has the golden feature that it covers over the scratches and marks you inevitably get on a pair of shoes. Neutral cream doesn’t do this in the same way. Just neutral cream and polish I personally only think should be used if you have an advanced antique-treated shoe or two-tone model that you don’t want to change the colour on. Even then, pigmented cream may be good if you want to cover any scratches, but then you go with neutral on the rest of the shoe.
If you use pigmented cream and want to keep the original shade of colour on your shoes, you should use a cream in the same or slightly lighter shade. It definitely does not have to be exactly the same color. If you want darker shoes with more depth over time, use a cream that is slightly darker than shoe. For even greater depth, it is nice to vary the color of the cream. For example, on a pair of medium-brown shoes, I usually switch between brown, dark brown, burgundy, and sometimes even blue and black. Even the most pigmented shoots are still far from any paint, it takes time before noticeable colour changes appear.
Horsehair brush, shoe cream and an application brush to be used for the area between the sole edge and upper leather.
When applying the cream, I recommend starting with the space between the sole and the upper, and using a small application brush (a toothbrush will do if you don’t have anything else), an important area not least since moisture can penetrate the shoe this way. For the upper leather, I prefer to leave the application brush and take a cotton cloth again, as I find it easier to get the cream applied evenly with this, if it’s not shoes in embossed grain leather, then the brush is good also for the rest of the shoe.
Take the cotton cloth and wrap it around one or two fingers (myself I prefer two as it’s more sturdy), apply a small amount of shoe cream and progress step by step over the whole shoe in small circular movements. More cream is added to the cloth for each new area of the. With the cream you should put more pressure on the movements to really work it into the leather, but still no heavy pressure. Do not forget the tongue or the sole and heel edge. When the whole shoe has got a very thin layer of cream on it, allow to dry for 5-10 minutes, then brush with a large bristle brush to smooth the cream layer, remove excess cream and cure it slightly.
Repeat this procedure twice when the shoe has been completely clean, it is good to add a solid base now.
It may also be advisable to treat t leather sole, if any, with a layer of neutral shoe cream or sole oil (may take some time to dry, so do this at later stake).
About this amount of cream is enough for the entire toe cap and vamp (the widest part of the shoe), to give a picture of the amount needed.
Apply the cream with circular movements, with relatively hard pressure. Also the sole and heel edges need care, and pigmented cream effectively covers the scratches that are always there, not least at the front.
After some time to dry, brush the shoe with a large horsehair brush.
Since the plot can be difficult to get a brush, at least on oxfords, you can take a nylon trap to this.
What they look like after the above is done. The shoes have got decent shine from the the cream, but for a really good shine, the shoes also need a few rounds of wax polish. If there would be one step in this guide that absolutely can’t be removed, which is really a must, it’s the shoe cream here in step 3.
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Step 4 – Shine and protection
The last step in this shoe care ladder is of course some wax polish. It’s a hard mass found in a metal jar or plastic jar, which provides a little bit of care for the leather, but mainly creates shine and protection. There are those who dislike shiny shoes, but even so I recommend using polish as it forms a hard barrier that provides excellent protection against rain and scratches. If you don’t want it too shiny, you can settle for a couple of layers and just go over a quick run with a brush at the end, and leave it at that.
Here I will briefly go through a more traditional but a bit more time-consuming method of creating a so-called spit shine gloss, then a more comprehensive description of a method I call express spit shine that is significantly faster, but may require a little more of the shoe shiner.
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Traditional spit shine method
Here a cotton cloth definitely is to recommend, wrap it around your fingers and put on a really small amount of polish. Dip a finger quickly into the water and put it on the shoe, and work out the polish with small, fast circular movements. Here I think it works best when using only a very light pressure, and allows the heat generated by the speed of the movements to do the job. The moisture makes it slip very easily without friction, but water splashes should not be formed on shoe, then the cloth has become too moist. If this happens change to a dry part on the cloth and continue.
If you use this method, take a very small amount of wax on each layer.
For beginners, I usually go over the entire shoes two times with a very thin layer of polish. Here you do not have to wait for it to dry. Also put polish on the sole edge, but not on the tongue, it’s not necessary. More polishthan this isn’t needed on the edges or the moving parts of the shoe, since the shiny surface will still disappear there when the shoe moves, and too thick layers will only crack and it can look really ugly. However, you may choose to continue working with toe and heel, to get an even better shine there. You simply proceed with the same procedure, thin layers of polish that are built on each other with fast movements. After a while you will notice how the surface changes and a natural shine will appear. It is recommended, especially if you aren’t too used to shining shoes, to take a break every now and then and allow the polish to dry before continuing. It’s mainly a matter of time.
When you are completely done with polish, go over the shoe with a brush with very fast movements all the shoe properly. If you have more shine on your toes you should avoid a horsehair brush, it is too hard and makes scratches in a spit shine. If you have a goat hair brush, I recommend it for this part. And for the finishing touches, use a thin nylon cloth (for example, some old pantyhose, if you don’t have access to it they don’t cost too much in any clothing store). Pull the cloth/sock over your hand and rub with very fast movements throughout the shoe. Here it’s also the heat that is produced which makes the products react and further shine appears.
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Express spit shine method
One common truth is that it takes a lot of time to get a good spit shine on your shoes. However, it does not have to. Here I go through a technique that will allow you to get a proper spit shine in 15 minutes. It should be mentioned that it is easier to fail with this technique, both during the actual polishing and that there may be a tendency for the polish layer to crack a bit easier. It is easier to find the right technique if you are used to polishing a high gloss with wax, as you get that feeling for the work that usually only comes with experience (and many mistakes).
As most people know, it’s easier to work out a shine when the shoes have already been polished before, so to give a “fair” picture, the shoes I show below are stripped of old wax and shoe cream with a proper rubbing with renovateur.
This time I use wax polish from Saphir Medaille d’Or, but it works just as well with wax from other good shoe care brands like Collonil, Burgol, Springyard, Boot Black, etc. I also use Boot Black’s polish water, it contains some alcohol which I think that makes the job slightly easier, but with plain water, there is no significant difference more than you might take a little less than I do here. A thin, fine cotton cloth is recommended for this type of shining work, the slightly coarser felt-like cloths tends to make the layers tear together.
The gears used. A thin cotton cloth, wax polish, a nylon cloth, shoe polishing water (regular water works fine) and a softer brush (this is made of goat hair).
I take a lot of wax on the cloth, and then put on quite a lot of water (I dip my finger in the water and put on the shoe in a couple of rounds, make sure the water drops are not too long in one place only since marks can be formed). Then with medium-pressure and circular movements I put on the wax on the toe. Now the surface will be matte and a bit tacky, but keep working and then take another round of water, a little less this time, and polish with circular movements until the matte surface starts to disappear and becomes more even and brighter. By the end of each round I have a quite light pressure, and sometimes a drop of water is needed before the layer feels set. This procedure I repeat two more times before I go over the rest of the shoe with the polish (also sole and heel edges). Over the heel that also has a stiffener, I add two extra layers in the same way as the toe.
A bit difficult to illustrate on picture, but it is relatively much wax I take at a time now the first rounds.
Put on relatively much water, and with gentle but fast circular motions you apply the wax. First, the surface becomes matt and a bit sticky, but with continued work and some more water it will be smoothed.
After the entire shoe has been covered with wax, I’ll put two more layers on the toe, according to the principle above, although I’m taking a bit less wax polish at a time now. The risk that exists here is that you break the layers and get it ruined. It’s here that feeling I’m talking about above comes in, knowing how and how much to polish, water and pressure to keep the balance right. Very hard to explain in words, and in addition, it’s very individual since everyone shines shoes a bit differently, so you have to try it out.
After this you take the other shoe and do the same procedure on them, so that the first shoe gets to rest and the wax will dry a bit. It takes about five minutes per shoe here if you work pretty fast. Then on the first shoe you go over them quickly with a nylon cloth, before taking another three to four layers on the toe part, where the first ones with a big amount of wax like the first layers above, the last ones a bit less like the latter. Towards the end of each layer, it’s even less pressure and faster movements used, and the shine should now really start to show.
A goat hair brush is softer than one with horsehair, and doesn’t risk scratching the layer of polish in the same way.
Now the other round when I’m just going over the toes, it takes maybe five minutes for both shoes. A quarter in total in other words, when you work really quick (of course it can vary between different shoes, some leathers are easier to shine than others). Do let them rest a few minutes before taking a round with the nylon cloth again. Then I have gained a clear, bright shine on mainly the toe party, a quite decent spit shine. If you want even higher shine, continue with the last part in a few more rounds, with some rest between them.
Finish off with a nylon cloth to achieve the highest shine possible.
Now you should have a pair of well cared for, very nice looking shoes in front of you.
If you are a beginner, it’s not certain that you achieve a good result even if you’ve followed the above in detail. It’s about having that feel for how it should be done, to get a good result, and the only way to get there is through practice. It’s as if you are cooking a meal and fail even though you’ve followed the recipe completely correct, if you lack the feel for cooking it still can go wrong.
What’s nice is that once you have laid a good foundation, it’s easy to reboost the nice shine, and you do not have to use the same efforts every time you want to get a spit shine anymore.
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments field below, where I’ll try to answer them and maybe update the post if needed until the article really live up to its headline.
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Links to other articles about shoe care
Guide – Care of cordovan
Guide – Shoe trees
Guide- High shine with just cream
The tip – Treat the inside of the shoes
The tip – Place the creases
The tip – Seasonal storage
Really great guide, thorough yet accessible. Thanks!
Jake: Thanks a lot for the kind words!
Dear Jesper, thanks a lot for the nice article. In view of hard climate in my country, the summer shoes here have to rest 5-6 months during the cold time. I keep my shoes in boxes in which I bought them. My question: how to care the leather of the shoes that time? Which products to use and how often? (The same question is about the winter boots during the summer time).
Alexandre: Yeah good, thanks for the question and reminding me about that topic! I’ve written about seasonal storage before, added a link to that article now in the link collection in the end of the post.
Jesper, thank you. I like your answer. I wonder, do you also have a separate post on my next question: how to clean the soles prior of applying balsams and creams? I think that your cleaning tips are only for the upper leather, which is chrome tanned. What is about the soles that are vegetable tanned? We often encounter with unpleasant things on our soles: stains from oil, petroleum, other chemicals plus fragments of chewing gums, etc. Damp cloth does not help to get rid of them. Should we use Renomat or Saddle soap in this case? Or should we apply creams ignoring these stains and gums?
Gorgeous shoes. I’ve been lusting for a pair of Unze Mens shoes. Some day…
Each type of leather shoes will require a slightly different set of tools or require different care. the best way to clean leather shoes is to change sole and remove excess dirt with a fine cloth or soft brush
Alexandre: Upper leather and sole leather are two different things, even if we talk about vegetable tanned upper leather. That would be treated as this guide suggests as well. For leather soles, it’s mentioned briefly that it can be good to apply neutral cream or sole oil when you do a thourough wash, which then wouldn’t be so often. Since sole leather is tanned completely differently, and doesn’t need to look good, only be resistant, it’s a different thing, but some care doesn’t heart.
Men shoes in the US: Not sure I understand your comment, sorry.
What an amazing blog! I want to say something about your post which is related to the shoes care post which is really nice and valuable as I have read your blog, keep doing well.
Shoe sole: Thank you very much!
Jesper, as I understand, you wrote about care of new calf shoes. How about new suede shoes which I am going to wear just during dry summer days. Do they need some care too? Which kind of care?
Alexandre: Yes, I have a suede guide as well on the Swedish site, will translate it when I have the time. You should definitely use impregnation spray for new suede shoes. Shoe cream on sole and heel edges could be good, but not as necessary.
Jesper, 1) trying to understand the physical properties of shoe glacaging with a cloth I think that microfibre must be superior comparatively with cotton because it is finer and not prone to destroy in small pieces and scratch the surface. That is why it is popular in monitor cleanings and lens cleaning in photography. Do you agree with my opinion? Have you already try it for shoe polishing?
2) Imagine that I need to do a standard shoe polishing of shoes with high shining toes. Should I apply cream against the entire shoe or only the surface out of the toes and cover the toes with wax only? Should I always take off the layer of wax from the toes before I apply new portion of cream to open the pores of the leather?
Alexandre: I’ve tried cloths similar to those you use to polish glasses etc, I don’t find them as good as very fine cotton cloths though, my personal opinion.
I always apply cream also on high shined toes, mainly since there’s basically always scuffs etc you want to cover, which cream does a lot better than just polish. It will brake the luster a bit, but still quite easy to get the high shine back when you start with the polish.
Those shoes look perfect.
Lewis Johnson: Thank you!
Really comprehensive guide! This is exactly what I was looking for on the internet – an expert guide with all the little tips and tricks that the ‘commercialised’ clickbait articles don’t go over.
David: Thanks, glad to hear you think so!
I’ve enjoyed how that application brush looks. Where did you get it?
Neil: It’s bought from a small brush maker in Asakusa, Japan.
Dear Jesper, Thanks for sharing such useful article. Your step by step guideline is too clear to understand. I must say the way you taught shoe shinning looks a lot more relaxing than others. Keep it up this great writing.
David Valle: Thank you very much for the kind words! Much appreciated.
Very good guide! However I have a question that thus far has puzzled me: Let`s say you go thru step 1 till 4 in this guide and use the shoes for a while. Can you then put cream ontop of the wax or do you have to repeat the whole cycle of 1-4. That`s is: will the cream penetrate thru the wax layers or do you have to remove the wax layer for the cream to penetrate into the leather? I`m asking since it – from what I understand – is recommended that cream is applied every other month or so. Does that mean that you have to go thru this whole cycle every other month. And additionally – doesn`t the thorough renomat cleaning put some stress on the leather? I would think that it would not be advisable to use Renomat – or another similar “strong” product on the leather too often.
Awesome! No words. You always go one step beyond.
There is so much great, useful information here. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Read our guide if you wish.
theshoesfinder blog
Thanks again 🙂
ASH Green: Thanks for the kind words!
Hello,
After polishing new shoes,aply renovateur,shoe cream and wax what is the regular maintenance? Can I apply shoe cream over the wax layer applied in the first polish or I can only put renovateur? Or I can continue to put more wax? And after how long can I remove the wax layer?
Thank you!
I have the same question as Michael (see above)!
Michael: Don’t fully understand your questions, but I’ll try answer. Shoe cream and wax is the regular maintenance, renovateur only occasionally. Only renovateur will dissolve more cream and not give back shine etc, cream will dissolve a bit of the wax layer but is more easily polished up again, since you’ve stuffed the leather already. Strip the shoes of cream and wax maybe once a year or so, and start over.
Hi,
I am saying that after the full maintenance,renomat- renovateur- cream-wax ,in a regular maintenance can I put shoe cream over the wax layer in the first maintenance and then more wax , every 2-3 months apply first renovateur them cream and wax? There won’t be any build up of wax?
Thanks
Michael: Yes, you can do that. And you will, and should, have build up of wax (it’s the build-up of wax that achieves the shine). That’s why they should be stripped once a year or so.
Polish it is something that adds flavors to your existing shoe and makes it look good and attractive to wear and see
Wondering when you could put the suede guide up (if you already have could you share link? I haven’t found it). I’ve only owned cheap suede shoes (or vintage bucks) and I have a cheap bottle of conditioner spray. I don’t know if the conditioner is too viscous, or the spray nozzle doesn’t work properly, but the mechanism doesn’t deliver a smooth finer mist across the leather. Instead it seems to “cough” up the liquid with every press, leaving the leather blotchy looking after application. Yes eventually it dries up, but it’s something I would like to avoid with finer suedes coming my way.
Also interested in your recommendation of proofing sprays. Interested in the best, unless the price is truly exorbitant. Also curious whether these waterproofing sprays for suede do any long-term damage to the leather? Reason for asking is because we are told to avoid creams and conditioners with silicone in them. Why? Because it blocks the pores! Well I think the suede sprays do something similar, so I find it rather odd that a lot of the online guides (not you necessarily) with the same breath tell us to avoid silicone for regular leather, but also tell us to spray suede with the protector only
I usually care With only wax and not cream. Is There à big différence ?