Jeffery West Men's Polished Leather Shoes, Black

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The final stage is the hardest and in reality, will be what you will have to learn on your own, just by continuously practicing. That being, I will still try and walk you through it. As you have already applied several layers of polish onto the shoe, you have a nice coat on by now which will allow you to directly add water to the mix, as in the old spit’n’shine. The way that I do this is to again affix the t-shirt to my hand, and then lightly dab my wedding finger (or equivalent on my right hand) into the tin of water to get a drop of it on the tip to then apply to the leather before polishing over.

The best shoe brushes have horsehair bristles. While they may be a touch more expensive than brushes with synthetic bristles, the quality difference is notable and will more than pay for itself over time. Step 3. Condition Look at the pictures to see. Again, I dab my finger into the water, then dab my two polishing fingers into the wax, apply the drops of water onto the leather, then rub away the water with the polish in circular motions. Repeat and do for 1-2 hours throughout the entire shoe. This is the only way of really explaining it. The only thing to look out for is to make sure that you do not apply too much water and thus over-soak the leather or leave a water stain. If you do so you will have to let the shoe sit and dry for a while before starting again. A way to know when you are close is to feel the leather and how it will get smoother and smoother after each layer. And when you feel like you are nearly there, I always recommend letting the shoe dry overnight before applying the final layer of wax’n’water. Shoe wax, on the other hand, offers a superior shine and scuff protection. It also seals and protects leather, but here’s the rub: it builds up over time and dries out. This is why, when applying wax, you’ll want to focus your efforts on the toe box and the heel counter and only give the vamp a light coating. Neither the toe box nor the heel counter crease, but the vamp obviously does, and this can cause a white film to show up after the wax has dried. There are lots of shoe care products on the market, and most men lump everything under the “shoe polish” umbrella. There are two main types of product that add color and cover scuffs to shoes: shoe cream and shoe wax, also known as carnauba wax.

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Shining shoes isn’t just a way to make yourself look better. It’s an opportunity to have a few precious moments to yourself. What Next?

Lots of footwear resources will tell you to apply polish at this point. We prefer to apply a leather cleaner/conditioner first. There’s no sense trapping old surface dirt underneath a layer of polish. All you have to do is dab a small amount all around the shoe, but be sure to test the product in an inconspicuous area such as the top of the heel counter to make sure that discoloration won’t be an issue. Allen Edmonds: We’re big fans of Allen Edmonds in general, and their shoe polish is another great product. A bit more expensive than Kiwi or Meltonian, it comes in a convenient squeeze bottle that helps to minimize mess.

Great instructional on getting that mirror shine. Maybe you should amend it with a more thorough walk-through of how to remove shoe polish properly. Before applying any actual polish, you’ll want to brush your shoes. This removes surface dirt and other schmutz, and it’s particularly important to get into the welt of the shoe, right where the upper meets the sole. Stuff gets caught in there like you wouldn’t believe, and there’s no better time than now to remove it.