RM.W Wax polish for toe caps only (no alcohol/silicone). RMW conditioner for every shoe (not on the toe caps tho)

Parade gloss is indeed bad for your shoes. Small amounts of turpentine can be beneficial for a sparkling finish, but not in the formulation found in PG.

Cream is not inherently any better for calfskin than wax polishes. In fact slathering it on in vast quantity as is the temptation because of the nice smell and consistency is actually really bad for most shoe leather.

Kiwi isn't the best product available, but it's far from the worst either. Always melt wax and use tiny quantities. The biggest crime is using the stuff cold. It cannot work effectively as a dry sticky mess straight from the tin at room temperature.

The key to any of this is the brushing and buffing as much as the substances used. It does require effort. Simply buying expensive products like Saphir but not doing enough with brush and cloth is counter-productive. Shooey's 45 minutes per pair is not wholly unreasonable.

Every six months or so I will use Wheeler's Traditional Leather Balm on the soles and heels of my shoes. The soles are as important as the uppers. Leaving them dry, brittle and undernourished is an invitation to drastically shorten the life-span of a pair of shoes.

I agree that brushing the best thing one can do for shoos (after several base coats of cream or polish have been carefully & thoroughly applied). Brushing is not just for shell cordovan and lazy people.

I've curated equestrian tack, some being 100 year old. The downside to wax is it does indeed seal the leather pores. The upside is there is a interior surface that is not treated and moisture escapes thus. Rest of course helps although I personally hold somebody with 200+ shoes will see many degrade from disuse and simple logistics without a major domo. It's a shoe, inherently to protect the foot, not become a fetish object. Sometimes the best care of something is to actually use it. I do strip my 3 pair annually with cheap vodka, give a modest application of skin food, let sit for 24 hours and then reapply a wax shine.

I explained this in my AAAC days to no avail. Saddle soap proper was a curing liquor used in 19th century tanning. Tanneries had all this excess chemical left over. Like Henry Ford's charcoal from wooden scrap and flouride they pushed it on a gullible public. It was nasty stuff.
The name became market familiar and is unfortunately still used on modern products with no connection. My only objection is the combination cleaning and conditioning. It takes more elbow grease to remove dirt  from a leather pores while trying to fill them with oils at the same time.
I was a intern curator at the L.A. Southwest Museum. They received a large collection of western saddles. Being a horseman I was given charge of cataloging and addressing any condition issues. A call to the Will Rogers ranch, my saddlers in Showlow Arizona and Walsall England all concured; clean, light dressing,repair but maintain all patinas of time and use. They comprise the bulk of the Gene Autrey Museum's displays now.
I am a member of the American driving society and Carraige Collectors Association. Though my personal collection was sold, I am still invited to act as 'WHIP.' My very first drivng lesson was by no less than Andy Devine. Andy grew up in Kingman Arizona. He received his role as  driver in STAGECOACH with John Wayne primarily because he knew how to drive 6 in hand vehicles.Yakima Canute did those stunts with Andy driving at full gallop.
Coachman were, and are more than a liveried servant to open doors. They acted as security, often armed to the teeth, emergency messengers and in competitive driving balance the vehicle much like sidecar racers. They do this, themselves turned out better dressed and mannered than many.

Last edited by ckav (2010-06-02 11:40:49)

I use Collonil neutral shoe cream. Works for me. I just rub the cream in with a rag (usually an old shirt) then buff up with a horse hair brush.

Last edited by fxh (2010-06-13 06:04:42)

OK. What do you all do to suede shoes ? Stiff brush ? Scotchgard ?

Do you wear them in Winter ? To me, they always seem a bit dainty for the harsher seasons.