Difference between shoe polish and shoe cream

**drrobert** · January 13th, 2007, 06:54

I am dyeing an old pair of chukka boots a nice hunter green to have something different than the usual tan or black boots I wear with my blue jeans on the weekend. I have the choice of either getting a hunter green shoe polish or a hunter green cream and I would like to know the difference between the two and why would you choose one over the other. Which would most likely produce a greater shine to the boot? drrobert

**choubix** · January 13th, 2007, 09:08

shoe polish doesnt "feed" the leather as well as a cream.

shoe polish will come off more easily than cream when you clean the leather with turpentine.

shoe cream penetrates deeper in the leather.

Shoe cream doesnt give you the sheen a shoe polish will give.

now you can consider using either one or the other or both...
cream + neutral shoe polish for instance?

hope this helps

**pcunite** · January 13th, 2007, 09:21

Originally Posted by drrobert

hunter green shoe polish or a hunter green cream and I would like to know the difference between the two \

I am not an expert but I do believe my understanding of this subject is correct.

Shoe Polish contains wax and acetone like chemicals to keep it pliable. It will produce a superior shine. The downside or plus side is it clogs the pores of the leather thus adding some water resistance. This of course means it will build up over time and makes it very had to apply leather oils to the leather later on unless removed.

Shoe cream is basically a leather conditioner with lots of dye in it. It will produce a moderate shine after two applications. It contains no wax so it mostly does not hinder leather oils being applied later.

Leather oil is a product that lubricates the fibers of the leather keeping them from cracking. Leather will last for many years if treated this way. Your leather shoes came with oil in them and it is when the oil leaves that the shoes begin to really deteriorate. I use a product called leatherique and you will notice I post about it occasionally. I am not connected with them in any way but just love the product. Sometime I will post how I treat my shoes, new from the box.

I don't know about you but I want my shoes to look good for as long as I choose to wear them.

**mclean5** · January 13th, 2007, 14:34

Originally Posted by pcunite

Sometime I will post how I treat my shoes, new from the box.

Please do.

**jcusey** · January 13th, 2007, 15:08

See Ron Rider's article about shoe care on his blog. Specifically:

Available in a huge variety of colors, Cream Polish is very similar to the harder wax polishes with the main difference being some subtraction of solvent and a corresponding addition of water, mineral oil, or similar ingredient. While equal in it’s ability to impart color, the cream polishes generally do not have the same ability to cover the inevitable scuffs and cuts that a leather shoe is prone to experience. In addition to the above manufacturers, others of note are Urad (Italy), Colonnil (Germany) and Smart (Turkey).

**hcivic91** · January 13th, 2007, 21:23

I recently had a pair of shoes dyed from brown to black with fantastic results. When I returned with another pair my cobbler talked me into DIY. He steered me to two products and said it would do the trick and leave me with shoes that are dyed and not painted, just as he had done for me. The two products he sold me are: Meltonian Nu-Life Color Preparer and Fiebing's Leather Dye. He said the Preparer stripps old color and gives the leater "bite," something for the new color to seep into and adhere to. He said there are other products out there spray, creams, etc... but this is the way to go and the way he did my other pair. The other pair looks amazing and has held up well so far.

I walked into the store well prepared to spend the $30 he charges to dye shoes. After learning I was a shoe nut he strong-armed me into doing it myself. I appreciate being taught how to fish, I'm sure it will pay dividends in the future.

**Howard** · January 14th, 2007, 13:28

Originally Posted by pcunite

I am not an expert but I do believe my understanding of this subject is correct.

Shoe Polish contains wax and acetone like chemicals to keep it pliable. It will produce a superior shine. The downside or plus side is it clogs the pores of the leather thus adding some water resistance. This of course means it will build up over time and makes it very had to apply leather oils to the leather later on unless removed.

Shoe cream is basically a leather conditioner with lots of dye in it. It will produce a moderate shine after two applications. It contains no wax so it mostly does not hinder leather oils being applied later.

Leather oil is a product that lubricates the fibers of the leather keeping them from cracking. Leather will last for many years if treated this way. Your leather shoes came with oil in them and it is when the oil leaves that the shoes begin to really deteriorate. I use a product called leatherique and you will notice I post about it occasionally. I am not connected with them in any way but just love the product. Sometime I will post how I treat my shoes, new from the box.

I don't know about you but I want my shoes to look good for as long as I choose to wear them.

What about saddle soap?

**drrobert** · January 14th, 2007, 13:43

The shoemaker I bought the Fiebings dye from said that Fiebings ,as well as other leather dye specialists, make a deglazer to use prior to dyeing your shoes. He told me not to waste the $5.00 for this small bottle as it is really acetone (nail polish remover) in disguise which you can get at any store that sells cosmetics for under a $1.00. He further said as soon as you have used the acetone to remove the old wax and deglaze the shoes, immediately dye the shoes with the wool dauber supplied by Fiebings with the dye. I did three coats, letting each coat dry thoroughly between coats , and my boots came out great . Why spend $30 at the shoemaker when you can do the job yourself for about $5.50. Also note that you can get a catalog from Fiebings which demonstrates their dye colors much better than Internet sites color chart and if you do not like the colors from Fiebings , I believe Lincoln and Meltonian also sell leather dyes for shoes. drrobert

**pcunite** · January 14th, 2007, 15:00

Originally Posted by Howard

What about saddle soap?

Do not use on fine leather shoes, also avoid mink oil as well. Mink oil is fine when the damage of water will be greater than what the Mink oil will do. Boots for camping could use Mink oil for example...

**Howard** · January 15th, 2007, 07:15

Originally Posted by pcunite

Do not use on fine leather shoes, also avoid mink oil as well. Mink oil is fine when the damage of water will be greater than what the Mink oil will do. Boots for camping could use Mink oil for example...

I thought saddle soap was the same as shoe cream and shoe polish.

**Mitchell** · January 15th, 2007, 09:32

My shoe shine guy years ago used Venetian Cream as a finish to shoe shines. Is it really orth the effort?

I thought it was appropriate to use saddle soap to clean shoes prior to polishing.

**pcunite** · January 15th, 2007, 11:51

Originally Posted by Howard

I thought saddle soap was the same as shoe cream and shoe polish.

I thought it was appropriate to use saddle soap to clean shoes prior to polishing.

No, avoid, avoid. Saddle soap is harsh for fine leather shoes. Maybe for something your throwing around in the mud and destroying anyway. DO NOT use on shoes or fine leather car seats.

I believe if you search this forum you will find reasons why not to use it, or maybe on the Internet. I am in a hurry so I don't have time to post all the reason why. Take care.

**Howard** · January 16th, 2007, 13:30

Originally Posted by pcunite

No, avoid, avoid. Saddle soap is harsh for fine leather shoes. Maybe for something your throwing around in the mud and destroying anyway. DO NOT use on shoes or fine leather car seats.

I believe if you search this forum you will find reasons why not to use it, or maybe on the Internet. I am in a hurry so I don't have time to post all the reason why. Take care.

Thanks PC.

**Brian13** · January 16th, 2007, 13:35

yes, i reiterate what is said above, DO NOT use saddle soap on dress shoes.
it was not originally made for that application.

in my shoe kit arsenal i do not have a saddle soap nor mink oil.

**The Gabba Goul** · January 31st, 2007, 13:25

I once used saddle soap to strip the finish on an old pair of boots...it really did mess the leather up quite a bit...not recomended...

**acidicboy** · January 31st, 2007, 22:35

Originally Posted by Brian13

yes, i reiterate what is said above, DO NOT use saddle soap on dress shoes.
it was not originally made for that application.

in my shoe kit arsenal i do not have a saddle soap nor mink oil.

Yes! Saddle soaps are made to clean saddles which is very thick. And mink oil is used to slather on pet minks.

**angle_slam** · February 1st, 2007, 10:36

How often should one polish their shoes?

I polished my shoes (Johnston & Murphy wingtips) a week ago and wore them once. I took them out to wear today and the shine is gone and you can see scuff marks. Did I polish it wrong? I would assume I didn't put enough shoe cream on (I was running low and had to preserve it.)

And how many coats of cream (or polish) should one use?

**hreljan** · February 1st, 2007, 11:29

Originally Posted by Mitchell

My shoe shine guy years ago used Venetian Cream as a finish to shoe shines. Is it really orth the effort?

I thought it was appropriate to use saddle soap to clean shoes prior to polishing.

Saddle soap - no (as mentioned above),

Venetian cream - yes. I use it (mainly on patent leather shoes) - for high shine applications. Worth the efoort.

**hreljan** · February 1st, 2007, 11:35

Originally Posted by angle_slam

How often should one polish their shoes?

I polished my shoes (Johnston & Murphy wingtips) a week ago and wore them once. I took them out to wear today and the shine is gone and you can see scuff marks. Did I polish it wrong? I would assume I didn't put enough shoe cream on (I was running low and had to preserve it.)

And how many coats of cream (or polish) should one use?

I would assume these are corrected grain. The scuffs are harder to repair and the shine (although present in the store) is hard to maintain. I tried "polish once per wear" on my Bass Weejuns, but I abandoned it since it was too much work, although some results were there.

On full grain shoes one coat of cream and/or polish is all that is needed.

**Brian13** · February 1st, 2007, 11:52

correct.
either corrected grain or some poor-grade leather.

i had a couple of pairs of poorly made leather shoes (skechers, kc) that after a polish job, immediately after wearing them for one day the shoes did not look good again. shine disappeared whatever shine i got on them in the first place.

any shoe with high quality leather upon an initial polish will retain that even after several normal wears. and if gets a little lackluster, apply a little conditioner and buff with a clean cloth. that's it.

**angle_slam** · February 1st, 2007, 12:22

So I guess J&M shoes just aren't high quality?

I also polished my Allen Edmonds cap toe shoes at the same time. I'll pull them out and see if they retained their shine.

**Howard** · February 1st, 2007, 15:15

Originally Posted by angle_slam

How often should one polish their shoes?

I polished my shoes (Johnston & Murphy wingtips) a week ago and wore them once. I took them out to wear today and the shine is gone and you can see scuff marks. Did I polish it wrong? I would assume I didn't put enough shoe cream on (I was running low and had to preserve it.)

And how many coats of cream (or polish) should one use?

Once a day.