[Oldsarge]

Being retired to what I'm calling The Outskirts and some might consider the countryside (I can fish for smallmouth, salmon and steelhead two blocks from my house) I have little use for dress shoes any longer. So my collection of AE's mostly just gets the occasional dusting. However, I do have use (like tonight) for my dinner suit and black captoes. So . . . now that Meltonian has succumbed to the pressures of rapacious bean-counting, how is a gentleman to keep his black shoes in decent order? I have plenty of polish for my others but my jar of black is coming to it's Ultimate End. What are you chaps using these days?

 

[Flanderian]

 

[iam.mike]

@Oldsarge - maybe this information will help.

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/how-to-shine-shoes/

and

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...oes-a-guide-to-the-perfect-shoe-shine.242132/

 

[winghus]

Tarrago with a couple of Saphire thrown in is my current line-up. I still have a lot of meltonian left though in black, brown, and cognac.

 

[Flanderian]

I still have a lot of meltonian left

Believe it or not, I'm still working on a couple jars of Propert's!

 

[JLibourel]

What exactly is wrong with the ubiquitous Kiwi? I remember reading years ago somewhere in Forumland that that's what Edward Green was using for finishing their shoes.

But, captoes with a dinner suit! Isn't that a breach of the iGent code?

 

[RogerP]

Mostly Saphir for me.

 

[momsdoc]

I’m with Flandarian, I’ve bought a couple of Tarrago, and it seems the same as Meltonian. I have a couple of Saphir, but I really don’t see it making any difference from Meltonian. I must be a Luddite.

 

[Color 8]

Saphir black wax over Saphir black cream. It is beyond compare.

 

[Oldsarge]

What exactly is wrong with the ubiquitous Kiwi? I remember reading years ago somewhere in Forumland that that's what Edward Green was using for finishing their shoes.

But, captoes with a dinner suit! Isn't that a breach of the iGent code?

As if you think I would care? You know how I feel about the self-appointed experts of the ether. Grown men do not wear slippers outside the house, patent leather or otherwise.

As to Kiwi, I just find creams more pleasant to apply, having been taught by my father to use my thumb as an applicator.

 

[eagle2250]

I continue to rely on an old, rather large Tin of Kiwi paste wax for tending to my black shoes/boots. I seem to be able to get a higher shine with the paste wax.

 

[Mr. B. Scott Robinson]

Despite years of DIY shoe care,
I have recently delegated the task to my local cobbler. I take my shoes in once a year for a good refresh and only hit them with a brush and cloth prior to wearing myself.

This affords me an opportunity to regularly patronize a rather pleasant fellows shop for “shoe talk” and helps support a local small business.

Cheers,

BSR

 

[mreams99]

I recently tried a jar of cream from “Moneysworth and Best” that seemed to be suspiciously similar to the old Meltonian product. I believe that it was purchased on eBay (or possibly Amazon).

 

[CLTesquire]

Saphir cream with Saphir Mirror Shine wax on the toe.

 

[JBierly]

Saphir for me mostly although I still have some Lincoln Black wax.

 

[mlenecare]

Saphir is what I mainly use but I do have various tins of Lincoln, Meltonian and Kiwi.
I have an exceptional mirror shine on my black cap toes that I maintain with black Saphir polish and nuetral Saphir mirror gloss.

I know I'm horrible at photography which is why I don't regularly post pictures but I think you can see the mirror effect well enough in this photo.

 

[Ungentleman]

Saphir is what I mainly use but I do have various tins of Lincoln, Meltonian and Kiwi.
I have an exceptional mirror shine on my black cap toes that I maintain with black Saphir polish and nuetral Saphir mirror gloss. View attachment 37823
I know I'm horrible at photography which is why I don't regularly post pictures but I think you can see the mirror effect well enough in this photo.

Those look great. I have used the neutral Saphir mirror stuff a lot recently. It works as advertised but I find it's a very fragile shine and cracks easily. Have you experienced the same cracking, and if so, how do you deal with it?

(I usually end up melting the cracked wax with a heat gun and adding a few more coats, but maybe you have a better method.)

 

[Adelantado]

My local cobbler stocks Kelly's shoe cream so that is what I use. If you have a local cobbler, keep it simple and use whatever he stocks...

 

[mlenecare]

Those look great. I have used the neutral Saphir mirror stuff a lot recently. It works as advertised but I find it's a very fragile shine and cracks easily. Have you experienced the same cracking, and if so, how do you deal with it?

(I usually end up melting the cracked wax with a heat gun and adding a few more coats, but maybe you have a better method.)

Is the wax cracking on the toe cap or on the creases? It will always crack on the creased parts.
If the wax is cracking on the toe you may be using too much polish or applying it incorrectly. If the toe cap is flexing then you are probably wearing the wrong sized shoe.

The saphir mirror gloss has less solvent and more wax. It allows you to build a layer of wax more easily but if you use too much of it you will have a layer that is far too thick and it will crack as it dries. What you want is the pores in the leather to be filled in so that you have a smooth surface. Make sure you are applying a decent amount of pressure when you apply your initial layers of wax.

When you are ready to start your mirror shine apply a thin layer of mirror gloss. Let it dry for a few seconds and apply a layer of pate de luxe on top of it and then do your spit shine. I find that this ratio of wax/solvent works really well. I usually need less than 3 of these thin layers to get a very very nice mirror shine.

There is never a need to melt anything. When I need to repair the mirror shine and I don't have polish with me I can usually just buff it out with the same cloth I use to polish (make sure it is wet). If it is too damaged for that put a very thin layer of saphir pate de luxe over the top. The solvents will soften the wax that is built up on the surface and you can usually fill in the crack and remake the mirror shine very easily from there.

I suppose I could post a detailed start to finish how to on mirror shines. Others could add to it as well as there are many ways to accomplish a mirror shine. I'll see if I can take decent enough pictures for it to be helpful.

 

[Ungentleman]

I should clarify. When I say it cracks easily, I mean that when I bump the toe cap against a stair step, for example, or pull my shoes out of a suitcase after flying, the polish on the non-creased surfaces of the toe cap shows cracks. Whereas if these events occur with shoes polished with normal Kiwi type polish, all I get is smearing of the polished surface, which as you say, can easily be buffed out.

I think you have hit the nail on the head when you say there are too many layers of polish on the toe cap. I can get good mirror shines with regular Kiwi polish and the polish seems to work itself into the leather instead of sitting on top of it. The Saphir stuff on the other hand seems to stack up until I am polishing the underlying layers of polish, without even really touching the leather base. Maybe I do need to work the Saphir mirror stuff more into the leather in the early stages, less is more, etc.