[gbchus]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. Would classify myself as a trad with a certain irreverent flair. I need help from my fellow sartorialists... I recently bought a pair of Crockett and Jones Whiskey Cordovan loafers. I bought tan kiwi polish (as recommended) and set about polishing them. The second the polish hit the shoe, the leather it went dark (wet). I thought this might happen and that as the polish dried through polishing and time it would lighten. By and large this did happen. However, there is one rather obvious dark streak on the top of the toes that didn't blend in and, well, dash it, it shouldn't be there!

Does anyone have an idea as to how to one, get rid of it (heat? white spirits? acetone? sandpaper? voodoo?), and two, really, polishing shoes should not be this difficult. Seriously, what is the standard for polishing whiskey cordovan so it doesn't do this sort of thing?

Sincere thanks!!

 

[AdamsSutherland]

Follow the Mac (McArthur) Method.

IMHO he has the largest and most gorgeous collection of Alden shell, all featuring mirror shines.

A quick search of "Mac Method" should produce the incredibly simple 4-step procedure.

 

[gbchus]

Sorry, couldn't find "Mac method" other than "wipe with damp cloth, brush vigorously with horsehair brush, buff with dry soft cloth." But my issue is really with the dark streak on top of the shoe and how to get rid of it? Thanks.

 

[well-kept]

You are not alone. I recently polished my whiskey shell Alden LHS with Kiwi tan wax for the first time after owning them a year and a half. I applied it very sparingly to one shoe. The wax instantly darkened the leather. I let it sit to see if it would lighten. It didn't. I had no choice but to do the other shoe. But I won't use it again. I have used neutral wax on brown and #8 shell without color change but I think I'll leave my whiskeys alone altogether, just brush and buff.

 

[mcarthur]

You are not alone. I recently polished my whiskey shell Alden LHS with Kiwi tan wax for the first time after owning them a year and a half. I applied it very sparingly to one shoe. The wax instantly darkened the leather. I let it sit to see if it would lighten. It didn't. I had no choice but to do the other shoe. But I won't use it again. I have used neutral wax on brown and #8 shell without color change but I think I'll leave my whiskeys alone altogether, just brush and buff.

There are two alternatives to alleviate the problem:
Place shoes in front of a fan or
Use a hair blower
Approximately how many times did you wear the whiskey LHS before you polished them?

 

[well-kept]

Over eighteen months? Easily 60-70 times. Polishing only with brush and cloth. I rarely use anything on my shells and they all develop beautifully. These particular whiskey LHS seemed to be in need of a little something extra, but as I said, I won't use tan wax again.

 

[gbchus]

And I only used mine twice! But I had a mark (not a scratch) and I thought that giving them a buff with the polish as recommended would help. It did, but for the dark streak that I'm hoping through this forum to find a way to remove...

 

[obiwan]

Any pictures you could/would post? I'm interested in seeing your results.

 

[Got Shell?]

i've heard to use neutral to polish whiskey shell before using tan. If you use tan first, you fill in scratches or marks with brown, which is what you did. I doubt that can be reversed, but good luck.

 

[Seth]

Same problem using Alden's tan polish

In my case, I'd scuffed the insides of the heels, leaving light-colored streaks. Applied the tiniest smidgen of what I assumed was the correct color of polish, since the Alden store had sent it to me, and voila! Dark streaks where light scuffs had been. Argh.

I've googled and found all kinds of ways of removing polish, like rubbing alcohol, shaving cream, boiling water, but something tells me those are all VERY bad ideas on cordovan.

Is the situation hopeless? Or will Alden be able to fix this when I send the shoes off to be restored?

 

[Seth]

Are you kidding?

There are two alternatives to alleviate the problem:
Place shoes in front of a fan or
Use a hair blower
Approximately how many times did you wear the whiskey LHS before you polished them?

I'm not seeing how either of those would help.

 

[Grayland]

I'm not seeing how either of those would help.

If you've ever seen Mcarthur's collection of shell shoes, you might wanna give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Seth]

No doubt it's wonderful.

If you've ever seen Mcarthur's collection of shell shoes, you might wanna give him the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks for your reply.

But putting the shoes in front of a fan will take away dark streaks? Really? And what does one do with the hair dryer? Just heat up the shoes and then rub with a cloth?

 

[The Continental Fop]

Seth,

You're a newbie. Mac is the Yoda of shell cordovan. He owns more pairs of Aldens than years you will be alive. His shoes look better after ten years of wear than they did new in the box. His morning breath smells like lilacs and every time he posts a pic of his shells an angel gets its wings.

Listen to the man. He knows from whence he speaks.

I'm not seeing how either of those would help.

 

[Seth]

No need to be rude

Seth,

You're a newbie. Mac is the Yoda of shell cordovan. He owns more pairs of Aldens than years you will be alive. His shoes look better after ten years of wear than they did new in the box. His morning breath smells like lilacs and every time he posts a pic of his shells an angel gets its wings.

Listen to the man. He knows from whence he speaks.

I'm sure your estimation of mac is correct. That is why I am very interested in what he has to say. Let me put this another way:

Place shoes in front of a fan or
Use a hair blower

doesn't tell me what I need to know. What kind of fan? A box fan? What speed? For how many years? What temperature for the hair blower? Just air? Heat the shoes up? How long does it take? Mac's suggestions, assuming he's not joking, don't give me enough information to act on.

Moreover, he is responding to someone with generalized darkening, not someone, like the OP and me, who has dark streaks. So I would not be surprised if his suggestion is not helpful to the problem that the OP and I have.

At the rate I'm buying Aldens, I may very well catch up.