Shoe polish is becoming flaky?

[Hexenmeister]

I, like many of us, own a pair of black dress shoes (though mine are just from DSW and are not of the hand-made variety), and I've been keeping them polished on a weekly or every-other-week basis; but lately I've noticed that the polish is getting flaky and rubs off when I run my finger over the toe, especially. It looks like break dust on my hands. I think it's the polish I've been using; it's pretty solid feeling polish and was bought from Famous Footwear. I'm wondering if it might be a wax based polish (which I've read is not the best for your shoes)?

Is it possible to strip the old polish off and re-apply a different brand to rejuvenate my shoes? Sure, they cost $60, verses the $300 hand-made shoes I dream of having someday, but I'd rather not have to buy a new pair just yet.

 

[Creeping Past]

Never mind the polish, $300 for hand-made shoes...

 

[Tomasso]

Is it possible to strip the old polish off and re-apply a different brand to rejuvenate my shoes? Sure, they cost $60

At that price-point the shoes are most likely made from corrected-grain leather which does not respond well to the stripping/refurbishment process.

 

[Tomasso]

Never mind the polish, $300 for hand-made shoes...

Actually, there are some decent cordwainers in Asia that operate in that price range. I mean they ain't the quality of EG, JL, GG, etc.....but maybe AE.

 

[Mid-fogey]

Yes...

...you can remove the old polish. Get a small bottle of dry cleaning fluid. You can usually get it at shoe repair places. Be careful to cap it tightly when you aren't using it -- it evaporates really fast.

Dampen a small cloth with the fluid and work it over the shoe, moving to a clear part of the cloth as it becomes covered with shoe polish. When you have removed enough of the polish, make sure you clean the shoes with saddle soap.

When the shoes are dry, you can begin the apply a new layer of polish, and build up a new "base" of polish -- if you want brightly shined shoes.

The flaking you experienced was from excess polish and a too thick base. That can occur from applying too much polish too quickly.

You may want to consider going to a shoe cream and a lower gloss shine. I find the result to be better for the shoe and it provides a richer looking, non glossy shine.

 

[WolfeMan]

Well, i hear saddle soap works for taking off polish. Ive used it on boots, but never for stripping. When you get new polish, i suggest Kiwi.
Wolfe

 

[HatRak]

Plain rubbing alcohol is also effective at removing old shoe polish from a shoe. Wet a rag and wipe it down.

Polish comes in two basic varieties: cream and wax. The cream is better at "feeding" the leather while wax is preferred for hiding imperfections and scuffs and raising a higher shine. Kiwi is the most ubiquitous wax-base polish, usually available in your local grocery or drug store. There's also Kelly's and Lincoln. Meltonian is the more common brand of cream polish but, even then, can be hard to find. Try a local cobbler or better shoe store. Tarrago is available in more colors, but you'll probably have to order it online. Saphir Medaille d'Or, a French cream style polish, is the shoe aficionado's typical choice but is really hard to find outside of a major city or online.

 

[TexArchStudent]

For creams, try a western wear/boot store.

 

[HodgePodge]

Well, i hear saddle soap works for taking off polish. Ive used it on boots, but never for stripping. When you get new polish, i suggest Kiwi.
Wolfe

I saddle soap my shoes to clean off the grime and old polish. Some shoes I only use saddle soap on, because they don't need to that high-gloss look.
The one thing I have noticed though, is that a good scrubbing with saddle soap and an old cloth is liable to take off more than just the dirt and polish. There are spots on my Rockports where you can see blue/grey leather grain when the polish wears thin on account of the saddle soap stripping off whatever inferior process it is they use to make them look nice to start off with.
In my experience - as limited as it certainly is - I have found that flaking polish is a sign that too much polish was gobbed on. I've never had much luck going for the multi-coat 'can see myself' mirror finish. I get my best result by using a sparing amount of polish on the small round brush, buffing off the extra with a clean rag, and then giving the shoes a quick finish with the horse hair brush. The result is a nice, even shine I can bring back up just by giving them a quick pass with a clean, soft rag.

$300 for hand-made shoes.

That's nothin'. $300 is practically entry-level for bespoke shoes.

 

[Orgetorix]

That's nothin'. $300 is practically entry-level for bespoke shoes.

$300 won't even get you a security deposit for most bespoke shoes.