I already have cedar shoes trees of the proper size and I use the slip thing to avoid breaking the heel. I will wear them on alternate days. I plan to use neutral shoe polish.
There is a thing called a conditioner. What does that do? What is conditioning?
Should I use cream polish or wax polish?
I’ve heard that wax polish makes a shoe waterproof. If it actually does, is there any point to using cream polish or conditioner after having applied wax polish (since, being waterproof, it shouldn’t allow cream or conditioner to get past it into the leather)?
Anything else I should know if I want those shoes to last 10-20 years?
shoe trees. that covers 95% of the care you need to provide.
Moisture is by far the biggest threat to shoes. Keep them dry and in proper shape and they will last a very long time.
Wax polish is “brighter” (more shiny) but cream polish is better for the leather. If you ask me, superbright polish takes away from the look of good quality leather. But anyway, wax polishes make the shoe slightly more water resistant but not waterproof in the sense most people mean.
Conditioner is helpful because leather needs to have oils in it to remain flexible. The oils evaporate over time and can be depleted by the leather getting wet. Periodic conditioning helps avoid cracks in the folds you get from normal wear over a period of years, such as across the ball of the foot.
Always wipe down with saddle soap before polishing, to clean off any dirt, salt, and residual wax on the surface of the shoes. Condition before polishing, and after cleaning. Or you can use a conditioning-cleaner like Lexol. Don’t use neatsfoot oil - it dissolves stitching.
–When my parents bought me leather tall boots for horseback riding, they told me I’d better take good care of them cause I wasn’t getting replacements. I may have taken it a bit too much to heart, but they are still in good condition 23 years later!
I attended to my 20-year-old brown Dr. Marten shoes yesterday. They’re supposed to have a matte finish, but they came out shiny. (I used Kiwi polish in the little tin.) The shoes have been neglected for half a decade, so I wanted to do a ‘good job’. I guess I overdid it. How do I get the matte finish back? Just apply more polish and brush them a little?
This guy, whose remarks comport with my knowledge and experience in the world of diligent leather care and the polishing arts, says that old layers of wax polish can be removed using mineral spirits. Then you can clean, and condition your way back to where you started.
Leather was once part of a living creature, and so it does need that conditioning, just like skin does. The best thing you can do is to clean and polish your shoes after every wearing. If you leave the crud on the shoes any longer than you absolutely have to, it can cause the leather to deteriorate over time.