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Shoe care guide (beginners)

Polishing time:

10-15 minutes

Difficulty

Beginners

Introduction

Do you have one or multiple pairs of leather shoes, but do not really know how to take good care of them? Then this guide will help you on the way. In three simple steps we will explain to you how to clean, colour, shine and protect your favourite leathers shoes. The first time you will probably take a bit longer to shine your shoes, but with a little practice you will become a shoe shining expert in no time! If you are in need of a more in-depth guide be sure to check our advanced shoe shine guide.

Step 1.

Cleaning and conditioning

Start by removing all dirt and sand from your shoes with a brush or moist cloth. Apply Saphir Médaille d'Or Renovateur by using an applicator cloth. Make sure to distribute the cream evenly over the entirety of the shoe (except the soles). Allow the cream to soak into the leather for at least 5 minutes before brushing/buffing off any excess Renovateur cream with a horsehair brush. Renovateur will nourish the leather deeply.

Your shoes are now clean and nourished. At step 2 we will explain how to shine, recolour and give the basic level protection to your shoes.

Step 2.

Shining and recolouring

Apply some Saphir Médaille d'Or Pommadier shoe cream by using an applicator cloth or brush to evenly distribute the cream over the shoes. Allow the cream to be absorbed by the leather for about five minutes. Saphir Médaille d'Or Pommadier cream will nourish, recolour, protect and give a soft shine to your leather shoes. Brush your shoes with a horsehair brush to create a nice shine.

Tip: Depending on the damages or fading of the colour of your shoes you can apply+shine Pommadier cream up to three times to get better coverage. Check our Saphir colour guide to pick the best matching colour cream/wax for your shoes.

After finishing with this step your shoes will be recoloured and have a nice matte shine. At the third and final step we will discuss how you can waterproof your shoes and give them a high shine finish.

Step 3.

Waterproofing and high gloss finish

use Saphir Médaille d'Or Pate de Luxe to create a waterproofing high gloss finish on your shoes. Begin by applying a very thin layer of Saphir Medaille d'Or Pate de Luxe shoe wax. Be sure to spread the wax over the shoes as thin as possible. Afterwards, shine your shoes with preferably a cotton cloth (or a brush) to shine up the wax polish on the shoes. For new shoes or shoes that haven't been shined recently it can be beneficial to repeat this step once more after you are done.

Are your shoes fitted with leather soles? Then also give your sole edges a shine using Saphir Médaille d'Or Pate de Luxe.

Which colour shoe cream and/or wax should I pick?

Shoe polish will almost never exactly match the colour of your shoes. Even though your shoes are made and branded the colour ‘Cognac’ there are still many interpretations of what the colour needs to look like. To pick the right colour product for your shoes be sure to check out our Saphir Colour guide. We also give recommendations on when you should go for a neutral/colourless cream and when you might need a pigmented shoe cream.

Shoe shine guide for beginners

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