How to Care for Leather Shoes and Boots?

Keeping your shoes or boots looking like new...

Wear and tear may be inevitable but there are definitely ways you can prolong the life of your leather shoes or boots (and keep them looking like the day you bought them).

Our shoe care guide has been compiled from our experiences with customers over the years and outlines the best preventative measures.

Some of our recommendations involve professional modifications to your shoes while others only require DIY knowledge and shoe care products to apply.

 

 

Authors note

A prerequisite for shoe care and maintenance is to purchase good quality shoes or boots. These are shoes that are made from genuine leather or material are properly manufactured (not glued together) and therefore long-lasting.

Poor quality shoes are not maintainable or repairable and are in fact made to be replaced. These shoes may look great when purchased but tend to only last only a few months before wearing in. This is both not very economical or environmental and a major issue with the fast fashion industry.

5 Essential Products to Maintain Your Shoes

Below are the products we most commonly recommend to our clients after purchasing a new pair of leather shoes or boots. These products are for water-protecting, cleaning, polishing and storage.

Learning how to properly use these products and incorporating them into your shoe care routine will go a long way to ensuring your new shoes last a lifetime.

Premium Shoe Polish

Polishing your leather shoes should be one of the more enjoyable shoe care tasks and become routine over time.

We recommend choosing a high quality polish such as Saphir Medaille d’or. Saphir polishes are made with all-natural and nutrient rich ingredients including beeswax, turpentine and shea butter.

This makes them ideal for restoring colour, conditioning and refinishing leather shoes.

Polishes can be applied with a clean cloth and massaged into the leather with circular motions. Buffing can then be done with horse hair brush to achieve a shine.

For a high shine finish apply a thin layer of wax to the surface and buff until the desired result is achieve.

Leather Cleaner & Conditioner

While deeper stains or discolouration are best left to leather experts, general leather cleaning and conditioning can be achieved with high quality products.

Leather should not be cleaned with water directly, instead use a damp clean cloth to wipe the surface and then apply a leather shampoo such as a saddle soap. This works to clean the external surface of the leather and hydrate the leather fibres.

Leather conditioners can also be used as a general cleaner and to put back essential oils and nutrients into the leather.

Applying leather conditioner will also help soften, nourish and prevent dehydration of the leather keeping it wear-resistant and supple.

Suede Cleaner & Conditioner

Like smooth leathers, deep cleaning or colour restoration should always be left to the experts, however any general suede cleaning and conditioning can be achieved with high quality products.

Suede is a napped leather with a distinguishable furry surface. Shampoos for suede cleaning are usually applied with a nylon or crepe brush that is used to remove grime and surface stains.

Suede erasers can also be used to clean the dry suede surface prior to applying the shampoo. Unlike smooth leathers, suede conditioners are applied indirectly with spray applicators.

Suede conditioners work to put back essential oils and nutrients into the leather as well as restore the colour and complexion.

 

Cedar Shoe Trees

Cedar Shoe Trees are wooden inserts that help preserve shoe structure and shape.

Shoe trees function by holding the shape of your shoes during times of non-wear keeping the leather stretched out and slowing the process of creasing.

Shoe trees will also absorb any moisture that builds up inside shoes preventing the leather linings and insoles from deteriorating.

Cedar shoe trees are recommended due to their fragrance and natural ability as a moth repeller.

Dust Bags

Leather shoes should always be kept in a breathable cotten dust bag and stored away from dusty or wet environments.

Never expose leather shoes to sunlight for prolonged periods. A climate controlled environment with good ventilation is ideal.

Consider using cedar shoe trees as these naturally repel moths and other insects that may destroy your shoes (see above).

Wrapping your leather shoes in plastic is not a great idea as it will promote mould growth.

Preventative Shoe Modifications & Repairs

If you’re serious about keeping your shoes for a long time, you might want to consider having a few cost-effective modifications or professional services done to significantly increase their lifespan.

Our recommendation is to have half rubber soles (TOPY or Vibram) or toe plates applied at an early stage as well as professional waterproofing to protect the leather or suede uppers.

TOPY or Vibram (Sole Addition)

Leather soles are the most important asset on any pair of shoes and ideally should be protected.

Exposure to natural salts and liquids on the ground will erode leather soles over time. Protective soles (usually TOPY or Vibram) are thin profile half rubber soles that can be professionally installed by a shoe repairer.

Applying TOPY or Vibrams early will significantly increase the lifespan of your leather soles and eliminate the need for expensive leather resoling procedures at later stages of wear.

Half rubber soles come in a variety of colours and styles and applied correctly should be crafted flush with the existing leather soles for a seamless appearance.

 

Steel Toe Taps or Plates (Sole Addition)

As outlined above naked leather soles are prone to wear but its usually the toe-portions where the earliest signs of wear will appear. This is due to the large amount of force placed on the toe areas of shoes during walking.

For this reason another popular method of sole care is adding steel plates to the toe-portion of leather soles. These are arch-shaped steel protectors that are sunk into the soles with screws.

Generally half rubber soles by themselves should be enough for protecting leather soles but steel toe plates are still useful for those who require an extra level of protection.

Professional Waterproofing (Protects Uppers)

Water protecting the uppers of shoes is essential as leathers and suedes are highly susceptible to staining, marks and discolouration. This is due to the absorbent properties of leather fibres.

A few layers of professionally applied water protector will create a protective barrier that prevents the leather from absorbing unwanted substances and assist with any surface cleaning.

We recommend being cautious when choosing a waterproofer as many off the shelf products are manufactured with petroleum and silicon resins that can damage or stain leather.

Always apply a professional-grade silicon-free waterproofer to your shoes and spot test on a discrete area prior to applying over the entire surface.

Shoe Care Practical Advice

Your shoes will be exposed to a huge amount of stress as they bear your full weight over the work week. We therefore always advise our clients to purchase a few pairs of good quality suede and leather shoes to rotate throughout week rather than use a single pair.

In our experience customers who rely on a single pair of shoes or boots almost always wear them to the brink of destruction. This results in more costly repairs that could easily be avoided by spreading the load across multiple pairs of shoes.

But even with the best shoe care routine leather shoes still need the occasional repair or reservice.

Standard shoe repair jobs include changing the toplift (rubber portions on the ends of the heels), repairing the soles or a general clean, nourish and leather restoration of the uppers. But if you follow our recommendations above most shoe repairs should be relatively inexpensive.

For example half rubber soles can last up to two years and replacing these is about a third of the cost of a full leather resole. In addition, if you waterproof your shoes any stains will be easier to clean and you won’t have to spend on more complex deep cleaning or colour refinishing procedures.