Shoe Cream & Polish: How to use each of them
to care for your shoes
Shoe Cream & Shoe Polish: How to use each of them to care for your shoes
A beautiful pair of new Grenson shoes or boots are an investment and deserve proper treatment and care. By committing to regular shoe care, you can really extend the life of your footwear and keep them looking as close to the day they left our factory for much longer.
In trying to care for your shoes, often we are asked about the best products to use. Should I be using shoe cream or a wax polish?
Both products are essential in caring for your leather shoes but have a different purpose. In this ‘Just a Minute’ guide, we’ll cover the differences between the two and when to use them for leather shoe care.
Remember to never use any shoe cream or polish on Suede or other materials than leather. We have a separate ‘just a minute’ on caring for Suede here.
When should I use Shoe Cream and how do I use it?
We advise using shoe cream every time you clean your shoes. When preparing your shoes for cleaning, you need to make sure the leather is dry. It’s very important to let your shoes dry naturally. Never place them near a strong heat source to dry them quicker, as this will often dry out the leather too quickly and lead to premature cracking or scaling effects on the finish. If you need to try drying leather shoes, we recommend stuffing them with tissue paper to help absorb some of the moisture from the leather.
It is often easier to remove the laces from your leather shoes or boots for cleaning. It allows ease of access to all areas of the leather.
Once your shoes are dry and ready for cleaning, the first step is to take a horsehair shoe brush and lightly brush off any surface dust or dirt. You may find that more stubborn stains may need a slightly damp polishing cloth to help lift the debris from the leather.
Once your shoes are debris free, it is time to apply shoe cream to them. It is best to apply the cream in small amounts in a circular motion using either a clean micro-fibre polishing cloth or your fingers. The aim is to get a thin layer of cream all over the entire shoe whilst being careful to not create an excess build-up of cream in certain areas.
Once shoe cream is applied liberally with a thin covering over the entire shoe or boot, it is recommended to leave the shoes for at least 5 minutes for the cream to soak in and nourish the leather.
After 5 minutes has passed, it is time to buff out the cream. Using a horsehair brush, you will need to blend the cream into the shoe using firm pressure.
Once you have finished blending the cream, make sure you take a clean, soft cloth, preferably a microfiber polishing cloth and wipe away any excess cream. It might not look like it, but there will be some left over cream that hasn’t fully been absorbed into the leather that needs removing.
Remember, this process isn’t intended to create a shiny or polished look to your shoes. It is a nourishing process to feed & hydrate the leather. As a result, your shoes make look a little dull whilst they are soaking in the cream. If you have chosen to use one of our coloured creams, please note that your shoes will look slightly darker after applying the coloured creams.
Once you have completed the process of applying cream and feeding the leather on your shoes or boots, it’s time to apply polish.
What is Shoe Cream?
With leather being a natural product, it needs to be cared for and nourished, just like our own skin.
Shoe cream is meant to feed, hydrate & nourish the leather in your shoes. Over time, this conditioning will keep the leather supple and prevent it from cracking or scaling. Another benefit is that Shoe Cream restores the leather’s beautiful natural colour and can even fill minor scuffs or scratches.
Our ‘Neutral Factory Cream’ is designed to be used with any colour of leather. The formula is a natural blend of both Beeswax and carnauba wax. The cream is deep nourishing and will revive your shoes bringing them back to life.
What is Shoe Polish and what is it made of?
Grenson wax shoe polish is a natural blend of waxes and oils which include Beeswax, Carnauba and Turpentine oil. We use the very same product within the Shoe Room of our factory every day.
The Carnauba & Beeswax within our polish helps create a highly polished look to your leather shoes or boots, whilst adding a layer of waterproofing and some light scuff protection. Wax polish can also help to seal in some of the moisture within the leather of your shoes thus helping prolong the life of the leather by keeping it as supple as possible.
When and how to polish leather shoes or boots?
We are often asked about how to polish shoes. The perfect time to polish your shoes or boots would be after you have fed and nourished the leather as per the Shoe Cream process detailed above.
Start by taking a clean microfibre polishing cloth and apply a thin layer of polish all over the leather areas of your shoe. It’s important when applying polish to avoid any Suede or textile areas of your shoes as to prevent unwanted staining or de-colourisation.
If you want to work areas of your shoes or boots into a higher shine, then buffing with a slightly damp cloth in between adding layers of polish can really help in doing this.
Once you are happy with the coverage of polish, they will need the excess shoe polish buffing out to a shine level you are happy with. We advise either using a clean horsehair brush or a microfibre polishing cloth with a low fabric pile. Buff until you are happy with the shine level and voila! You have mastered the art of shoe polishing & caring for your leather shoes or boots.
All that remains, is to add your laces back on to your footwear. A new and fresh pair of laces either the same as the original, or in a different colour or style can really make your shoes or boots pop again like new. Shop our range of additional laces here
Storing your Leather Shoes or Boots
If you are going to wear your shoes straight away, we would always recommend the use of a shoehorn to protect the heel cup of the shoe from creasing or bending over time. We also advise never taking off your shoes or boots using the toe of the other foot as this will over time damage the backs and heel sections of your footwear. At worse you could tear the welt stitching over time along with scratching the leather beyond repair.
If you are storing your shoes before wearing them, the use of quality cedar shoe trees is a must. Shoe trees will not only prevent your shoes from creasing or losing their shape over time, but the properties of the natural Cedar wood can also help with slight odour and humidity control, thus keeping your Grenson in premium condition.
Cotton shoe bags can also help protect your shoes or boots from dust and scratches during storage in your wardrobe or similar.