Many times, compared to a pair of brand-new dress shoes, spotless leather shoes with obvious signs of use but being taken care of can better show the gentleman's details, but caring for leather shoes is never a simple matter of applying shoe polish. How to effectively clean and care for different leather materials In fact, the dress shoes are worthy of everyone's scrutiny.

Brift H, a well-known shoe care and repair shop from Tokyo, has extended the daily care of shoes into a lifestyle. The manager Hasegawa Hiroshi not only provides cleaning and maintenance services, but also sells his own brand of shoe care products. In fact, if it is inconvenient to often send your shoes to professional shoe care shops, you can also do professional care close to Brift H at home.

Nowadays, the shoes used for daily care at home are also a way of decompression to temporarily take away from the trivial life. Going to the battle to prepare a pair of shoes that accompany you on commuting is also a small sense of ritual in life. The theme of this issue of FUJI Lab focuses on the precautions for shoe care that is more formal. It is divided into three modules: care brand and equipment, common leather material classification to common different leather care steps, and try to provide everyone with a clear and detailed description. Guide to the maintenance of formal shoes.

#1
Summary of care and cleaning brands & equipment:

The daily care equipment for shoes and boots is generally smooth leather nourishing cream, foam (liquid) suede special cleaner, solid polishing wax, saddle soap (or other natural ingredient cleaner), waterproof spray horse hair brush, pig bristle brush , Multifunctional suede special brush, special cleaning sponge, special care fiber cloth, wooden shoe last. Basically covers the daily household needs.

In terms of brand selection, WOLY, COLUMBUS, SAPHIR, JASON MARKK, PEDAG, TARRAGO basically cover all the products needed for shoe care, and they are very easy to get started in e-commerce channels. In addition, many shoe brands and professional shoe care shops will also launch home care kits, such as Brift H from Tokyo and RED WING, an old tooling boot brand.

#2
Common material classification:



From the perspective of shoe care, shoe materials are generally divided into two categories, one is smooth leather (Smooth Leather), and the other is Nubuck & Suede. The former is relatively cumbersome to take care of, and the frequency of care is relatively high, but it is easier to clean. The latter does not require high-frequency cleaning and maintenance, but it is always stubborn about stains covering the upper. There are also differences in the types of products used in the care of the two.

In fact, it includes crocodile leather and the common lychee leather, Crazy Horse leather, etc., which can be regarded as smooth leather (Smooth Leather) in the care. If the luxury level of Lattanzi and Kiton is not reached, the care methods can be treated the same. .

#3
Common different cortex care steps:



Smooth Leather

The first layer of smooth leather is the most common material for dress leather shoes. Because of the characteristics of the leather, it is best to place a suitable last in the shoe before taking care of it to ensure the stretch of the upper, so as to achieve no dead angle care.

The second step is to use a softer horsehair brush to remove the dust on the surface as much as possible in the same direction. For cleaning the seams of the midsole, use a harder and smaller bristle brush to clean in the same direction. The degree of cleanliness directly affects the care. Degree of completion.

The third step is more critical. If the shoes that need to be taken care of themselves have more stubborn stains, they need to be cleaned with saddle soap (other special cleaners are also available).


The specific operation method is to use a special cleaning sponge dipped in a little water and apply a small amount of saddle soap on the surface of the shoe body in circular motions, then place it in a cool place and wait until it is completely dry before performing the circular care of the special fiber cloth nourishing cream. After the nourishing cream is completed After the circular treatment, brush with pig bristles to allow the upper to fully absorb the polishing wax. If the shoe body is not very dirty, it can be treated directly with a nourishing care cream that also has a cleansing effect, such as Renovateur under SAPHIR.



The last step of polishing is to use a special fiber cloth, soak a small amount of clean water, and then apply the solid wax in a circular motion in one direction.

Suede & Nubuck



Let's talk about suede material first. When taking care of suede shoes, you should first use a horsehair brush to thoroughly remove dust, and then use a suede special rubber brush to wipe off surface stains. For stubborn stains, it is recommended to use foam or liquid detergent. After completing this step, use a harder metal brush to trim the lines in the same direction.

Due to the particularity of the treatment process, the cost of frosted leather is higher than that of suede, so you should pay more attention to it when taking care of it. The cleaning step only needs a horsehair brush to remove dust. After dust removal, it is best to use foam or liquid detergent with a special cleaning sponge in circular motions and dry it in a ventilated place. It is recommended to use JASON MARKK's cleaning kit.

Regarding waterproof spray, it is not recommended for everyone to use it on matte leather and suede materials, because even soft waterproof spray will destroy the texture of the leather itself to a certain extent, and the leather surface will become harder over time, so everyone Pay attention to rain and weather when wearing nubuck and suede shoes in your daily life.

This issue of FUJI Lab divides the care of formal shoes into three modules. If you still have cleaning and care items that you need to know, please leave a message in the comment area. We will invite senior practitioners in the footwear industry in Japan in the future. Answer questions for everyone. ​​​​