What You Need To Make You Shoe Last Longer and Look Better.

The Importance of regular shining and polishing shoes has been around since the invention of shoes. Shining not only gives shoes an appealing glossy finish, but also preserves their workmanship and quality by moisturizing the leather, adding years to their life. Left untreated, leathers dry, crack, and fall apart.

How Often

Good, quality leather shoes should be polished once a month to preserve their life if they're worn regularly. As you would clean your dry cleaning items or other specialty wearable, clean and polish shoes whenever necessary. If shoes are worn seldom, clean once per month and polish and shine only as needed.

To keep your footwear in tip-top shape:

• Clean Your Shoe
• Polish your Shoe
• Conditioning Moisturize/Weatherproof

Only a few items are necessary for polishing your shoes or boots:

• Natural bristle brush
• Old toothbrush
• Wax or cream polish
• Soft cloth or rag
• Newspaper or an old sheet
• Wall Mount Shine Holder (optional make your job easy)

Clean Leather Shoes

Remove all dust and dirt by wiping the shoe, especially the heel and sole, with a cloth. If your shoes are really dirty, or if the shoes have stains use a leather cleaner such as saddle soap (do not use household cleaners are to harsh and remove the natural leather oils). Apply the cleaner according to manufacturer instructions, wipe off and let them dry for five minutes before you start to shine them. The one we have found to be the best for general cleaning is the E-Z Lincoln cleaner.

Polishing Leather Shoes

Select a polish that matches your shoe color. Polishes that contain dyes, pigments, wax and conditioning agents keep footwear looking fresh, add shine and cover scuffs. They are available as liquids, pastes and creams. Although liquid polishes, with their foam applicator tops, are easiest to work with, shoe repair experts recommend the protection and conditioning offered by creams and pastes -- liquid polishes can dry out shoe leather and cause cracking.

Conditioning Moisturize/Weatherproof

You may also use conditioner to keep leather shoes soft and supple, and to moisturize them. This keeps the leather from cracking and reduce the surface damage. Some conditioners come in combination with cleaners, which remove the old polish. When extra layers of polish build up the leather is not able to breathe as well and perspiration can eventually break down the leather. There are a lot of good leather conditions on the market, mostly sold for leather jackets, furniture and purses. Some of the conditioners are known as balms.