Quick Shine to Johnston and Murphy Oxfords
Here’s a pair of 5+ year old Johnston and Murphy men’s black oxfords. They’re very well kept, right down to the wood shoe stretcher inside each shoe.
All these oxfords needed was a quick clean-condition-shine to remove some scuffs and dust. The black and white image helps show the scuffs a bit better than a color image…
Here’s a detail of the toe area prior to the shine…
Steps
A low intensity shine was brought about on these smooth leather oxfords with these steps:
- A quick cleaning with Saddle Soap, a dauber, and a little tin of water. The soap was wiped off with a clean rag and a toothbrush to get into the tight places.
- Conditioning with Venetian Shoe Cream. (That’s what I had with me but I could also have used Lenox conditioner or Huberd’s Shoe Grease.) This was rubbed in with a clean rag.
- Black Meltonian shoe polish paste was applied and shined with a dry rag and then a dry horsehair brush. The paste helps condition while deepening the color.
- A light application of Lincoln shoe polish wax, brushed in with a horsehair brush very lightly misted with water.
- A final shine was brought out with a a good rub all over with a scrap of pantyhose.
This shine should last anywhere from two to four weeks depending on wear. A quick brushing with a lightly misted horsehair brush will keep the shoes looking great between full shines.
Supplies Used
- Kiwi Saddle Soap
- Dauber / Applicator
- Toothbrush
- Container for water
- Nitrile gloves for protection / application
- Venetian Shoe Cream
- Kiwi Horsehair brush
- Buffing cloth (a strip of an old cotton T-shirt can also be used)
- Meltonian shoe polish paste – black
- Lincoln shoe polish wax – black (Kiwi can also be used but since Kiwi is a softer wax it doesn’t produce as high a shine as Lincoln.)
- Pantyhose
- Water spray bottle (Not pictured)
