Hey folks, I have been trying to restore and polish these boots, but there are these stubborn worn patches on the toes that I can't get to look better no matter what I do.

I cleaned them with saddle soap, conditioned them a few times with two different conditioners rubbing with a soft cloth and tights in between coats, and the rest of the boots looked way better but those patches on the toes still look matte and worn.

I tried redyeing them (the results are in the first four pictures, pre-dye but post-conditioning and brushing and buffing are the later ones) but it doesn't seem to have improved the issue. I'm not sure quite what is causing this or if it's fixable or if there's a way to make them look shinier and prettier anyway.

I'd really appreciate any advice.

My sister in law found these for $30 while we were thrifting together. It was my first time doing touch ups with leather paint but I'm happy with how they came out!

Hey all. I wanted to know where is a good place to get second hand leather boots. I am on a tight budget lmao

Shine with Pride (or Wrath, as the case may be).

I wrapped my favorite project yet: overdying a pair of Wesco Highliners from Redwood to Black.

I had been asking around for advice on how to achieve an overdye that didn't penetrate the core of the leather so I could maintain the contrasting edges. I figured I'd share my process in case anyone wanted to try something similar.

I bought these on sale at Bakers' (highly recommend them) in Redwood instead of Black so that the boots will teacore brown with time and wear. Previously, I had a brown pair that I maintained for a few years with black creme polish. This worked okay, but the boots eventually got floppy and weren't ever quite as black as I wanted.

These were brand new. I prepped them with a light rub down of alcohol, then I oiled them with Obenaufs Boot Oil lightly before laying down a few light coats of Fiebings Pro Dye (oil-based) with a sponge. The pre-oil step on brand new boots gave me a super consistent finish that is much less streaky than my previous projects.

IMO when it comes to dye, never use the daubers. They really oversaturate the leather (which dyes the core and causes excess dye to bleed). The key to this job was using a lot of "Sharp Lines" blue painters tape and then touching up near the edges and stitchdown welt with a fine paintbrush.

I buffed them with a rag and then used Fiebings Leather Balm with Atom Wax to seal them. I've had no issues with dye rub-off yet. Used alcohol on Q tips to clean the brass hardware.

I sealed the midsole and heels with diluted resolene and then melted huberds into the stitching to waterproof them. My plan is to maintain these with Venetian or a similar neutral, shiny wax/balm -- avoiding pigment for the most part.

Hello I’ve been attempting to shine to a mirror finish on some leather boots for the first time with what seems like no luck. I’m using Saphir and every video I find about mirror shine is vastly different can anyone help?? I’m very new to boot blacking and sincerely don’t know what is going wrong

What do you think? My second pair I’ve done. I just got into kinky bootblacking but I did it for years in cadets as a teen. The Frankenpatch wax is a bit tricky to use but I think I did a good job! I need to get the zipper fixed this week on the left boot before I finish the restore. I’ll have them just in time for pride 🏳️‍🌈

Sometimes I feel like my efforts barely did anything :(

First image is the after second before.

Hi all, I was wondering how you would recommend approaching an overdye project for a pair of brand new brown boots (Wesco’s oil tanned Seidel Redwood leather)

My goal with the pair is to black them, but not to the extent where the black dye overwhelms the brown underneath. I don’t want just a surface finish (like paint) but I don’t want to deeply saturate the leather core either. I‘m hoping to preserve the brown core so that the boots develop character that reveals brown undertones

In the past I’ve used black creme polish repeatedly on a pair of brown boots. It was pretty, but it may have overconditioned a bit and it wasnt quite as black as I wanted.

My plan was to prep with a light degreaser like alcohol and then use fiebings pro dye.

Any thoughts welcome!!!

Hello all,

Not a bootblack here, but an appreciator of all those who do. I'm looking to make a custom boot packing station for a local venue (donation, not selling) - and I'm curious what makes a good setup for y'all.

Currently I am envisioning some kind of base/platform with drawers for supply storage (short term for the event, unless there is an appreciated way to have some generic supplies?), some comfortable seat on the platform (based on my skills I will probably try and source something appropriate for many sizes of human), raised foot rests that would be in front of the chair. Maybe a short stool of some type for the bootblack?

Open to all suggestions. Bonus points to any accessibility considerations.

I’ve never used saddle soap before, only liquid cleansers like Angelus Easy Cleaner and Reshoev8nr with good results.

I have also used Lexol but I think I prefer the gentler water-based cleansers instead. Lexol was pulling too much dye out of the shoes I cleaned.

I would like to learn how to use saddle and glycerin soaps.

I’m curious to know if solid soaps are superior to modern liquid preparations, or just have different use cases?

I've noticed that when I use saddle soap on a particularly sweaty or close to the body piece of leather, the suds will smell HORRIBLE. Fish that's starting to turn and hairdye ammonia strong enough it hurts at close range and is noticeable at arm's length. The only thing I can think to compare is bar soap being used on a very sweaty/grimy body part, but several times worse.

I know it's not my soap or brush, I washed a pair of boots with them minutes before soaping down a leather wristband I wear almost every day. The smell was the worst near the hollow backs of the rivets (which get cleaned out with a toothbrush) at either end and the stretch of leather that gets the sweatiest, but nowhere else. The more suds I removed, the fainter the smell got, and disappeared a few second after it was all gone but still wet.

My only thought is it could be a similar process to the soap bar, and the stink is grime getting broken down, I just want to make sure I'm not getting up close and personal with something that's as bad for me as it smells.

Hey folks!

I recently got these boots off of a seller on ebay. The seller is a Army veteran who bought these boots in 2007 and is selling them as they retire from the Army. I know that they have been polished with kiwi. I've also heard sometimes there's a protective coating on military boots.

I was hoping anyone could give me an idea of how to clean and polish these boots. Looking to make these last at least another 20 years if not more.

Hi there! Is there anything that can be done about the cracking in these leather shoes? What products and processes do you do?

in short:

i do not actually own things needed for bootblacking yet, i need help with "what to acquire" and hope the... related subreddit can give some pointers

more lengthy:

i dont exactly have experience with bootblacking, or working with leather in general, but, since meeting my Owner it has been starting to become... *quite* a priority to me to be able to be Her proper bootblacking sub

due to somewhat complicated circumstances, i am in a rush to spend money, and... good equipment for bootblacking seems like a *good* investment,,,

but i dont have much of a clue about what you actually... need,,, i've only seen that people who are invested in bootblacking seem to have quite a lot of things they carry around with them really,,,

i'm struggling with researching such stuff and Owner said that i oughta do my own research, so yeah,,, i was hoping someone could maybe help give kind of a list, or at least an idea of whats actually needed, i suppose whats more "high quality" is something i can look into myself...

I was gifted this leather jacket from the 1980s by my best friend as a birthday gift many years ago.

I try to keep it moisturized and clean, but I noticed the edges are getting worn.

Is this something I can fix with a little black polish?

hey guys, I'm pursuing boot blacking because I may be the only active one in my city, but there's no one I can physically learn from. I'm just reaching out because I could use some advice and tips and I would like to show off my blacking kit to get some advice on the things I already have.

Hiii, i did nit know until this week that you cannot clean and condition suede like you would leather like boots or vests.

I have 12 year old leather cuffs where the outside is regular smooth finished leather (I hope i am describing that well) then the inside part is suede. For the last 5 years when I hage cleaned and conditioned them I used the same technique on both sides. I always wondered why my soft inside of my cuffs we now so dark and hard.

So now I am trying to figure out how to undo the damage.

I have an eraser and brush. But not yet any suede cleaner.

I would appreciate any help. And also product recommendations for me to build my own boot black kit so I do not have to keep borrowing from my meta's

The attached pictures are my cuffs. The light patch is my start with am eraser and brush

Thank you!

Boot Black Merit badge, It is 2" In Dia and can be sewn on

i’m new to bootblacking and my partner has a pair of demonias she wants me to shine that are vegan leather, the texture is more porous than other vegan leather so i don’t wanna try silicone lube. it kinda looks like the texture of cork leather, but i can’t find the exact material on the website. would it be safe to put regular polish on them and if not what should i use?

I started learning 3-4 years ago and practicing on my own boots (first pic) and my bf’s (2nd pic), repeatedly, and some friends’ shoes here and there. I posted an ad on the feeld dating app a couple weeks ago and am completely booked for private (polite, professional) sessions. There is one person who is having me do their gear (harnesses, straps, cuffs, collars, gloves, unique pieces) and am so happy and it’s honestly the dream because I get to spend hours with special and loved pieces. I really enjoy the act of service and the praise.

My routine:
asking about choices for care (laces, whether to fill scuffs or condition them, dye or no dye, worn during or taken off) > dust off excess w/ large brush > saddle soap or leather honey cleaner > conditioning w/ renovateur or leather honey > soft glow w/ médaille d’or or mirror shine with layers of pâte de luxe w/ spritz of water and couple layers of médaille d’or. optional: laces with my jar of soapy water that sit drying in a towel during the shine; lighter for loose threads; washcloth + soapy water for extra attention around the sole; toothbrush for removing gravel from treads/lugs. I prefer to use my hands for most of this but use cotton clothes/brushes for finalizing.

Some questions:
Mirror Shine
1. Just learned how to mirror shine and it doesn’t have that glossy reflection like I see on this sub — how do I get it and with what tools? (1st pic is current best) Also is cracking normal once you start wearing it?

Payment
2. I’ve understood the traditional philosophy is to do this work for free and accept tips per the receiver’s satisfaction. Do you charge? How much or little for different types of care?

Events
3. What would I need to refine to do kink events? I have connections and could easily obtain a gig, but worry about speed (soft glow takes 30 mins but extreme care and attention is involved) + level of expertise needed.

3.5. I’ve heard clients discuss how shoe shines/leather care at events are so fast that they prefer how I do it because of the attention and carefulness, I’m in it for the love of the game haha. Would it be better to just stick with private/personal sessions? Or could just advertise or notify at events the time I will take to complete the work?

Advertisement
4. How do you advertise? I am busy enough with word of mouth and I already have lots of connections. I don’t find it necessary to have a website or dedicated social platform but I don’t know? !!!Do any of you do business cards and is there anything specifically I should write on them, especially given that I am amateur and new?

Miscellaneous
5. What could I add to my kit? (note: pâte de luxe hiding under the scjohnson which I’ve never used and idek where I got that, I still carry it in case).

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading and feel free to answer whatever questions. I’m not expecting one person to answer all of them.

:)

I found this insane pair of higher that my waist boots for sale for $10. They have no soles and are cracked as hell. So far I’ve scrubbed them a few times over w saddle soap and have smothered them in an insane amount of conditioner, they’re currently in a trash bag to let it absorb.

They have some pretty bad cracking and I’ve never replaced soles. Any advice?