The London Lounge

I have a pair of John Lobb (RTW) shoes in Museum calf -brown and was wondering if any one knows of a good polish to use on them. I sent a message to Lobb about 2 weeks ago but still haven't had a reply so I thought I would try my luck here. I would be greatful for your reply.

Lobb (Hermes) sells their own polish and so too does Lobb London. I've used both and have had very good results. I ordered polish from Lobb London to be sent when my shoes were ready and have had the New York store send me polish for my RTW shoes. You may be able to order online from either if they will not respond to your inquiry.
Lance

And, if further inquiries fail with Lobb, Saphir, I believe a French brand, is highly recommended. Good luck
Lance

Lobb St James's recommend a cream polish which you can purchase over the counter.

I have recently ordered Saphir Medaille D'Or. I have used for some time another polish called Burgol, but I have read in another thread in the LL about some mischievous advertisements promoted in favour of the latter. Which polish do other members of this forum usually employ on a general basis on their shoes?

I personally use Saphir Md'O, although I do not posses a pair of JLP (yet). Totally different from anything used before!

Saphir is the cream and polish supplier to Lobb / Hermès. That said, I do not know whether Lobb / Hermès have certain colours that are exclusive to them. I think Saphir products are excellent and would not hesitate recommending them.

Hi goddenrich,

I have lobb st.james stuff plus other various shoes and I use simple Kiwi polish.... NEVER ever had a problem with my shoes. A LOT of various shoe dealers sell re-branded simple polish. I honestly never waste money on expensive polish with an exotic name / or from an exotic shop. However, if you genuinely know of a better polish then go for it.

BTW Avel is the manufacturer of Saphir as far as I know. It is probably better than Kiwi but for me the good ol' kiwi gets the job done.

Etutee wrote:Hi goddenrich,

I have lobb st.james stuff plus other various shoes and I use simple Kiwi polish.... NEVER ever had a problem with my shoes. A LOT of various shoe dealers sell re-branded simple polish. I honestly never waste money on expensive polish with an exotic name / or from an exotic shop. However, if you genuinely know of a better polish then go for it.

BTW Avel is the manufacturer of Saphir as far as I know. It is probably better than Kiwi but for me the good ol' kiwi gets the job done.

Receiving a larger order of Saphir (both MdO and Surfine) I can say that MdO is totally different to what ever shoe polish or cream I had ever used - extraordinary coloring power, great pigments, and real nourishing capacity, light years from the usual Kiwi. The only other product line that rivals with the MdO is La Cordonnerie Anglaise. The investment in top quality shoe care products is a real investment!

Do you gentlemen make use of shoe cream in addition to shoe polish on a regular basis? Some books, and threads in different fora, recommend the application of a thin layer of cream as a more effective means to nourish the leather every four times one polishes the shoes. The German call it “Emulsionscreme” and, interestingly enough, it is in the German sites and reference material that this procedure is more emphatically recommended.

Yes, Marcelo, I use the Lobb London (St James's) cream almost exclusively on their shoes and the cream from the NY (Hermes) Lobb on their RTW shoes. I'd like to have further information about the rotation of polish and cream as I don't use polish much at all.

Thanks,

Lance

A few years ago I was told about the Saphir "Renovateur" shoe cream, which is not a polish so much as a neutral leather conditioner. It is what I use principally. I generally use cream much more than wax, and this seems to do everything my shoes need for the most part.

SInce the OP hasn't come back- I was wondering if he was asking about "quailty" of polish or, rather, what -color- is bet for the brown museum calf?

marcelo wrote:Do you gentlemen make use of shoe cream in addition to shoe polish on a regular basis? Some books, and threads in different fora, recommend the application of a thin layer of cream as a more effective means to nourish the leather every four times one polishes the shoes. The German call it “Emulsionscreme” and, interestingly enough, it is in the German sites and reference material that this procedure is more emphatically recommended.

I do every time since I cannot be asked to keep tidy notes about what I did with which shoes last time. However, it must be said that if you prefer a bit of glazing, using the cream appears to make the glazing process a lot more work...

Thank you for your replyes. I have heard from other sorces that saphir was very good but I wanted to hear what you use and recomend. I was also wondering if any other members had the same colour shoes and if so what colour they used as I am finding it hard to colour match and have no way of doing so without going to london.

Thanks
Richard