I have always noticed that polishing shoes made from excellent leathers is so much easier than lesser grades. Is this my imagination or is there something about excellent leathers that make maintaining them easier.
My EG shoes practically polish themselves...while some others are a real chore.
Michael
Question for Tony
Hi Michael
Higher grade leathers will polish up easier most of the time, the reason for this is the grain of the skin and the area of the skin that the shoe has been cut from. On cheaper leathers the grain is a lot looser this is because the animal tends to be a lot older and bigger for example most cheaper shoes maybe made out of cow hide rather than calf skin and the tannery will put either a high gloss finish on the skin or an embossed pattern on the skin, this is to cover defects and the general quality.
The differnce can be compared with women, a 20 year old women will have tight and firm skin which shows in her beauty but a 50 year old women, although she may look attactive on the surface she most certainly would have to use a lot more cover(foundation) to acheive the look and the skin underneath would not be as good quality ( i hope there's no women reading i ould get shot for saying this)
bigger skins have a looser grain and tend to have high laminated finishes on which will not take polish well, the leather simply does not absorb the polish, some have very little finish on but these skins tend to be used for sportier shoes which do not need a good shine.
small calf skins have a tighter grain and will look pretty good even if they have very little polish or shine.
The area of the skin is also important, for example the skin around the neck and around flexible areas is not as good as good as the skin on the back of rear, lesser quality shoemakers will utilise a larger area of the skin, cutting the shoe out of neck and belly areas which are not particulary good areas, better shoesmakers will use only a small section and throw the rest away avoiding areas of growth and flex.
The polish will remain in a calf skin even if the shoes do not have a shine, so when you polish the shoes it's more of a top up than a polish and they should polish up quite quickly, the only time you may find it difficult to polish a good calf skin is if you is when you have used a spirit cleaner to take off the old polish and then you start from scratch. with the bigger lamiated skins the polish will come off as quick as you put it on, imagine trying to polish plastic.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards
Tony
Higher grade leathers will polish up easier most of the time, the reason for this is the grain of the skin and the area of the skin that the shoe has been cut from. On cheaper leathers the grain is a lot looser this is because the animal tends to be a lot older and bigger for example most cheaper shoes maybe made out of cow hide rather than calf skin and the tannery will put either a high gloss finish on the skin or an embossed pattern on the skin, this is to cover defects and the general quality.
The differnce can be compared with women, a 20 year old women will have tight and firm skin which shows in her beauty but a 50 year old women, although she may look attactive on the surface she most certainly would have to use a lot more cover(foundation) to acheive the look and the skin underneath would not be as good quality ( i hope there's no women reading i ould get shot for saying this)
bigger skins have a looser grain and tend to have high laminated finishes on which will not take polish well, the leather simply does not absorb the polish, some have very little finish on but these skins tend to be used for sportier shoes which do not need a good shine.
small calf skins have a tighter grain and will look pretty good even if they have very little polish or shine.
The area of the skin is also important, for example the skin around the neck and around flexible areas is not as good as good as the skin on the back of rear, lesser quality shoemakers will utilise a larger area of the skin, cutting the shoe out of neck and belly areas which are not particulary good areas, better shoesmakers will use only a small section and throw the rest away avoiding areas of growth and flex.
The polish will remain in a calf skin even if the shoes do not have a shine, so when you polish the shoes it's more of a top up than a polish and they should polish up quite quickly, the only time you may find it difficult to polish a good calf skin is if you is when you have used a spirit cleaner to take off the old polish and then you start from scratch. with the bigger lamiated skins the polish will come off as quick as you put it on, imagine trying to polish plastic.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards
Tony
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bengal-stripe
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Worse for Tony – his (female) boss belongs to that particular age group. Let’s hope, Ms Freeman doesn’t check the forum here.T4phage wrote: I just hope we don't have some 50 year old women in our membership!!
Ohhh... I forgot about her! Tony, be very careful!bengal-stripe wrote:Worse for Tony – his (female) boss belongs to that particular age group. Let’s hope, Ms Freeman doesn’t check the forum here.T4phage wrote: I just hope we don't have some 50 year old women in our membership!!
Jan
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Guest
Dear Sir,
Can you suggest me how to polish my wife, so that she looks like a 20 year old woman? What wax or polish do you suggest? And what are the areas I have to concern more?
Giona Granata.
Can you suggest me how to polish my wife, so that she looks like a 20 year old woman? What wax or polish do you suggest? And what are the areas I have to concern more?
Giona Granata.
The differnce can be compared with women, a 20 year old women will have tight and firm skin which shows in her beauty but a 50 year old women, although she may look attactive on the surface she most certainly would have to use a lot more cover(foundation) to acheive the look and the skin underneath would not be as good quality ( i hope there's no women reading i ould get shot for saying this)
It's perfect Tony!
It's perfect Tony!
I hope somebody can help youJona wrote:Dear Sir,
Can you suggest me how to polish my wife, so that she looks like a 20 year old woman? What wax or polish do you suggest? And what are the areas I have to concern more?
Giona Granata.
Goerge, I think uppercase has the perfect solution
Besides, I believe that the FDA is recommending saline instead.
Dear Tony,
Great information on the skin quality vs. polishing ability.
If you ever get into trouble with a lady who finds her way into our conversation, tell her that in shoes, beauty lies in the surface, but in women, beaty lies deep under the skin. Trust me, it always works
Cheers,
Miguel
Great information on the skin quality vs. polishing ability.
If you ever get into trouble with a lady who finds her way into our conversation, tell her that in shoes, beauty lies in the surface, but in women, beaty lies deep under the skin. Trust me, it always works
Cheers,
Miguel -
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