# Help with use of shoe cream on shell cordovan



## john dozier (Jun 28, 2010)

I recently acquired a pair of Alden tassels in ravello cordovan. In searching for a matching polish I sent for the Saphir color chart and found an exact match in their "noisette". This is a cream, not a polish. I also have some of their renovator cream and some Venetian cream. How do I proceed? I need some real expertise here as I have never used creams before, only tradtional polish. Thanks for any help.BTW I have read the advice about sparing use of anything on cordovan, but I have also read conflicting advice on creams versus polish.


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## Racer (Apr 16, 2010)

Don't use shoe creme on shell. If it NEEDS polish (which is rare - like once every 3 years rare) use a tiny amount of wax polish.

I spent quite a bit of time and effort restoring a pair of shell shoes that I bought NIB from a guy who had bought them but never worn them. He had used creme polish on them a couple of times, and they were a mess. Took about a month of on-and-off work before the shine started coming back.


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## Drew Bernard (Feb 19, 2009)

https://www.alden-of-carmel.com/index.cfm/care_of_shell_cordovan.htm

_For shell cordovan shoes, Alden recommends using paste wax polish, and not shoe cream._

I doubt that shoe cream will have a deleterious effect on the shell. But it won't provide as nice a shine and won't protect as well as a paste wax. With either, less is better. I only polish my shells about once every 15 wearings, and brush vigorously before every wearing.


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## maximar (Jan 11, 2010)

The reason for the "no shoe cream suggestion" is bec. creams open the pores of leather as oppose to wax closes. The wax will stop or at least minimize those dreadful "welts/bumps" when the shoes come in contact with water. Wax somehow seals or make it water repellant.

Here is the initial procedure for new shell cordovan from Alden of Catmel. It works great but it will take you about two hours to complete:

Recently, a good customer of Alden shoes offered these care tips for brand new shell cordovan shoes, in order to help protect the leather from water and other elements.

Using a fine cloth, apply a very thin layer of paste wax (not cream) on the shoes. Rub this paste wax in very carefully for about 5 minutes. Wait 1/2 hour and repeat process. Then wait another 1/2 hour, and repeat process a third time.

After this, dip the same fine cloth in water, and rub thoroughly in a cicrular motion until the shine begins to appear. (The cloth should not be really wet. The cloth should just be dipped in water for a very short time, so that the cloth is damp.) But if you rub thoroughly you should see a very thin film of water on the leather for a short time.

When dry, brush with a soft horse hair brush, then polish with a soft cloth.

For cleaning the shoes, use a damp cloth to remove dirt and dust, and a dry cloth for buffing the shoes. This is all that is necessary.

Repeat this polishing process a few times a year, only when necessary.

This process should help guard your new shell cordovan shoes from water and the elements.


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## Barrister & Solicitor (Jan 10, 2007)

It's interesting that Allen Edmonds sells _shoe cream_ as the choice product to care for its shell cordovan shoes. Indeed that's what I was offered less than a month ago when I purchased a pair of shells from one of their stores.

As it seems shoe creams come in more colors than traditional "shoe polish" out of the tin, I've been using a shoe cream on my AE shell shoes with no deleterious effect whatsoever. Obviously, in that department, "less is more". And I get a wicked shine out of my shoes.


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## john dozier (Jun 28, 2010)

Thank you barrister and solicitor as the Saphir which is the only matching color, comes only as a cream. I am pleased to know of your experience and am in your debt.


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## Barrister & Solicitor (Jan 10, 2007)

My pleasure John Dozier!

I found Maximar's post interesting though.

I tend to avoid wearing my shell shoes when it may rain. In fact, I did it only once and in my case it was without harm.


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## joenobody0 (Jun 30, 2009)

I've used Alden black shoe cream on a pair of black shells that got a wicked case of water bumps. The cream seemed to raise all the shell uniformly to the height of the bumps. After 10 or so good long brushings the shoes settled down into a more or less smooth finish. 

The shoes shined much better than a brush only shine job. However, I wouldn't use cream on lighter shades of shell since I'm not sure what sort of staining would take place.


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## john dozier (Jun 28, 2010)

Thanks for the warning. I have gone to a great deal of trouble to match the color EXACTLY, thanks to Saphir's color chart and their "Noisette" cream. I had to obtain both from Valmour in France since no one in this country carried either the chart or the color cream. I hope it works out. Cream arrived today and appears to be a match. Thanks again, though.


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

Be sure and let us know how it works out please.


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## closerlook (Sep 3, 2008)

john dozier said:


> Thanks for the warning. I have gone to a great deal of trouble to match the color EXACTLY, thanks to Saphir's color chart and their "Noisette" cream. I had to obtain both from Valmour in France since no one in this country carried either the chart or the color cream. I hope it works out. Cream arrived today and appears to be a match. Thanks again, though.


DO NOT USE THE SHOE CREAM.
KIWI mid-tan is a perfect match for Ravello anyway.


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## TheWGP (Jan 15, 2010)

I would be interested to see if anyone was able to talk with the head people at Allen Edmonds regarding this - I've had a similar experience of being offered cream at an AE outlet when discussing shell shoes. The leadership of AE at this point is the type of people who I could see certainly listening to customer experiences and developed practice. It is also possible that their cream is somehow different and is okay to use - but I really don't know, as I haven't tried it and don't plan to.


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## Epaminondas (Oct 19, 2009)

I've received new shell cordovan shoes that seemed dry and I've used AE Shell shoe cream to good effect. There are highly respected members of this forum who insist that all one need to do is brush the shoes and very rarely apply wax. I take that at face value, but there are posts here with people describing how older Shell shoes have cracked. I think there may be something to the idea of applying waxes AND creams to keep those fats inside the shell to lubricate the internal fibers. In other words, I suspect that though Shell retains natural fats and oils, etc., they do dry out or dehydrate over the years and waxes and cream act as a kind of "cover" to keep them from evaporating out.

At a minimum, if Nick Horween uses cream of Shells, I'm not willing to dismiss it out of hand:

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...hell-(Warning-Big-Pics)&p=1040553#post1040553


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## closerlook (Sep 3, 2008)

^^
interesting. i'll admit that i would take nick's word over any other conventional wisdom.


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## TheWGP (Jan 15, 2010)

Well, that's more conditioning - and yes, that's what you should do on old shells to avoid cracking and so on. 

BTW, A Suitable Wardrobe has Saphir Renovateur (what Nick says "many people swear by") including Ron Rider, if I recall correctly, for only $25 shipped, a rather phenomenal price, and in stock no less, or was when I ordered recently!


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## john dozier (Jun 28, 2010)

I tried a very small bit of the Saphir "Noisette" last night. A PERFECT match (which is not true with Kiwi, at least on my Ravello, but I have been told that this color varies substantially). No complaints.


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## john dozier (Jun 28, 2010)

On a side note, it is good to see that Gentlemen can still disagree, agreeably.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Epaminondas said:


> I've received new shell cordovan shoes that seemed dry and I've used AE Shell shoe cream to good effect. There are highly respected members of this forum who insist that all one need to do is brush the shoes and very rarely apply wax. I take that at face value, but there are posts here with people describing how older Shell shoes have cracked. I think there may be something to the idea of applying waxes AND creams to keep those fats inside the shell to lubricate the internal fibers. In other words, I suspect that though Shell retains natural fats and oils, etc., they do dry out or dehydrate over the years and waxes and cream act as a kind of "cover" to keep them from evaporating out.
> 
> At a minimum, if Nick Horween uses cream of Shells, I'm not willing to dismiss it out of hand:
> 
> https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...hell-(Warning-Big-Pics)&p=1040553#post1040553


However, for those purchasing shell cordovan shoes from fresh stock, as long as "the bloom" appears on your shell, the shoes are surely not going to crack from drying out!


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## Epaminondas (Oct 19, 2009)

eagle2250 said:


> However, for those purchasing shell cordovan shoes from fresh stock, as long as "the bloom" appears on your shell, the shoes are surely not going to crack from drying out!


Probably true. But the amount of bloom that apppears has always varied from shoe to shoe and the fact that it abates over time is what worries that they may be losing their internal "moisture" as it were. For istance I've never seen any bloom of my Darlton wing tips and the way they get sold out every season, I doubt mine were particularly old.


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## Barrister & Solicitor (Jan 10, 2007)

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are my AE Graysons, on which I've used a "Woly" brand shoe cream, on 3 or 4 occasions. I've had them for about 2 years.

https://img827.imageshack.us/i/pict4203.jpg/

I brush them up from time to time and sometimes will only buff them with an old sock before wearing them. You may notice on the inside left shoe that the actual shell is torn by a few milimeters. I bought them that way off Ebay as nearly new (probably worn once or twice) and for the price I paid, I can't complain too much. One needs to know there's a slight defect with the shoe.


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