# How often do you polish your shoes?



## zandago (Apr 14, 2009)

How often do you do a full polish of your shoes? I polish my shoes every 3, 4 or even 5 weeks. I've noticed that my shoes look pretty good after a damp cloth wipedown of the uppers, leather conditioner and a good dry cloth buffing of the shoe once the conditioner has dried. Do I or should I use shoe polish frequently?


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## sjghr (Feb 13, 2010)

Through indoctrination I have generally polished my shoes every time I wear them.

However, I've recently started doing as you describe occassionally. I'm thinking of doing it more often. So I too will be interested to read the opinions and thoughts of board members on this particular practice.


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## alphadelta (Oct 2, 2007)

I polish my shoes when they need it.

AD


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## hohne1 (May 12, 2010)

I agree with alphadelta - I polish them when they need it. And I usually just use conditioner/cleaner. I only use polish if there are scuffs, etc. that need to be covered.

Chris


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

I buff my dress shoes when I take them off at night, then put in the trees and put them in their bags. . I don't apply more polish until they look like they need it. If there are scuff marks, I lick my finger, wet the scuff and buff. That usually removes it. You only want to keep a thin layer of polish on the leather at all times.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

I use cream on my calf shoes, which I think also provides a measure of conditioning. Finish with a thin polish layer, but not always. Frequency, about once every 6-7 or so wearings. Like Jersey John, I buff after each wearing, and obvious dirt gets a damp cloth wipe


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## Dr S (Jan 9, 2010)

As infrequently as I can get away with- it never seems to be convenient, though once I'm into it, I find it relaxing. I save them up, and generally do a large number of them all at the same time. I recently bought a Beck shoe buffer, which I keep in my office, so I buff them when I arrive at work.


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## BamaCPA (Jan 19, 2008)

I use a brush and clean my shoes every night when I take them off to remove any lose dirt or dust from the uppers and where the soles meet the uppers and then replace the shoe trees and put them back in their bags before putting them back in the closet. 

I usually only polish them when they begin to look dull (for shoes with a higher gloss finish) or when they have scuffs on them that can't be removed by using shoe cream. 

JerseyJohn is also correct - a thin layer of polish is best to preserve the leather. Over polishing will obviously do more harm than good.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

As needed. A couple swipes with a horsehair brush if they're dusty or have a scuff. Cleaner/conditioner (Meltonian saddle soap) before I use shoe creme only, probably several weeks, or months, depending on how frequently I wear them. Just enough is just right. Too much gunk, particularly paste wax, makes shoes old before their time.


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## Musick (Oct 5, 2009)

I never "polish" my shoes as I am not a fan of a mirror shine on a shoe.

At the end of the day, they are tree'ed, wiped with a soft cloth to remove dust/light dirt and placed into cotton bags.

Every 8 weeks or so (I have 12 pairs on rotation, so YMMV), I clean them w/ Lexol pH cleaner, dry and wipe w/ Lexol leather conditioner. They are allowed to dry overnight. Next day I apply Meltonian creme, brush then buff.

The main consideration on cleaning/polishing/conditioning frequency is how the shoes are used. Walking miles in the shoes, the environment in which they are worn, etc. all play a part in your maintenance routine.

Sometimes I think I should not maintain them at all as that would allow me to purchase more shoes...:icon_smile_big:


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## sjghr (Feb 13, 2010)

Can I just clarify if we are talking about polishing (brush on, brush off - which I would have thought leaves very little polish on the shoe - so can't be an issue, surely?) or bulling (lots of polish, cloth, shiny mirror finish).


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

My calfskin shoes/boots get polished every six to eight wearings and the she shell cordovan versions get (very sparingly) polished perhaps two to three times per year. Regardless of the type of hide, every pair gets wiped down and brushed vigorously, before and after each wearing!


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## twon12 (Aug 30, 2010)

I polish my shoes every other month. I use leather conditioner first, the a light clear polish after the leather is almost dry to ensure it takes. Then I buff with a horse hair brush to get that luster shine.


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

I'm another in the "as needed" camp. I _do _like a high-shine finish on my shoes, so there's usually enough of a (protective) wax layer on top to buff up to a nice shine several times before wax needs to be re-applied.


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## zandago (Apr 14, 2009)

I've found that leather condition/lotion followed by cloth and brush generally does a pretty good job at refreshing my shoes without the need for actual shoe polish (black, brown or otherwise). I'll skip the actual shoe polish part unless theres noticeable scuffing that doesnt come out with the conditioner. Thanks for everyones input.


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## Alligator (Sep 17, 2009)

I polish mine about every 2-3 weeks. They start to show too many scuffs around week two, but it isn't until week three that I get around to doing it.


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## David Reeves (Dec 19, 2008)

Ideally everytime I wear them.


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## NewComer (May 23, 2009)

I would say about every time I wear them. But then, I only wear each shoe about once per month, so I guess monthly.


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## ChivalryAintDead (Jan 12, 2010)

Every two to three days. I ride a motorbike to work and between the client ompanies I have to visit during the day, which scuffs my shoes to hell and back.


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## Leighton (Nov 16, 2009)

Whenever I have both the time and inclination to polish them. In other words, when they need to be polished.


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