# How to polish two-toned dress shoes



## drrobert (Sep 24, 2006)

I have some Johnston and Murphy dress tassel loafers that I recently wore to my step-daughter's wedding and on the first day of 2007 I decided to go through my shoe closet and polish all my shoes while watching all the bowl games. Other than this tan and black pair of loafers, all my other shoes are one color and easy to polish. Should I carefully put black polish on the black areas and then polish and then put brown or tan polish on the brown areas and then polish? Or is this a case where a shoe that has two or more colors is more easily or better handled by neutral? This then raises the question as to what is the purpose of neutral shoe polish and do you sacrifice the quality of shine by using neutral instead of the actual color of the leather? Your thoughts please on this glorious first day of 2007 which might hold a University of Michigan Rose Bowl victory over USC (a rare event for us UofM football fans and graduates) drrobert


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

My first instinct was to answer, "Like porcupines making love...very carefully!"

For my slightly cheesy (because the white parts aren't suede) A-E spectators, I will use neutral polish overall if there are no scuff marks on the colored portions. (I have the Belmont in both brown & white and black & white.) Otherwise, I put a fairly thick coating of neutral polish over the white part to protect it and then apply polish of the appropriate color to the colored portion, trying to keep the colored polish off the white part. I quickly wipe off any colored polish from the white portion before it can set and polish the white part after I have finished with the colored.

I suggest you do the same with your black and tan shoes, using tan polish on the tan portion instead of neutral. It seems most unlikely that the tan polish could possibly discolor the black portions, particularly if you wipe it off quickly. Even the black polish is unlikely to do much to the tan portion if you get it off quickly as well.

Chaps who have proper spectators with white suede report good results from using masking tape to protect the suede next to the darker leather portions of the shoe. 

Hope this advice is of some help. I was conditioned from the very cradle to root for the Trojans (and my wife has two degrees from USC). However, given they way they were snookered by the Bruins in their last game, I fear it's going to be a big day for the Wolverines!


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

From The Encyclopedia of Men's Clothes, Shoe Care Chapter:

_*Polishing Two Tone Shoes:*_

_Apply saddle soap with very little water.
_
_Apply black or brown polish (what ever is appropriate to the non-white part of your shoe) polish with an old toothbrush (not your wife's or roommate's!)_
_ 
__You can moisten the polish with a few drops of water or for an authentic 1930's shine - use gin! Wrap a cloth around your finger and buff the non-white part. Work the polish into the leather, let the polish dry slightly, and then buff with a clean rag._

_Use white polish, the kind sold for nurse's shoes, for the white part. Put it on carefully; let it dry and buff off with a clean rag._


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