# Conditioning Corrected Grain Shoes?



## DavidW (May 22, 2006)

Do conditioners like Venetian shoe Cream, Obenaufs, or Lexol penetrate the highly polished finish on Weejuns, AE "Polished Cobbler", etc.? Or is this a waste and we should just stick to polish?
David


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## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

A search will take you to many threads on corrected grain leather. Without paying much attention, I bought a pair of 'glazed' Weejuns and found them impervious to almost everything. Following advice in one of the threads here, I deglazed them with acetone and alcohol. What remains after the plastic coating is gone is still resistant to being penetrated by conditioner. They will now take Kiwi polish, I have been unable to make the surface look like real leather. I hope someone else posts with better advice.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

If they're unlined, apply the conditioner to the inside of the shoe.


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## DavidW (May 22, 2006)

I agree there's great info on removing the finish. But I didn't find anything on conditioning with the existing finish intact. I'm interested in leaving the finish on and whether there's any value in trying to condition the leather below.


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## harvey_birdman (Mar 10, 2008)

I do not know for certain, but my expectation is that there is not any value in conditioning, because the "coating" on top would prevent the conditioner from ever getting to the leather in the first place.


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## Epaminondas (Oct 19, 2009)

As stated. Short of stripping them, I think attempting to condition corrected grain is pretty futile.


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## andy b. (Mar 18, 2010)

I can't speak for all conditioners, but Obenaufs and Lexol will soak into the leather any place it has been scuffed or where a lot of creases are. This is from personal experience.

andy b.


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## Pink and Green (Jul 22, 2009)

Could we get some pics of what stripped Weejuns look like? I've always wanted to try it, so maybe you could help us by showing what's under all that lacquer.


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## Thom Browne's Schooldays (Jul 29, 2007)

I kinda regret ever wearing weejuns as an adult, I have a feeling most of this forum feels the same way about them.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Thom Browne's Schooldays said:


> I kinda regret ever wearing weejuns as an adult, I have a feeling most of this forum feels the same way about them.


Then I'm in the minority. I got my first pair in the early 60's and at age 62 I still have a pair; not the same pair though. I don't wear them much; but that's only because I generally prefer lace up shoes, not because I'm an adult.

Cruiser


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

My only pair of corrected grain shoes is a pair of pennies. By accident I found that applying a small amount of Lexol cleaner with a tissue, letting it dry for several hours and then buffing with a horsehair brush keeps them clean, shiny and supple.


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## RM Bantista (May 30, 2009)

I think there is a lot of valuable information and experience expressed by the group thus far. 

All 'corrected grain' leathers are not equal. Some are more like patent leather in finish and Lexol is an excellent suggestion for these. Many corrected grain leathers are very dense and stiff. They will not accept creme polish even with other kinds of conditioners, and I would not expect them to be improved by paste wax polishes except in areas where the finish has been damaged. A cobbler can apply other sorts of products that will repair the finish to some extent. 

There is no real downside to conditioning the interior with other conditioners such as Bicks 4, but the improvement in comfort and suppleness will vary. Sometimes it will be significant and other times not so much. Lexol is not a great idea for the interior of shoes generally or for glove soft leathers, as the label warns. 

A made in England Doc Martin shoe is a 'corrected grain', but it is able to be conditioned and polished with creme polishes because the grain of the leather is more open and not had the smooth finish applied as seen in the contemporary Bass, and many other brands as well in recent times. 

Times have changed. This is not to say that these modern iterations of former go-to Brands do not have some utility and cannot be used for some purposes; just don't pay premium prices for them, treat them as appropriate, and don't expect them to last in good condition as long as they once did in the bygone era.

I haven't tried any of the finish stripping and wonder how the end product will be. I think I might try it with a shoe that has already suffered significant issues. At that point, what's the harm? If it doesn't come off as well as one would wish, it still was at the end of it's useful life cycle, and I may learn something valuable from the trial.

Thanks for the suggestions,

rudy


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## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

For those who wanted to know about the appearance of the stripped Weejuns, they look just like their "glazed" mode, but not as shiny. The leather is still smooth, hard and featureless. That said, they are well constructed and comfortable. I have not worn them enough to see if they will conform to my feet. No more shoes of this type are planned to be in my future. Sorry I am not a photographer, but I hope this conveys something useful.


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## calfnkip (Mar 21, 2011)

Penny loafers like the Bass Weejuns are made from a type of corrected grain leather known in the trade as 'handsewn' leather. It's customarily thick, as the early penny loafers were usually unlined. It also differs from the kind of corrected grain leathers discussed briefly in this thread: https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showthread.php?111275-Fake-Allen-Edmonds-on-Ebay

With handsewn leather, the underlying tannage is either pure vegetable tanned or chrome tanned leather retanned with vegetable agents. Veg tanning produces a fairly firm leather that holds certain shapes better than pure chrome tanned leathers as the plant extracts used in vegetable tanning act on the underlying collagen of the skin differently. Vegetable tanned leathers are very durable and shoes made of it can last for decades if not longer.

As to conditioning a Weejun or other corrected grain shoe, most modern tanneries add oils and emollients to the leather during the tanning process to keep it supple over the anticipated life of the shoe. So it seems unlikely that doing anything additional would be of advantage.

As to the finish itself, most shoes come from the factory looking the way the shoe manufacturer intended it to look. In many instances, the shoe factory has worked with the tanner to produce a look to the finished product that the customer can maintain without the use of exotic preparations or extraordinary effort.

My personal experience with handsewn leathers (I currently have two pairs of Hanover handsewns that are 20+ years old) is that a bit of saddle soap occasionally and a light coating of a cream polish produces the look I want.

Hope this helps a bit.


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## Checkerboard 13 (Oct 6, 2009)

Thank you for your input, calfnkip!
For anyone who is not familiar with the thread to which he referred, this is the post in which he provides some rather detailed enlightenment on the subject of corrected grain leathers. 
(Going directly to the post will save you from having to wade through a somewhat convoluted thread.)


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## DavidW (May 22, 2006)

Thanks for all the good info and opinions. To follow up I did a little experiment. I just bought a pair of unworn original made in Maine Weejuns found on eBay. Although I assume they're still corrected grain, they have no "painted" finish. I treated them, and at the same time my more recent "painted" Weejuns, with Obenaufs. A day later almost all of the Obenaufs has been absorbed by the old stock pair, but most still sits like an oil slick on the newer "painted" pair.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Just use windex!!


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## maximar (Jan 11, 2010)

I don't know any CGs worth conditioning especially Weejuns. Just wipe with damp cloth when needed until the day you decide to get another pair of non-CGs or they break (no particular order). There is no restoration nor patination in the CG leather world.


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