Are these shoes ruined

[rockfan4]

I'll admit I've neglected these shoes. Let them get wet, let them dry out.
Now that I'm working from home, I don't wear them that much, so I thought I'd try to do something.
First I stripped all the old finish off them.
Then I tried ironing out the wrinkles. I put a wet cloth on the toe, and ran an iron over them. The wrinkles came out, but they came back when I wore them.
I tried some leather conditioner, but as you can see, that darkened the leather. Now the toes are darker than the rest of the shoes. I was hoping they would end up a lighter shade after stripping the finish. I used a beige polish on them, still turned brown.
After all the massaging and the leather conditioner, the toes are very soft now, maybe too soft, but the wrinkles are still there.

For the few times I do go into work I can just wear them as they are, but I was hoping for better.

[pwd72s]

They look fine to me...but what do I know?

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Those shoes will be fine.

Watch a #$%load of youtube videos. Specifically, the "elegant oxford" about refinishing.
He has dealt with far worse, and he has a well deserved following.

I think he prefers Bick-4 leather conditioner/cleaner for not darkening leather.

As for getting the shoe back lighter, he's got a bunch of tips on that too. You could try light acetone, but watch the videos first. Nail polish remover seems to be a little more diluted if you want to start off baby steps.

Another thing I'll do is use saphir renovateur, and saphir clear cream. Applied with bounty napkin, the shoe cream will even pull out some of the darkening/pigment/dye. It is much less aggressive than acetone.

I think for the wrinkles, my guess is he'd recommend soaking the shoes and stretching over a good shoe horn. I don't think the iron is necessary.

He even will leave shoes out in full sun to bleach out dark colors.

[Sooner or later]

Ruined if they are size 11 1/2. Send em to me for proper disposal.

[masraum]

Leather shoes are going to wrinkle. There's no getting around it (other than not wearing them).

I understand that cordovan (the horse-based "leather" [not really tanned hide], not the color) doesn't wrinkle, but rolls.

darker toes is a thing, so that's not a problem either.

When leather is finished, putting a conditioner on it won't normally change the color. If you removed the finish and then put a conditioner on the leather, then you almost can't stop the color from changing. I suppose it's possible that there's some sort of conditioner that doesn't, but I've never seen it.

Those look fine to me.

I had a pair of nice-ish black penny loafers when I was in college. i eventually started wearing them for work at the grocery store. They got completely soaked in rain several times, the finish was wearing off, etc.... I took them to a shoe repair place and for something like $20, I got back a pair of shoes with new soles and completely refinished (glossy black). The shaping of the upper leather was still there, but I was actually happy about that as they were "broken in" and extremely comfortable.

[Steve Carlton]

[rockfan4]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

They look fine to me...but what do I know?

Sorry, should have done a "before and after" Here's the shoes after wearing them about 5 minutes. Not only do the wrinkles come back, but the shoes appear lighter around the wrinkles, making them stand out.

[rockfan4]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

Ruined if they are size 11 1/2. Send em to me for proper disposal.

They're 11s, but Timberlands always run big for me. I normally wear 11 1/2, and I'm at 12s now in Nikes since the plantar fasciitis.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Hard to tell from the pics, but the microcracking looks like there's still dried polish/wax on it. I'd get e'm back on the horns (stretch out the big creases), and clean/strip them more.

It's a slow process. I spent hours doing a pair, over a period of a week or so.

This is a kind of ballsy use of acetone itself to soak into the leather to fix creasing. He ends up redying the shoes.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rockfan4

Sorry, should have done a "before and after" Here's the shoes after wearing them about 5 minutes. Not only do the wrinkles come back, but the shoes appear lighter around the wrinkles, making them stand out.

Yep, that happens. You could consider it "patina" if you want.

You could run a brush over them parallel to the cracks a few times. I find that often helps, but it's not going to eradicate the behavior. The wrinkles will just come back. If you have a natural leather finish which is what you've got, I think that's just how they are going to look from now on.

[craigster59]

Just throw on a pair of Draggin' Azz jeans and no one will notice...

[URY914]

Where's Tabs? He's the used shoe expert.

[MBAtarga]

Originally Posted by URY914

Where's Tabs? He's the used shoe expert.

I think those are just Timberlands. Not any fancy european or italian brand like Tabs prefers.

[Jeff Hail]

When leather dries out it gets lighter. Especially colored shoes.

Go get some mitt oil. Yes baseball mitt oil. Obenauf’s Leather Oil will also work well. Spread a very light amount on a cloth and then apply to shoes as if you were staining wood trim by hand. Light slow coats. Do not make it wet just slowly adding oil and moisture back in that has been lost. Dab if needed. Wait a day and do it again. Let them dry up for about 5 days. Then come back and use some Saphir Medaille. (you will figure it out). Let it dry for 2 days then give it a light rubbin.

If you don't have or cant find the mink oil that's fine. Get some neutral clear Kiwi polish in the can. Been used for decades on the cheap and looks good. Apply but do not buff off. Let it sit for a day or two to penetrate and harden. Then give it some hand buffin with some cloth.

You can give it a natural seal with beeswax. Apply like hard polish and buff to shine. I don't recommend beeswax unless its an acrylic finish. It gives a great short term shine but will dry out and magnify tan, brown or open grain leather cracks or scratches.

[Bill Douglas]

Dubbin.

[tabs]

Send em off to someone who knows what they are doing..usually not the local cobbler. Thats if you fivure they are worth the cost.

Timberlands ehhh.

I dont know what you expect them to be like when rejunivated. Patina/distressing has been quite fashionable. They show character. It really is a must to keep shoe trees in your shoes it extends life. Trees over time will minimize flex creasing.

[rockfan4]

I guess all I'm trying to do is to get them to the same shade where they're wrinkled. I just don't like the zebra stripes. I can get them to one shade, but then when I wear them the wrinkles lighten up and reappear.

[Superman]

Take them to a professional. That, or just put some mink oil on them, but the oil would darken them. Probably considerably.

[rusnak]

You're going to have to stop walking when you wear them. Just stand still. No wrinkles that way.

[flatbutt]

Wrinkles are the outward sign of experience...just ask my face.


You want ruined shoes? Try walking thru the flooded streets of Puerto Rico after a hurricane. I tossed them at the airport and bought a pair of $10 sneakers for $100 for the flight home.