Brushes
Horse hair brushes
Long for cleaning off dust and dirt
Round (dauber) for soap
Buffing brushes
Long for polishing (also horse hair)
Suede brush
Small brushes
Like a toothbrush for smaller areas
Cleaning
Glycerin based:
A pure glycerin soap allows you to have a clean surface to apply whatever product you will be using next.
Fiebing’s Glycerin soap bar
Neutrogena Glycerin Facial Cleansing bar
Lida Soap bar
Other:
Saddle soap has conditioner built into it as it is meant to be a two-in-one product. If you wipe it off well it won’t leave a film residue. Saddle soap can darken your leather.
Fiebing’s Saddle Soap
Leather Honey cleaner
Conditioner
When it comes to polish & conditioner you want to match your leather type, ie heavy leather heavy condition or hard polish. Heavier products can darken your leather so you might want to layer lighter ones to avoid this.
Light leather (milk/lotion products):
Chamberlain’s Leather milk
Allergy ⚠️ – Almond Oil
SAPHIR Creme Universelle
jojoba oil, lanolin, and beeswax
SAPHIR Renovateur
beeswax and apricot oil
Kiwi Leather Lotion
Leather Honey conditioner
Non toxic
100% Pure Neatsfoot oil
Softens, conditions and protects. Used in leather crafting, darkens the leather and it’s easy to over-apply.
Heavy leather:
Huberd’s Shoe Grease
Darkens leather, waterproofs and conditions
Allergy ⚠️ – Pine tree and beeswax
Finland’s Bear Grease
Petroleum and natural waxes
Obenauf’s Heavy Duty LP Leather Conditioner
Allergy ⚠️ – Beeswax
Fiebing’s Aussie Leather Conditioner
Allergy ⚠️ – Beeswax
Polish
You want to match your hardness, so a soft Italian leather will need a cream/creme polish. Black is obviously the main color you may use, if you need others, don’t be afraid to experiment. And if you can’t find a color match you can always go with neutral.
Creams:
They provide a gentle shine and redyes the leather more than wax polish. You can also use softer polish on harder leathers.
Kelly’s Shoe Cream
Tarrago Shoe Cream
SAPHIR Creme Surfine Pommadier Shoe Polish
Allergy ⚠️ – Beeswax
Hard wax:
Mainly used to achieve a good shine and protect the leather
Kiwi Shoe Polish
Is a little on the softer side
SAPHIR Pâthe de Luxe
Allergy ⚠️ – Beeswax
SAPHIR Amiral Gloss
Harder waxes, for spit shine on the toe caps and heel counters
Angelus Shoe Wax Polish
Tarrago Premium Shoe Polish
Lincoln Stain Wax Shoe Polish
Carnauba wax
Kelly’s Shoe Polish
Rags
Microfiber clothes
Do not put on the dryer or they will become scratchy
Cotton rags
Old t-shirts work as long as they are cotton
Other
Spray water bottle
You will use it while cleaning but also during the buffing and shining of shoe polish. I suggest a spray water bottle which you can adjust the stream.
Spray vinegar bottle
Good for desinfecting and cleaning bacteria
Cotton buds
Used for spit shining
Brasso/Sidol
Used to polish/clean hardware bits
Shine cloth
Used for high gloss shine. 100% Nylon pantyhose also work.
Resources
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