Calf Leather

Calf Leather Shoe Care Guide

If you own a pair of leather shoes, chances are it is smooth leather. Used interchangeably with calfskin leather, it is the most commonly used leather by leather craftsmen. Follow our guide below to learn how to take care and preserve the life of your precious smooth leather shoes with the reputable Saphir’s range of products.

Step 1: Brush off dust

Brush off any superficial dust on your shoes using a horsehair brush. The sturdiness and flexibility of the horsehair’s bristles allows easy dusting on the edges of the shoe, where most dust and dirt accumulates.

Hold the brush firmly and brush in a ‘back-and-forth’ motion.

Step 2: Heavy Cleaning

We recommend using Saphir’s Renomat to thoroughly clean the shoes in order to remove the old layers of cream and wax polish applied previously. This helps to open the pores of the leather, allowing the nourishing creams and waxes to be absorbed by the leather in the later stages.

With a cotton cloth wrapped tightly around your first two fingers, apply a coin-sized amount of the Renomat onto the shoes. Change to a clean part of the cotton cloth when it starts to gets dirty and repeat the application until you notice the shoes’ microscopic pores start to open. When the leather returns to its bare state, allow the shoes to dry and rest for about 10 minutes.

Step 3: Deeply Nourish

The role of the Renovateur Creme is to restore the appropriate amount of oil and moisture into the leather. Its highly nourishing properties prevents the leather from drying and cracking.

With a cotton cloth and a tiny amount of the conditioner, massage the product into the leather using small circular motions. When the cream stops spreading, add more cream and repeat this process on the entire shoe, paying particular attention to the vamp where creases and cracks occur.

Step 4: Light Conditioning & Recolouring

The Créme 1925 helps to restore the colour that the leather loses over time due to external factors such as rain and dirt. Not only that, since it is pigmented, it is able to recolour any type of scratches or marks that may occur on your leather shoes.

With a cotton cloth and a tiny amount of the shoe cream, massage the product into the leather using small circular motions. When the cream stops spreading, add more cream and repeat this process on the entire shoe, focusing on the vamp areas along the creases of your shoes.

Step 5: Boar Hair Brush

It is important to brush the shoes with a boar hair brush to push the shoe cream into the pores of the leather. This is to ensure the cream is permeated and absorbed well into the leather.

Hold the brush firmly and brush vigorously in a 'back-and-forth' motion. Take note to apply pressure when brushing the shoes.

Step 6: Dry Buffing

Wrap a clean part of a dried cotton cloth around your first two fingers and wipe the shoes to remove any excess cream that has not been absorbed into the leather. Not only that, you will also be spreading the lustre all over the shoes. At this point, you will notice a soft shine on your shoes.