Shoe Wax | How Much Is TOO Much?

Using shoe wax on your shoes can be both good and bad. It can help protect your shoes from rain, dirt and scuffs, but it can also dry out your leather shoes and cause cracking. How much is too much? In this video, we discuss how much wax you should be using on your shoes.
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Video edited by: Ashley Saldanha

[@TheDavecroft]

I buy a £10 tee shirt or a £30 pair of jeans and sewn inside is a care label telling me how to wash, dry and iron them. But i buy a £250 pair of shoes and they don't even stick a note in the box about how to look after them. It's only through videos like this that i have learnt how to care for my shoes. Before that it was out with the Kiwi Parade gloss every Sunday evening!

[@TrentonHeath]

TheDavecroft Haha...VERY good and valid point! I’ve never thought about that. Well, we appreciate you watching! Glad to know our videos are helping a little.

[@Esuper1]

Truth!

[@willypavius6783]

TheDavecroft best comment ever ! So true. Owing to KZbin tutorials like this now I know how to take care of my shoes.

[@RubbelisPro]

Getting involved in some type of forum or discussion surrounding leather care would help a lot. In the boot community, conditioning your boots is an absolute must, since most guys wear them year round. All leather is the same, it needs to be conditioned so that it doesn't dry out and crack. At some point they need to be stripped of the conditioner and wax with a saddle soap of some sort. Then once they dry, condition them and polish them.

[@JD-tl7ld]

Spot on. On shoes that had the shiny surface, I only ever polished them. On oil tanned footwear, I always used oil products. No one ever gave us a manual on this. Just the other day I get a new pair of Chippewas, and the first thing I did was work Turner's sling dressing into them. That's mainly just beeswax made by Pecards.

[@cgranero1]

I would really appreciate a video about how to strip the wax off of a shoe.

[@leonelsonclementi3905]

Saphir reno mat 👌👌

[@TrentonHeath]

Keep an eye out for our next video this coming weekend.

[@stevenjm12]

same

[@steppenwolf5956]

Aceton

[@annarostocka5468]

Chris Garner Aceton? One for nails polish?

[@phillipyao4260]

For new shoes I do the ff: 1) saddle soap, leave overnight to dry; 2) conditioner, leave overnight to absorb; 3) shoe cream, leave overnight to absorb; 4) wax polish, 1 coat for casual, more coats on toe & heels on formal shoes.

[@ShoeShineMex]

For the saddle soap, conditioner , and shoe cream I don’t think they really need overnights... I think 10 minutes Is enough for saddle and conditioning, and for the cream one hour should be enough, so you can completely clean them in just one day

[@jasonackerman9453]

That's at least 4 days b before you can wear your shoes, 3 nights + however long you need to apply wax. That feels a tad excessive.

[@jupatj24]

@Anon Ymous it usually helps a lot to make the leather supple enough as new shoes regardless of how perfect the fit is, will crease and put too much pressure on your feet. And it's not even close to being as bad as many ridiculous people will have you believe.

[@whitemakesright2177]

@@jupatj24 Doesn't the conditioner already make the leather supple? I thought the purpose of saddle soap was to clean off dirt, grime, and other buildup. It's a good step to take on shoes which have seen some use, but on new shoes it seems like an unnecessary step to me, especially unnecessary to leave it overnight.

[@codykeith5144]

@@whitemakesright2177 i thought it was a little overkill too, when i was younger. Now that i but my own boots and know my cheapest pair costs $180.. I do the same thing OC does, just don't let it sit as long. Lol

[@Esuper1]

Ha!.. I do that all the time. Didn't even know about conditioner til recently. Nobody ever tells you this stuff for the love of God!

[@michaellennon13]

Same here 🤗 Never heard of shoe conditioner until I found this channel

[@garethbaus5471]

Honestly someone needs to make a manual for life that has basic information such as this, and distribute it to people when they graduate from high school at no charge. I would write it myself, but I definitely don't have enough experience yet.

[@jonwalker2929]

I beat that customer. I put so much Saphir Renovateur on my shoes that when it rained today in Chicago my shoes looked like they were excreting clam chowder.

[@TrentonHeath]

Jon Walker Hahaha! Always keep in mind that less is more. 😉

[@apostlej2015]

Use light renomat. If u want deep nourishment put daubin graisse on vamp and sides only.

[@amarilisburgos2742]

Someone already alluded to this in the comments, but......I don't think that most men are even aware that there are shoe care products available beyond Kiwi wax and maybe saddle soap. Videos like this are extremely helpful in that regard. I'll be sharing a link to this video on Facebook for my friends who are interested in such things.

[@powderriverfarrier]

Uh oh. Been doing it wrong for years. Yeah, we need more useful information about things we have no knowledge of or, obviously, no common sense regarding.

[@magellanmax]

"A walking candlestick..." 😂

[@kikbob8766]

Thank for another great lesson in shoe care, this content answered the exact question I had. You’re the best!

[@ShoeShineMex]

The Saphir mirror gloss is amazing when you want an awesome mirror shine finish... the problem with the mirror shine is when you want to take off all the wax!! A lot of people recommend Saphir Reno Mat, but this product not only remove the waxes, it also remove the finish of the shoe and you end up with a shoe completely dried and even when you nourish them with renovateur and creams they en up with some spots who don’t absorb the colors again and don’t shine anymore! 😫

[@TrentonHeath]

ShoeShine Mex Catch our upcoming video. We’ll be discussing the Saphir Reno’mat. It’s a great product, but you have to be very careful with it. It’s definitely not made for every shoe and can quickly ruin finishes if not careful.

[@khurramzaveri5001]

Clears out so many misconceptions. Thank you!

[@kas4751]

Your audio and then your intro. I'm deaf now.

[@colincheng0208]

that audio and intro music volume difference!

[@TrentonHeath]

Sorry fellas! We’re working on it.

[@steventrosiek2623]

Hahaha. Funny statement, but true.

[@andygomez0206]

Good, maybe this way you won't hear the next videos and leave dumb comments.

[@Crog2]

@@andygomez0206 and you maybe should shut the f*** up. He makes a perfect point.

[@vvattup]

Guilty. Based on my old-school dad’s advise, my dress shoes have only been Kiwi’d. Thanks for this information.

[@EddyWoon]

Totally agree with you wrt needing to feed the leather. Many years ago when I had no idea about leather care, I wax my boots all the time but had never conditioned the leather. I wear these boots about 5 to 6 days a week. At about 8 years of age, the vamp area of the leather had dried up so badly that the leather cracked and split open.

[@ourshoeshineblog8035]

Completely agree with your observation, wax is mainly to protect from environment and a little bit to embellish yet never to be the only maintenance treatment.

[@mrclockman1950]

Your video brought back memories and you are so right. My father and I, when I was a young boy would go to our local shoe repair shop and there was a shoe shine man there. It was there where I learned about proper shoe care. Stripping all the previous shine and reconditioning the leather,adding a cream polish and only wax at the heal and toe. He said only there because that is where you need additional protection. Sadly these pros are no longer here in my area of NJ.

[@ninjadudeofficial]

Not just because of added protection, but those areas are the strongest of the shoe so you're able to apply a mirror shine or something and build up layers without the leather creasing and then cracking the surface

[@anangelshero0410]

Loved the video... I stripped my jump boots about every other month. We just used Kiwi Parade Gloss and acetone nail polish remover worked great for stripping it.

[@TheMoneyMakingMentor]

Always great advice. Thanks for this channel

[@joshuaandrosebartley896]

Great video! I am guilty of using wax and I’m sure I’m also guilty of using to much... I purchased a “cheaper” pair of shoes to try and learn how to shine them like I see on here and lol well I’m not doing very well!! I paid $145 dollars for the shoes so I’m my book they aren’t cheap so I don’t want to ruin them so now I’m having to try and find videos on how to remove polish... but anyways great video and you just earned a new subscriber!

[@smhne8]

Excellent video T&H. Keep the content coming...

[@TrentonHeath]

Sean Hames Thank you!

[@terryo1463]

I thought wax eventually wore off but I guess that is what he thought to! Thanks for letting us know. I was wondering if you did a “make over” on those shoes and if so what they look like. I need to binge watch the rest of the videos and see if I can find them.

[@BMWSEXFIFTYDROP]

Bruh, if he wore the shoes for 15 years, he got his money’s worth! Salute and retire those bad boys!

[@brookeggleston9314]

If he'd taken care of them, they would have lasted thirty years!!

[@henryho2293]

Hit my coffee and T&H's shoes talk. Great morning!

[@MichaelJRodriguez530]

Great video. Should I remove the wax before reapplying conditioner, even if I used minimal amount of wax?

[@hilo1120]

I always see videos about polishing shoes but haven’t ever seen a video that talks about when why and how to strip them down and starting over. I think it would be a video that most average people could really benefit from.

[@therockofages7794]

I’m glad you made this video just bought new Grenson’s was about to wax them, going to buy some conditioner. Saved my boots many thanks!

[@janbergersen2498]

Interesting video! Thanks! How do you strip off the wax?

[@DavidLeBlanc]

I used just wax polish thinking that was a good thing to do. Did that for years and years and my Allen Edmonds, also about 15, 16 years, old have similar creases to the shoes shown here and the waking candle stick feel. Watching videos like this changed that routine. I stripped my old shoes with mineral spirits, conditioned and polished the leather with a good conditioner and a cream polish and that made them look good and brought the feel of the leather back. Since old habits die hard, I did use a single coat of a neutral wax for a bit extra shine and some weather proofing.

[@jeremy_c9163]

Question: You recommend stripping the wax off periodically. What if ALL I use is a shoe cream (specifically Saphir)? Would I still need to 'strip' the cream off? Or is this only for a build up of wax?

[@TheMattiboy13]

I just got my first pair of dressy ropers and I'd love to know how to actually strip the wax and conditioner on the shoe like you said several times?? Also maybe what brands you recommend for a conditioner? It rains alot where I live so the only thing I had been using was wax, once or twice a year with all of my previous leather shoes.

[@ElPedicabAvenger]

You know what I would love: If you guys would give a general overview of a "schedule" for shining/conditioning/waxing, as in day of unboxing, then 1 month, then 3 months, then 6 months, 1 year, etc. Obviously that is different for a lot of different shoes and wear and tear as well, but having some kind of general sense of how often to shine/condition/wax would be very helpful for us newbies to quality shoes. Thanks guys! Your channel has been so informative and I am passing on your videos to my two sons as they are getting into their teenage years and young adulthood!

[@ELEDUCADITO1]

Thank you for the education. I did not know any better

[@amistosophoto]

Thanks for the video! Good information 👍

[@machfive916]

Being new to the channel, I am watching all your videos starting with the oldest ones first.. Although I would have liked to see you strip the wax from these shoes in this video, perhaps you have shown the procedure in another video I have yet to see.

[@The.Dude.Abides.]

Could you please make a video and put together the list of products you use to maintain your dress shoes and leather shoes overall? The main question I have is HOW to maintain and what sort of regiment I should have regarding caring for my leather shoes/boots.

[@lbrinson0002]

Yeah, conditioner I think is a must. I totally agree

[@robertcostales9037]

Very informative, thank you for sharing.

[@furmapanda]

Thank u for the information! I have already put too much wax on one pair shoes. Could I use cleaner like saphir remomat to remove the wax?

[@adamlee4625]

When I strip the wax off of my shoes (as you said once a couple of months), should I use Renomat followed by leather soap/saddle soap?

[@kosys5338]

I was wondering, did you strip all that old wax off for the customer and condition them properly? Great video, thanx for the tips.

[@SpencerDavis2000]

what are you thoughts on using mink oil as a conditioner? I noticed some conditioners almost take away the shine, yet the mink oil seems to hydrate yet also get a nice shine

[@DrawnInk1]

Thank you so much, regards from Wimbledon.

[@evilgrin123]

Walking candle stick!! Love it!

[@lovingatlanta]

👍😆😂🤣”A walking candle stick”😆😂🤣 Thanks for the PSA - Public Service Announcement - so many guys needed to hear it, they don’t listen to us ladies. 😂

[@dickiedollop]

What products do you recommend for stripping the wax off as I love polishing and caring for my shoes/belts but don’t go too the length of the gent iwhose shoes you displayed I’m guilty of creams , dubbing Saphir, cherry blossom, Chelsea dubbing, Renapur mainly but I am careful with the polish and always give a good buffing followed with a selvyt cloth and chamois leather which really brings out a fantastic military shine . I know it might sound a little crazy but this my guilty pleasure and I find it therapeutic.

[@geraldpierini7124]

I enjoy your videos. I was in The Marine Corps in the 1960's and we were taught to put coat after coat after coat of Kiwi wax. Our shoes had to be spit shine and they were. In the mid 80's I went into the Reserves for a short time and got another pair of those military shoes. In 1989 I went to the Ca. Correctional Academy and with coat after coat after coat of Kiwi wax, I had them looking like Patten leather. I still have those shoes and I do not think I have ever removed the wax. They have a good shine, only because I have not worked on them to get them supper. However, I may follow your advice and clean them and start over. Thanks. Jerry Pierini

[@isabellastambolis6484]

I know nothing about shoes like the experts on this channel but I say keep your military boots waxed up.

[@tarasbukovin]

Hi! Could you save the shoes or it was not only wax cracking but the leather itself?

[@mattjohnston4803]

For my solvair burgandy ruboff boots it's a smooth high shine leather should I use the same wax polish made for patent leather? (SAPHIR PATENT LEATHER / VERNIS RIFE)

[@bloodyrebels5891]

In army I had a full boot care kit at the barracks. But out on deployment it was the basics. Brush, rag and wax.

[@Apollo_Blaze]

Great tips here for sure...do you guys ever use Huberd's shoe grease? I have used it for years... it sinks right into leather.

[@JeffSmith-qu2di]

Are those shoes to far gone to save? Condition? If you were to strip and condition them. Or just to little too late?

[@emkoravo]

Look forward to a before and after on this one.

[@shaunmoss1915]

Will you please do a video on how to correctly strip our shoes/boots back to the leather, and how often we should do that?

[@SuperMetalhead96]

If I just have one layer of wax on my shoes (following your finger method from another video) will I still need to worry about stripping away that one light layer before I recondition and shine those shoes?

[@sarasegador8998]

I have a question, does dubbing wax also count as the was that you’re talking about? Because when I went to the cobbler and asked for help he told me to get dubbing wax when I went to look for leather conditioner. If so, is cobbler cream a better option? Thank you

[@Sams911]

important question ... do you always have to strip wax off, even a small layer before you use cream? meaning, can you apply the cream over wax?

[@ariffinbond9485]

Great info 👍

[@Jordan-ql6tm]

What method are you using to strip the old treatment off before you apply new coatings?

[@jimd1617]

dang with the bad cracking on the shoe, seems like a waste of money to put new soles on them. The leather will deteriorate long before the soles wear out. I really enjoyed your insight on the removal and re application of wax polish though. Thanks for the great video.

[@lisascales6541]

Thax I was just trying figure out different between 2 products and now I know one is to condition and other is the wax thax much

[@lullemans72]

question: when i periodically condition my shoes with saphir renovateur, do you recommend i strip off the previous wax and shoe polish layers first, or can i just add the renovateur on top of everything? i've been doing the latter up until now but would like to have your take on it.

[@TrentonHeath]

lullemans72 Hi! As long as the wax isn’t too thick, adding some Renovateur should be fine. Many of my shoes have a couple of layers of v thin wax, and I’ll periodically put Renovateur on them. If the wax buildup is thick, you’ll definitely want to strip it off first. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t have much wax on any part of your shoes except for the toes and heel area.

[@raphael52]

Excellent video.

[@franciscoexposito6705]

Hi, listen your advise I realize that I had been spolishing my shoes in the wrong way. Tks a lot for ypur video and hekp-

[@marise-cellardoor2031]

Help! I used wax on my brand new (expensive) leather boots wanting to give them some protection. Now they look dirty despite bushing and polishing and feel waxy :( how can I remove this without damaging them?

[@magnoliamike]

Can you do me a favor? Can you lookup polo hamlin boots and see if it’s okay to polish them? I’m not sure, because they have these lines in them and they have this other plastic material on the toe. Appreciate it

[@markdougherty7796]

Does Saddle soap help condition shoes along with cleaning?

[@MrNickml]

Messrs T & H ... what is best way to strip off all the old wax ?

[@keithcollins5081]

Can you do a video on when and how to strip off wax from shoes?

[@bigliss9040]

How do you strip the wax off the shoe? Do you have a video showing how to do this?

[@johnrockland18]

Wax built up ? How do they apply it ? I brush shine after everyday I wear them (work in a restaurant..) and I have 0 built up. Just a nice constant really thin layer. **Just to add I am not gentle with the brush.

[@lullemans72]

question from a shoe shine enthusiast: my usual shoe shine routine will be to give my shoes 1-2 coats of cream polish, followed by 1-2 light coats of wax, and if i choose, produce a mirror shine on the toe. i do this maybe once every 2-3 months. then about 1-2x a year, i will use saphir renomat to strip everything off the shoes and start again. my question is, is it OK if i treat my shoes with renovateur every couple of months without the need to remove all the previous polish and wax, or do you recommend i do so anyway? i believe the renovateur already acts as a cleaning and nourishing agent, so my thinking was that i wouldn't need to strip all the previous coats off.

[@TrentonHeath]

lullemans72 Sounds like you have a shoe shine regiment a lot like ours. 👍🏻👍🏻 As far as the Renovateur goes, applying it every couple of months or more to the vamp and sides of the shoes is most important. Those are the flex points and the parts of the shoes that are most stressed from wear. Plus, those parts don’t have much wax on them, so it’ll still be able to penetrate the leather. You can always apply it to the toes/heels as well. It may smudge the glossy shine a little, but you can always put another light coat of wax and buff it back to a shine. It sounds like you’ve got a good routine with the twice a year Renomat. Hope that answers your question. Keep up the great work!

[@andresgduarte]

wax=polish right? and also, does weather guard count as wax? or would that come after waxing?

[@jamesdedmon8368]

What can I use on my new Georgia logger work boots I work in water and chemicals

[@francisroxas2204]

Great video! If I condition and wax my shoes every 3 months, do I need to begin each process by stripping off the old wax with saddle soap or renomat?

[@TeslaRules1856]

Great question.

[@robertmorton694]

Can you analyze and review the quality of the 3dmlifestyle shoes.

[@MrBanegasgaleas]

Please do some tutorial how to remove old cheap wax from shoes I normally use kiwi but I’ll buy saphir and I don’t know how to remove old wax.

[@arsbadmojo]

Saphir renomat will take off old wax.

[@hemigod2]

What’s the difference between leather conditioner and shoe cream? And can one be foregone ?

[@Meirjolanknits]

How do you strip off the wax? :)

[@resolute123]

In your opinion, what is the "best" option for leather boots for outdoor and field application? I've used kiwi black polish in the military and friends recommend mink oil. I am looking for waterproofing and leather protection.

[@xavieroudin2791]

what about nikwax for shoes, it seems good...

[@capos5240]

Do you have a video on a proper wax stripping process?

[@Tasadaru]

Since you guys have some experience with military footwear, you should should make a dedicated military video so that the boot camp instructors can show it to their recruits/trainees. They did NOT tell us about using conditioner and stripping the wax after awhile. You can do a video on combat boots, and another for leather shoes/boots.

[@deq200]

When do you use Saphir's Everest Grass Vegetable Dubbin?

[@arturoalvarez4003]

You are so right this is a shoe and a candle.

[@jensoab]

what are your thoughts on Chelsea leather food?

[@reginaldmackey6616]

Great information and advice. Just wondering, at this point, can the leather be restored or is the damage permanent?

[@brookeggleston9314]

It's permanent! The only way to remove the cracks would be sanding, and that could leave the leather so thin that it would tear. It's a shame that happened to a great pair of shoes!

[@montroelectric9840]

Q: After every wear, i take a cedar shoe tree and place it inside my shoes but i proceed by also adding one line of bicks 4 leather conditioner onto a brush and brush a thin layer over the boots. Is adding a small layer of conditioner after every use a bad thing. To me it seems it helps the leather relax with the shoe tree after a day of wearing it. Or am i doing it wrong by adding a small amount of leather conditioner after every use?

[@TheSunnyTrails]

Let’s say you wear your shoes every day, get home, put your cedar shoe trees in and go to bed, in the morning wear your shoes for the day, get home. Brush them and wax if necessary One day on one day off type deal, then when you need to strip the wax, condition and polish (let’s say every 3 weeks) You don’t need to do that every single day

[@imec00]

Are you planning on restoring the uppers as well? It looks like you went ahead and did the resole already, despite the leather cracking you mentioned. I assume the client is always right in what they want, but curious to see what would shoes look like after stripping and conditioning. Maybe the wax is all that is keeping it together.

[@TrentonHeath]

He brought in a couple of pairs like this. Keep an eye out for our next video this weekend.

[@harrybirch2547]

What do you think about putting petroleum jelly on leather boots

[@DontM8-__-]

Once my wax has cracked should I toss it out?

[@stefanpaege2046]

There ain't no tassels on these shoes, there is only a kiltie...

[@AverageNiceGuy]

I started with all Saphir products. For conditioner, to avoid darkening of the leather, has anyone else switched to Bick 4 Leather Conditioner and Leather Cleaner on fine leather shoes? (currently trying Santoni loafers) Fashion stylist says no to dark shoes... Bick 4, no wax, less darkening, less cracking? I'm trying this now...

[@ironchef3251]

Love your work apron sir. Where did you get it?

[@TrentonHeath]

Iron Chef Thank you! We actually made those ourselves.

[@SwordsmanRyan]

News to me. The clothing sales on post only sells saddle soap and kiwi polish. I thought I was innovating with the saddle soap since First Sergeant only wants to see the polish.

[@MsKatastrophenBarbie]

I tried to get some conditioner here in Germany today, was not so easy. Here I just get shoe cream and perhaps wax. I try to learn nevertheless.

[@keithcollins5081]

What do you need to strip wax off shoes?

[@minzawaung3549]

Could you still manage curing this kind of leather cracking?

[@PatoLorenz]

Thanks for the great info. I was sent here by chat GPT as a recommendation on how to properly wax shoes :)

[@yoenvideo]

Ouch! Your sound levels are so off. I think I blew a eardrum, thanks!

[@jonathanechols9985]

How do you strip the wax?

[@zacharybarnes6731]

I don't wax my leather boots I saddle soap and then leather condition my boots and that's it really if it's a brand new pair the first 3 nights I leather condition and let seat over night but wear them each day just to speed up break in but other then that that's all I do. Recently found your channel love the videos keep up the great informational videos and resole videos :)