The Difference Leather Dye and Shoe Polish can Make. Gaziano & Girling St. James II get a Makeover.

[@AE1P]

Not hard to make a G&G pair look beautiful, but I have to say I like your makeover much better than the original colour way. Your shading work is really dynamic and gives so much more dimension to the shoes. Beautifully done, Preston!

[@TheElegantOxford]

Absolutely agree! It doesn’t take much to make a pair of G&G look amazing. Thanks for watching!

[@user-sd3cr7pn2r]

I have a pair of leather Brown shoes I would like a make over any suggestions?

[@candiwalkowski7480]

@@user-sd3cr7pn2r practice dye applications you’re nervous to try out on a few pieces of scrap leather, or a few cheaper shoes, first. It will not only help you get the hang of them, but also give you an opportunity to try different color combinations out before permanently applying to a pair of really nice shoes. I don’t know what country you’re in, but Ross is a good source in the States for dress shoes, averaging $32 in price for shoes that would be $100+ elsewhere. Also check out consignment shops and Goodwills. If you have a small budget for supplies, start with just brown and blues and black shoes and supplies (I was so happy to find found out that Preston’s right, navy shoewax makes black shoes inter-dimensionally blacker looking), then invest in more colors as you get more comfortable. Invest in a few shoe trees. Shoe trees hold the leather stable while you work, and helps them keep their shape when you’re not wearing them. When it comes to working with waxes and water, a little goes a long way. Be patient - it’s easier to add too little at first and then add a little more at a time as you work, than to add too much and have to do damage control. I could give more advice, but everything else I could say would just be an echo of Preston’s videos, and as he has much more experience than I do (with my husband and son in my household, I maintain my family’s shoes with the methods he teaches), he does a more thorough job both showing how to care and maintain shoes and customizing them with his videos than I ever could, and he does an excellent job explaining in detail why what he found works well, works so well.

[@MindbodyMedic]

@@user-sd3cr7pn2r be more specific.

[@ShellyCline]

Wow, Preston. Wonderful work. This is truly an art form, and those shoes are a masterpiece. To say they're beautiful is an understatement. They're stunning!

[@Doodloper]

On behalf of Preston ---> Thanks!

[@SmokeRingsPipeDreams]

You really are an artist!

[@doctoro9373]

Exceptional leather mastery garnished by didactics, voice modulation and pace, sterling photography, musical selection and product info. Thanks

[@shanemoncrief7640]

Always admire your work, but these are exceptional. So rich in color and the shading is true art.

[@chrisvivar8598]

I spent 12 yrs as a U.S. Marine and I’ve done my share of “spit shine” boots. I have two words… Outstandingly Exquisite!

[@brookeggleston9314]

Yeah, he kicks ass, doesn't he!? My brother put in 30, his last 12 as Sgt Major, and my cousin put in 20. My dad was in the 82 Airborne (D-Day, etc) and my grandfather was a professional firefighter, so I've seen my share of spit-shined shoes and boots. Preston definitely kicks ass. He is outstanding!!

[@zefdin101]

Preston, I think I’ve been hypnotized… “back and forth, back and forth… you are feeling so relaxed,,, back and forth.. watch the shoes… now put all your John Lobb and Gaziano & Girling shoes in a box and mail them to Preston.. back and forth…”. Lol thanks! 😂

[@wyattc.4455]

Preston, I hope you and your family is well. Thank you for teaching me such a unique art.

[@cannibalholocaust3015]

Just got a pair of G&G St James II in Vintage Cherry , if I wasn’t tapped out I’d consider sending them across the Atlantic to Preston. The “factory finish” on these is incredible in person, so seeing what he has done here is impressive.

[@RatdogDRB]

Those REALLY turned out nice ! Very nicely done, Preston.

[@donmeans2955]

Absolutely gorgeous job. I never post comments on KZbin, but I had to commend you.

[@pulkitnigam4910]

Exceptional work. Result of patience ,dedication and passion for shoes.

[@carloscardenas1171]

Wow, finished product looks like a master piece... Excellent

[@brookeggleston9314]

We miss you, Preston! I hope that you and your family are safe and healthy 😘❤️.

[@roberthartwell4234]

Since watching your channel, I've successfully stripped and restored over 10 pairs of quality, name-brand, old leather oxfords with great success. However, I just had the strangest experience with some Johnston and Murphy cap-toe oxfords that I picked up online for a good deal, used. They had many heal and toe scuffs, so just like all of the other shoes I've done thus far, I began using Acetone to remove the finish, so I could use my Saphir bordeaux cream to build back the color. However, on this particular pair of shoes, the strangest thing happened. The bordeaux color quickly vanished, leaving behind a solid black base. This black surface seems unaffected by more acetone, it will not take colored saphir cream, or even leather stain. It's just black as night. Whatever the material is that I am looking at doesn't seem to be faux leather, at least from what I can identify fake leather to be online (like a bonded product - plastic coating to fabric) but at the same time, it doesn't act like real leather. If anyone has any ideas, I'd greatly appreciate it. Although I do have a large set of Angelus leather paint, I'd rather not have to re-paint an entire black shoe back to bordeaux, as any future scuffs would just put me right back to where I started from. All advice is greatly appreciated...

[@cannibalholocaust3015]

Have you ruled out bookbinder leather? It’s like an acrylic finish that looks like duller patent leather. It distinctively creases in the vamp, and often bunches up like shell on lower quality pairs. It can look really good but can’t really be worked with like calf as it’s essentially a finish painted on top of sanded/ corrected grain leather.

[@hensleytyler24]

I had the same thing happen while stripping a pair of J&M shoes but that matte finish was a bright, deep red instead of black. Weirdest thing lol.

[@curious821]

Thank you for your informative, enjoyable videos, Preston. I can watch these everyday, all day long. May God grant you and your family all joy & blessing.

[@billyclemens]

Beautiful work Preston. You are the master of the mirror shine!

[@r.mercado9737]

Stunning and glamorous! QQ: Pardon my concreteness. As a linguist, you mentioned using a "rag" several times, and wondered if you are suggesting using a soft cloth vice a rag. Considering there is a significant difference. Semper Fi

[@scorpleeon]

Absolutely incredible handiwork. A true artisan.

[@Lawnvolution]

Freaking fantastic! I am hooked!

[@raphaelderosa8567]

I've got a pair of navy mitchells. They're out of this world

[@DieyenDualPen]

Wow that is really impressive. You didn't talk about any work down to the edge but especially around the heal it looked incredibly shined. Do you have any videos talking about edge maintenance and shining?

[@jgotgo5650]

Outstanding Work👍👍. Amazing Shine. You can see your reflection. In them.! Awesome Job!

[@kbeesmot9928]

Someone has the patients of a saint.

[@victorhobson373]

wow your work is astounding, I've learnt so much from watching all your videos and still learning from my mistakes many thanks .

[@michaelmaggi7637]

Great makeover. Love that color. Perfect shine too.

[@TheElegantOxford]

Thank you Michael!

[@reneebarguen5850]

You’re the best Preston I really have learned a lot from you.

[@ianeveritt3326]

I'm lucky enough to own two pairs; whenever I am in London I need to avoid Saville Row or I melt the credit card and cannot eat for a few months!!!! Their shoes are just unreal to wear.

[@patricknjoroge2756]

I definitely like your work so perfect 💯👌 should consider opening a shop here in Africa Kenya to be specific

[@tyronemccoy3102]

I’m an old military guy…I thought I couldn’t learn anything from you. To my surprise I did. I’m old school when comes to a shoe shine. I find shoe shining therapeutic. I’d like to this how could I get started?

[@peterjenisch3348]

I dream of these wonderful Shoes!

[@knowlesbagwell]

Gorgeous!! Love the work you do, Preston!

[@DanielPerez-bw4wf]

Wow!! Looks fantastic!

[@Sams911]

make a video on how to wear nice shoes out... meaning how to be careful not to get them scuffed up, nicked, etc... I for one get serious anxiety when I wear my G&G (I have the Burnham Chelsey boot) or even E. Zegina or Kiton sneaker shoes out... worrying non stop about someone stepping on them, or banging them against something

[@ronr6605]

If you're scared ruining ur posh Eames Lounge Chair, don't sit in it 😀

[@1pashar]

Stunning. Bravo!

[@rsantillanphoto]

Shoes came out incredible as always! Looking forward to you working on a pair of mine soon!

[@TheMadHatter944]

Amazing job

[@denas123]

Brilliant video! Brilliant shine!

[@chuckbuckbobuck]

Hold me back, I am messaging my John Lobb shoes, Stockleys in Merlot. Oh what a feeling! They shine like a professional had done the work but I did it myself!

[@henrywest7217]

They look fantastic!

[@antoniosanz4901]

Hi, nice video, you got it my like, thumbs up! But... personally I miss the comparison between before and after side to side, but thanks again, nice work, greetings from México, God bless you.

[@richardemanuelmiller2968]

Bro used The Legend of Zelda sound effect to introduce the new Saphir Red shoe cream! 🤣 Bravo, well done! 👏🏻😂

[@TheElegantOxford]

Haha wait until you hear what my daughter’s name is!

[@antoniopadilla2152]

Hola Preston. another great video. I've tried your technics and I'm getting real good at it. keep up the good work!

[@maximusprimus827]

Absolutely beautiful! Job well done 👍

[@TheElegantOxford]

Thanks Maximus!

[@ravijisiriwardhane4304]

fantastic work, it looks stunning.

[@brookeggleston9314]

You can't say it enough; you have to put multiple layers of wax on your shoe, inorder to obtain a mirror shine! I really think that many people don't take you seriously, and try to mirror shine with only five or six layers of wax. The very first time I attempted to get a mirror shine, I started with twelve layers of Pate de Luxe. I had a noticeable mirror shine within the first five minutes. Not a final, class A shine, but a noticeable shine nonetheless. It almost leapt off the shoe! It was as if I was wiping away the fog on the leather, to expose the shine underneath. You are so *very* right to tell us again and again, to put ten or more layers of wax on the shoe before you even think about attempting to obtain a mirror shine. Of course the quality of the leather makes a difference! Thanks, Preston!!

[@TheElegantOxford]

Very true Brook! It takes more wax than people realize

[@steves.922]

Beautiful work!

[@tomdzierwa4457]

Beautiful buddy.

[@zacharysalyer286]

I love the brown leather with a dark red burnish and black accents! Beautifully done! I've got a very nice burgundy pair boots. Is it possible to recreate these shoes if you started with red and added brown? If so please do a video on that 🙏 so that I might transform the look of my boots to something similar to the shoes in this video

[@jonwalker2929]

Another great video. Waiting for you to work on Mac Neils.

[@homerogarza9861]

Hermosos Preston. Thank you brother for the great video

[@mixtape2185]

it'd be cool if you could do a video about all the different products on your website! there's so many to choose from, with french names that go over my head

[@GiorgioGM]

I would like to see a video about storing and maintaining our shoe maintenance supplies (waxes, creams, brushes etc)

[@TheElegantOxford]

As long as the lids are closed and out of the sun, it will be sufficient!

[@MohammadRauf1]

incredible.

[@gadmachine8689]

Exquisite, as always!

[@saxman7131]

I enjoy your videos.

[@TheElegantOxford]

Thanks for watching Scott

[@demetriustrahan]

Good evening. Your work is priceless as usual. The battery operated sprayer. What name and model is it. Also don't you have a new one with compressor? Could you tell me the name of it, and model number please. Thank you.

[@alexgamboa5466]

nothing are you sure ??? lol !!! great vid amigo !!! thx a lot for sharing!!!

[@clima]

Beautiful shoes and great skills. Would you happen to know if there is a company that can make similar models in $200-$400 range? Also what kind of shape and style are these shoes?

[@josephheinecke1992]

Definitely get to toot your own horn with these. Geeeeeez! Just spectacular! Whoever owns this pair im not jealous at all! Cough Cough haha.

[@thatxonexguy5438]

Probably one of the nicest pairs of shoes ive seen. How did you get the welt and heel so shiny? Was it modge podge? I use edge dressing, but yours just looks so much slicker

[@victorhobson373]

exellent question !!!but I just use saphir mirror shine polish as the heal etc is made of leather and it shines superbly.hooe this helps.

[@thatxonexguy5438]

@@victorhobson373 i remember kriby Allison saying he does that. Would neutral be fine, and how is the matainence on something like that? It being wax, im not sure if it would crack often if you want it to look like the edges/heel in the video.

[@TheElegantOxford]

I used Saphir pate de lux. I essentially mirror shined the edges as I shined.

[@thatxonexguy5438]

@@TheElegantOxford thank you! How does matainence for something like this go? I noticed my AE edge dressing gets dull and sorta clouds up overtime, would this, in addition to cracking i assume because its a wax, happen with the Pate De Lux?

[@victorhobson373]

@@thatxonexguy5438 Hi yes natural is fine or if the heel is brown use dark brown,I never have any issues with mine and the look as shiney as my shoes !!! good luck 👍

[@Amiami-oy6pt]

Time to hunt for a cheap pair...so i can use my airbrush to rotate between scale modeling, lure painting and this

[@Theshoeman02]

What kind of airbrush do you use? Looking to buy one

[@KKTR3]

Fantastic

[@JahbulaneNdimande]

Hi I am jabu from south Africa and I mst say I love and respect ur work it has helped me so much bt my problem is I would like to hv some of those product is it possible to get them especially those sophir product coz we don't hv such here in south Africa it's only kiwi and miltonian plz help

[@angelsanchez3074]

What is the water to alcohol ratio ? 50/50, 70 water 30 alcohol ? amazing shine on the shoes good job.

[@TheElegantOxford]

50/50 is good

[@abidahmed1491]

hi from paris, maybe you can use turpentine, instead of acetone, i used on my eg

[@AkeJulian-jt6vr]

Please what are all the material needed for a patina shoe

[@thomaswashbush7598]

Preston, nice job as always curious to know airsprayer you use

[@chuckbuckbobuck]

And George Cheverly!

[@pahlowalia]

Do we need to purchase an air compressor please advise

[@dishenharilal4437]

Amazing!!!

[@pahlowalia]

Hello bro where can I purchase the air brush machine

[@apbiggins8mm]

Hey I have a question for you about saphir polish I have the mirror gloss but you use a different type with a black lid but there is another saphir with a gold and blue lid with a bee in the middle what are the differenes

[@edwinrcorbin2579]

I have a question for you. I bought a pair of shoes for the express purpose of using them for mission work in the villages of Africa. I needed a black shoe that I could wear with dress pants that would be more of an every day shoe that could take a beating including getting wet and or muddy. I purchased a Florsheim Norwalk that was made of a leather called crazy horse leather. Apparently this leather has a waxy film on the surface that cannot be removed. I thought I would give them a good polishing and they would shine. I was wrong. Is there anything I can do to put a shine on a pair of recently purchased Florsheim’s that are made of crazy horse leather. Thanks for the response! Ed

[@tdbone35]

The shoe demo is great but what watch do you have on?

[@TheElegantOxford]

Hey Tracy! It’s a vintage Seiko turtle that belonged to my uncle. It’s over 40 years old

[@stevenglock]

How much do you charge for this service?

[@paulstanley8088]

This should have one of those warnings that we should not try this at home and that you are a professional.

[@TheElegantOxford]

I used to have them on videos but people ignored them anyway 😂

[@crazyman82895]

The Shawshank Redemption

[@TheElegantOxford]

One of the best films ever. Good ear 👂

[@crazyman82895]

@@TheElegantOxford Absolutely! I couldn't agree more. More importantly, phenomenal transformation on the G&G St. James II.

[@jules263]

This guy is the Salt Bea of finessing animal skins on shoes.

[@zukisanimgijima878]

Boss

[@garylambe1187]

ELEGANTCOBBLER10 Code doesn't work for me I'm afraid but then again I'm trying to order from the UK.

[@fuckoff187]

I had the exact same shoes for me made in Pakistan for $150 ( full grain leather uppers, soles, blake stitch). I know quality won't be as good, but can't go wrong vs 1200.

[@Ron-zr6se]

Simply stunning, I am sure the owner of these shoes is very well pleased. Outstanding, Preston you truly added dimension to an already beautiful pair of shoes and took them into a class of their own.

[@keithzeykon9428]

My personal opinion, I liked the way they looked at the beginning. They looked too cartoon like or clown like at the end. Sorry 😐

[@raraavis7782]

Beautiful. The shading makes them look really special.

[@shakur4648]

Insha Llah

[@joaquin-jacknava2696]

Beautiful work Preston. Always a pleasure watching your videos. Your work is amazing. I love the outcome of this pair of shoes.

[@Cars-Pianos]

Hi Preston, I like watching and learning from your videos. One thing I haven’t seen any discussion on is whether shoes made of shell cordovan can use the same procedures and products to achieve a burnished look and a mirror shine. If not, perhaps a video dedicated on the techniques one can or cannot be used? Thanks!…Looking forward to your next shoe shine! Brad

[@harshmanohar6163]

This was borderline orgasmic, how the shoes came out. Just goes on to show what love, care and skill can do. I am building my own collection, I have couple of second hand Allen Edmonds, just bought my first new ones. I haven't tried to mirror shine them yet, as I can't wear them in the snow. I hope someday, you can show the reaction of a customer, because if I received them, honestly I would be very careful when wearing them and only do so at special occasions. Hopefully someday I can get a pair shined by you.

[@randymoran67]

Have a pair of whole cut Sinatra's very nice elegant shoe

[@aross924]

Where have you been hiding Preston?

[@TheElegantOxford]

I’ve been around! I’m really active on Instagram too so don’t forget to look for me there. I try to put out a video once a week but sometimes there are delays.

[@juusotamminen2907]

Not to mention about the glistening fluid-like toebox in the end, but What a jaw-dropping moment when you merely touch the layered wax with a cloth for the very first time. The shoe picked up mirror shine like in a second. Whoa!

[@TheElegantOxford]

Thanks Juuso. I’ve had a lot of practice

[@VondaInWonderland]

They look incredible! If I can get my boots to look even 1/2 that nice, I will be thrilled. I found a pair of Gypsy Dharma over the knee lace up boots in my size, but they are bright red, like your new polish. I just can't 😐 I've been binge watching your videos, trying to decide what to do with them. The leather is dyed all the way through, but I'm think that if I take some acetone to them, I should be able to get the colors to take. Wish me luck ♥

[@MrSilverBart]

I just bought an Allen Edmonds shoes (Park Ave). I conditioned them because I wanted to get a mirror toe. I used saphir and as I was conditioning them, the dye was getting light in some areas and swirled in others. I called them and they told me that I ruined them using saphir , but I could send them back and they can tell me how much it would cost to repair them. I wish I had at least worn them one time, before this happened. Apparently, the factory is doing something different (or at least cut corners on mine), and doesn't stand behind the shoes. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. I won't purchase any other Allen Edmond shoes, because of the product and being told that I ruined them when I conditioned them..

[@mikehermesmeglio]

You didn't ruin them.

[@Justins00ss]

Good lord those are amazing. I need these and this color in my arsenal. Amazing job!

[@vinucoltean755]

Man you do EXTREMELY EXTREMELY NICE JOB IS INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL JOB SHINY IS. PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT you make me addicted the this nice job wath you do end see you do!! Gradulation!! YOU ARE REALLY GOOD ARTIST

[@1Klus]

That was quite literally a mirror shine...I could see a watery image reflection of you as you swung the shoe in whirls. Magnificent work that one!

[@jeremiebau]

Does anyone know how he makes the sole sides, not the upper shine like this ? I don't know what to do with the sides of the sole and it make a difference between the shiny part, and the sole but in the vid everything shines !

[@greglopez9731]

I’m confused you said it was Sunday night you were relaxing then you said it was lunchtime 🤷🏻‍♂️ lol