Found your videos the other day. Words from my father came to mind. Whenever I'd have something important going on, exam in school anything, he'd ask, have you shined your shoes? He was a blind man. So, today I spent the whole day shining everything I own. Will work on the toe caps tomorrow. Many thanks for the videos and taking the effort.
I love your videos, you can tell that you are a real professional that knows his products and customers. These are great videos to learn. I make leather items but had no idea of all the steps of shining. You however take it to the scientific level which is the difference of a great company. Thanks again look forward to more videos.
Mr. Allison, the videos are great. Those of us out there that want to own and maintain nice shoes certainly can use the instruction to go along with the products you're selling on your site. I'm an AE guy, mostly because we don't have a CJ out here in Utah, and I just ran a pair of walnut Cornwallis' all the way through the Presidential. I'll admit I was a bit worried the morning after the first step with the Renomat! I had been applying a black to the toebox trying to get the burnish you see on their site, so I had a lot to remove. After finishing through the Renovateur though they were already looking amazing. Great product and instructions to go with. I will keep purchasing. Regards, J.
Kirby Allison! Thank you for your detailed, correct ,professional videos .They are amazing!! I love your delivery style. You are filling a niche that no one understands or undertakes.Completely thorough is whatyou do. I know what you are doing with the buying and care of men's clothing ;that is the way I was trained by my beloved parents and a classic,professional dry cleaner whom I worked for when I was a young lad. His establishment was similar to Rave. Jazz played continuously on his FM radio.This was late 1950s throughout the 1960s. Shoe polish back then,along with Kiwi, was Shinola and Kelly's Lynn Paste. Shoe shiners would load up the toe box with layers of polish,buff& snapp the shoe-rag.Load up again,light a match to the toe box and melt the layers of polish;a substitute for the Paté Deluxe. Again Kirby,just great instructional videos. I am learning a lot.
I've just finished polishing my Loake's for the day. I might give it another little coat of the Pate de luxe to finish off but so far, WOW! I gave it about 7 coats of Saphir Mirror Gloss over the space of 3 days and a little while ago, I gave it 2 coats of Saphir Pate De Luxe. Literally just a light finger tip of the stuff, then buff off and wow! What a difference to already very shiny black shoes. I held up a card with a white background and black print and I could read the print in the shoes reflection. Fantastic! This polish is dearer than cherry blossom but it's well worth it.
Another great video Kirby!!! I’ve watch most of your videos, I think it would be cool if you could include some before and after pictures. Like a side-by-side shot. Keep pumping them out and we’ll keep watching them👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Damn impressive !! Very much enjoyed watching this. I "SUBSCRIBED" - Love those shoes. Now I am off to watch another of your videos. -A dude in Montreal
Maybe some videos of shoe / sock combinations..do's and do nots..matching the socks and shoes..and men not wearing ankle socks with dress shoes as alot of men cross their legs when they sit, and their pantleg goes up, so guys should wear high knee dress socks so as not to see any bare leg..and guys should not wear thick socks with dress shoes..
Kirby, you take all the different shoe applications, put them in a nice walnut box, felt interior and sell this as a kit along with an instruction manual. I bet it would sell well !
65 yr old woman took over my husband's shoe shine stand. Customers love my work, but i aspire to do better and give that Presidential Shine. I enjoy your videos.
I put on 20 layers of mirror gloss then finished it off with 2 layers of extremely light pate de luxe, and it's AMAZING! Question....can I come back over it again using multiple more layers of mirror shine polish?
David Heath Great to hear! Yes - it's incredible how that final touch of Saphir Pate de Luxe Wax Polish really does the trick. Almost like magic. Yes, you can certainly come on top of the mirror finish with more Saphir Mirror Gloss. But often times after you've already developed your foundation with the Saphir Mirror Gloss, all you need is a little Pate de Luxe to reg-glacage
phus2001 I'll simply brush the bristles across a clean rag. This gets most of the residual polish off buffing brushes. Daubers, which accumulate much more polish, can be cleaned with soap and warm water. The Reno'Mat is also very good at removing polish buildup from gunked daubers.
David Heath Yes! But with the Mirror Gloss, it isn't necessary to wait 15 mins between coats. I find that 3-5 is sufficient and that using a small fan can accelerate the process.
Hi - how do you clean and replenish the shoes/leather that were previously mirror-shined--do you strip it off, and start over with cream, or just keep adding wax and polishing on top? Also, what's the LT effect of mirror shine on the leather--any downside? Thanks
Great question! What you do really depends on the condition of the Mirror Gloss. If just has some minor damage, I would try to prepare the area first with a cream polish. The solvents will help remove a little of the previous waxes. If the damage is more substantial, like flaking or large, widespread cracking, you need to pull off the prior waxes off using the Saphir Reno'Mat. You'll need to even put the surface before you can begin again. Long-term, I think you're okay if you focus on just the toe box and hind quarters. Occasionally pulling all the accumulated wax off using the Reno'Mat and conditioning is also important.
I have the Saphir Beaute de Cuir Wax Shoe Polish. Will that also be effective as a last step instead of the Pate de luxe? Thanks for your videos. They are amazing!
Kirby, Thanks so much for these videos, they are incredibly helpful!!! I have noticed in my mirror glossing that I find a spot on the shoe where the mirror gloss is applied, and when I add water the mirror gloss begins to chafe. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I try to add more gloss to get it to shine and more chafes off with more water. I then get to the glacage phase and it doesn't have a shine, but a matte tacky finish. Please Help! Thanks!
Hey Kirby, how would you burnish the toes if you're using both mirror gloss and regular wax? The mirror gloss is neutral and the regular wax you had said to use just a touch. thanks
Thank you! I have been watching lots of shoe shine videos and these are the best and most detailed! One question... I see you are using neutral wax. Do you recommend this for all colored shoes?
Hi Jake - The Mirror Gloss is only available in a Black and Neutral, so you're limited here. However, you can certainly finish the polishing with any color Saphir Pate de Luxe wax polish - it really doesn't matter. Wax polishes have such a light pigment, anyway (when compared to cream polish).
Hey there Hangar Project. I noticed that when Kirby was polishing his shoes, he has a very nice leather matt that he places during his polishing. Like that leather piece on his desk, what make is that and where can we purchase that? Thank you!
very insightful videos. i do alot of painting and customizing. was wondering if i could use the neutral saphir mirror gloss on sneakers. and any recommendations you may have. thank you kindly
You can certainly use it on sneakers to add waxes. But it is not a permanent dye. The Saphir Juvacuir might be better for sneakers. More permanent recoloring.
Hi Kerby! I was wondering, I was taught that when I wanted mirror shine never to buff with a brush. Always use a cloth, it makes them shine up quicker. How do you feel about that? 😊
Absolutely true. Buffing with a brush will absolutely disrupt the mirror finish. You can buff the rest of the shoe, but not any of the areas to which you've built a mirror shine.
Hey Kirby, thanks for the tutorial. Can you use a coloured (as opposed to neutral) pate de luxe on top of the mirror gloss wax polish as that final step or it has to be neutral pate de lux on top of neutral mirror gloss wax polish? Thanks again.
Hi - how do you maintain the shine after what you just did? With a horse brush, a piece of cloth (with or without water)? I guess you dont need to remove all the layers of wax and start all over?
With normal polishing, you really only need a horsehair brush to maintain. At some point, you'll want to remove old polish and start over, but it is infrequent.
I'm a little confused. I thought the mirror gloss was what you used to finish off with. I have only just got my new Loake Oxfords. I am going to get some cream polish, pate de luxe and some mirror gloss. This is the first pair of decent quality shoes I own having previously bought high street store shoes. I want to care for my shoes as best I can obviously. Am I right in thinking it's cream first then mirror gloss then finish with pate de luxe?
JAZZ MAN After some experimentation, I find that the Mirror Gloss works best to develop the wax foundation and that finishing with the Saphir Pate de Luxe "melts" the Mirror Gloss to produce a beautiful mirror finish. Think of the last step as wet sanding the finish.
Deer Bone really for cordovan. You have to be careful against using it on calf because it can scratch the more delicate leather. Also, calf is not prone to the same type of wrinkling that cordovan is because they are totally different materials.
I’m not convinced they’re really that much better than, say, Collonil but overall I’m happy with Saphir products when it comes to general maintenance but I’ve always found it very hard to get a mirror shine with pate luxe. Now they admit it sucks in that regard and that the Mirror one should be used but before they started selling it they pitched pate as the tool to use. A bit misleading.
toobalkain Yeah, the Pate de Lux has a high solvent concentration in order to liquify the hard waxes, but that made getting a Mirror Gloss a little challenging. Many people would allow their polish to dry a bit in order to use it for Mirror shines.
If you're not trying to get a really high-shine, you can certainly use the buff off the polish with the horsehair brush. But apply the cream either with a chamois or a dauber.
mvscmd I don't know how you can develop a high shine without using a wax polish... anything "faster" probably uses synthetic products in order to produce a "quick shine." Like those quick shine sponges - they're terrible for the leather.
Wondering what percentage of your shoes, say oxfords, have the extra glossy Presidential Shoe shine? Initially, I’ve applied presidential shoe shine using mirror gloss to all my shoes. But with couple of young kids, they step on my toe box from time to time and cause the hard wax to crack. Any tips to repair cracks, or it it time for Reno’Mat and start over? Thanks and great job with your videos!!
No kidding! In all honesty, it's probably only two or three pairs, and it's very difficult to maintain. I have three kids, also, and can totally understand the challenge.
Found your videos the other day. Words from my father came to mind. Whenever I'd have something important going on, exam in school anything, he'd ask, have you shined your shoes? He was a blind man. So, today I spent the whole day shining everything I own. Will work on the toe caps tomorrow. Many thanks for the videos and taking the effort.
I love your videos, you can tell that you are a real professional that knows his products and customers. These are great videos to learn. I make leather items but had no idea of all the steps of shining. You however take it to the scientific level which is the difference of a great company. Thanks again look forward to more videos.
Thanks!
Mr. Allison, the videos are great. Those of us out there that want to own and maintain nice shoes certainly can use the instruction to go along with the products you're selling on your site. I'm an AE guy, mostly because we don't have a CJ out here in Utah, and I just ran a pair of walnut Cornwallis' all the way through the Presidential. I'll admit I was a bit worried the morning after the first step with the Renomat! I had been applying a black to the toebox trying to get the burnish you see on their site, so I had a lot to remove. After finishing through the Renovateur though they were already looking amazing.
Great product and instructions to go with. I will keep purchasing.
Regards,
J.
Kirby Allison! Thank you for your detailed, correct ,professional
videos .They are amazing!! I love your delivery style.
You are filling a niche that no one understands or undertakes.Completely thorough is whatyou do.
I know what you are doing with the buying and care of men's clothing ;that is the way I was trained by my beloved parents and a classic,professional dry cleaner whom I worked for when I was a young lad.
His establishment was
similar to Rave.
Jazz played continuously on his FM radio.This was late 1950s throughout the 1960s.
Shoe polish back then,along with Kiwi,
was Shinola and Kelly's Lynn Paste.
Shoe shiners would load up the toe box with layers of polish,buff& snapp
the shoe-rag.Load up again,light a match to the toe box and melt the layers of polish;a substitute for the Paté Deluxe.
Again Kirby,just great instructional videos.
I am learning a lot.
Joseph Agnello Thanks for sharing your story, Joseph! I’m trying!
Extremely clear and accurate instructions! I got a fabulous mirror shine!
I've just finished polishing my Loake's for the day. I might give it another little coat of the Pate de luxe to finish off but so far, WOW! I gave it about 7 coats of Saphir Mirror Gloss over the space of 3 days and a little while ago, I gave it 2 coats of Saphir Pate De Luxe. Literally just a light finger tip of the stuff, then buff off and wow! What a difference to already very shiny black shoes. I held up a card with a white background and black print and I could read the print in the shoes reflection. Fantastic!
This polish is dearer than cherry blossom but it's well worth it.
JAZZ MAN That's awesome! Yes, those final two coats of Pate de Luxe work like magic!!
Great videos. You really know your products and you are a brave man doing that in a white dress shirt lol!
Kelly Taber 😂 Indeed!
Wow!! What a fantastic result!
Thanks!
We'll post another Cordovan tutorial shortly that is filmed in our new format!
Just purchased what you used here. This is perfect.
Another great video Kirby!!! I’ve watch most of your videos, I think it would be cool if you could include some before and after pictures. Like a side-by-side shot. Keep pumping them out and we’ll keep watching them👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Angelo Martinez thanks! We should have!
thank you Mr. Kirby, your videos are truly inspiring.
Share your shine with us! #hangerproject #kirbyallison
Excellent Video! Thank you for putting together these videos for us to watch.
Absolutely! Our pleasure. We love shoes! Many more videos to come. This is just the beginning!!
Thank you dude I got my mirror gloss in 2days of hard work
What brand dress shirts is that? I like the collar.
Damn impressive !! Very much enjoyed watching this. I "SUBSCRIBED" - Love those shoes. Now I am off to watch another of your videos. -A dude in Montreal
rhymeandreasoning Thanks! Let me know if you have any suggestions for future videos!
Maybe some videos of shoe / sock combinations..do's and do nots..matching the socks and shoes..and men not wearing ankle socks with dress shoes as alot of men cross their legs when they sit, and their pantleg goes up, so guys should wear high knee dress socks so as not to see any bare leg..and guys should not wear thick socks with dress shoes..
Kirby, you take all the different shoe applications, put them in a nice walnut box, felt interior and sell this as a kit along with an instruction manual. I bet it would sell well !
65 yr old woman took over my husband's shoe shine stand. Customers love my work, but i aspire to do better and give that Presidential Shine. I enjoy your videos.
Very much appreciate the video. Excellent!
Thanks, James! Make sure you subscribe. More great videos to come!
Hello and thank you for this very interesting video. Did you use neutral wax?
Loved your work . But I have a question. Why not mirror shine the whole shoe, why only the toe?
Thanks.
I put on 20 layers of mirror gloss then finished it off with 2 layers of extremely light pate de luxe, and it's AMAZING! Question....can I come back over it again using multiple more layers of mirror shine polish?
David Heath Great to hear! Yes - it's incredible how that final touch of Saphir Pate de Luxe Wax Polish really does the trick. Almost like magic.
Yes, you can certainly come on top of the mirror finish with more Saphir Mirror Gloss. But often times after you've already developed your foundation with the Saphir Mirror Gloss, all you need is a little Pate de Luxe to reg-glacage
now that's what I'm talking about :)
Thanks!!
Saphir dubbin
Excellent work sir!
🙏
Fantastic video. Is it fine to use regular cotton cloths for polishing?
How do you clean horsehair brushes used for shoe cleaning? Great videos, thank you!
phus2001 I'll simply brush the bristles across a clean rag. This gets most of the residual polish off buffing brushes. Daubers, which accumulate much more polish, can be cleaned with soap and warm water. The Reno'Mat is also very good at removing polish buildup from gunked daubers.
KA, I thank you. When are the following products to be used? In what sequence? Amiral gloss Saphir leather cleaning soap?
One of the biggest keys is allowing shoes to dry for 15 min between layers.
David Heath Yes! But with the Mirror Gloss, it isn't necessary to wait 15 mins between coats. I find that 3-5 is sufficient and that using a small fan can accelerate the process.
Wow, expensive shoes, a mirror gloss polish that every shoe needs
Hi - how do you clean and replenish the shoes/leather that were previously mirror-shined--do you strip it off, and start over with cream, or just keep adding wax and polishing on top? Also, what's the LT effect of mirror shine on the leather--any downside? Thanks
Great question! What you do really depends on the condition of the Mirror Gloss. If just has some minor damage, I would try to prepare the area first with a cream polish. The solvents will help remove a little of the previous waxes.
If the damage is more substantial, like flaking or large, widespread cracking, you need to pull off the prior waxes off using the Saphir Reno'Mat. You'll need to even put the surface before you can begin again.
Long-term, I think you're okay if you focus on just the toe box and hind quarters. Occasionally pulling all the accumulated wax off using the Reno'Mat and conditioning is also important.
What about military and law enforcement shoes? What would be the best products to do the whole show?
I think a black cream polish would be perfect. If you're trying to achieve a high-gloss shine, then the Mirror Gloss will really help out!
I have the Saphir Beaute de Cuir Wax Shoe Polish. Will that also be effective as a last step instead of the Pate de luxe? Thanks for your videos. They are amazing!
Similar. You can certainly use it without any problem.
Kirby, Thanks so much for these videos, they are incredibly helpful!!! I have noticed in my mirror glossing that I find a spot on the shoe where the mirror gloss is applied, and when I add water the mirror gloss begins to chafe. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I try to add more gloss to get it to shine and more chafes off with more water. I then get to the glacage phase and it doesn't have a shine, but a matte tacky finish. Please Help! Thanks!
do you worry about the wax filling in the brogue holes?
Thanks for this!
Hey Kirby, how would you burnish the toes if you're using both mirror gloss and regular wax? The mirror gloss is neutral and the regular wax you had said to use just a touch. thanks
would it work with a rotary tool? apply 5 times mirror gloss shine with a bit of water with a dremel?
I don't seen any reason it wouldn't work with a rotary tool, although I've never used one myself.
Elegant shoes
I have a nice pair of dress shoes, but it has no broguing or cap toe. Am I still allowed to mirror shine the toe box or is that a faux pas?
Thank you! I have been watching lots of shoe shine videos and these are the best and most detailed! One question... I see you are using neutral wax. Do you recommend this for all colored shoes?
Hi Jake - The Mirror Gloss is only available in a Black and Neutral, so you're limited here. However, you can certainly finish the polishing with any color Saphir Pate de Luxe wax polish - it really doesn't matter. Wax polishes have such a light pigment, anyway (when compared to cream polish).
Hey there Hangar Project. I noticed that when Kirby was polishing his shoes, he has a very nice leather matt that he places during his polishing. Like that leather piece on his desk, what make is that and where can we purchase that? Thank you!
This is our Leather Shoeshine Carpet - we sell them online at HangerProject.com.
very insightful videos. i do alot of painting and customizing. was wondering if i could use the neutral saphir mirror gloss on sneakers. and any recommendations you may have. thank you kindly
You can certainly use it on sneakers to add waxes. But it is not a permanent dye. The Saphir Juvacuir might be better for sneakers. More permanent recoloring.
thanks! what about just for that mirror polish look on sneakers? not really looking to dye it
Hi Kerby!
I was wondering, I was taught that when I wanted mirror shine never to buff with a brush. Always use a cloth, it makes them shine up quicker.
How do you feel about that? 😊
Absolutely true. Buffing with a brush will absolutely disrupt the mirror finish. You can buff the rest of the shoe, but not any of the areas to which you've built a mirror shine.
Hey Kirby, thanks for the tutorial. Can you use a coloured (as opposed to neutral) pate de luxe on top of the mirror gloss wax polish as that final step or it has to be neutral pate de lux on top of neutral mirror gloss wax polish? Thanks again.
Absolutely! No problem at all to used a colored wax polish on top of Mirror Gloss.
Thank you.
Hi - how do you maintain the shine after what you just did? With a horse brush, a piece of cloth (with or without water)? I guess you dont need to remove all the layers of wax and start all over?
With normal polishing, you really only need a horsehair brush to maintain. At some point, you'll want to remove old polish and start over, but it is infrequent.
I'm a little confused. I thought the mirror gloss was what you used to finish off with. I have only just got my new Loake Oxfords. I am going to get some cream polish, pate de luxe and some mirror gloss. This is the first pair of decent quality shoes I own having previously bought high street store shoes. I want to care for my shoes as best I can obviously. Am I right in thinking it's cream first then mirror gloss then finish with pate de luxe?
JAZZ MAN After some experimentation, I find that the Mirror Gloss works best to develop the wax foundation and that finishing with the Saphir Pate de Luxe "melts" the Mirror Gloss to produce a beautiful mirror finish. Think of the last step as wet sanding the finish.
The Hanger Project
Got it now, thanks so much.
Hi. I seem to be having trouble with a build up of black spotting when i attempt the mirror gloss! Any clue as to why?
Try to use less water.
Why don't you ever use a deer bone and what's your opinion of this (save for cordovan leather)?
Deer Bone really for cordovan. You have to be careful against using it on calf because it can scratch the more delicate leather. Also, calf is not prone to the same type of wrinkling that cordovan is because they are totally different materials.
I’m not convinced they’re really that much better than, say, Collonil but overall I’m happy with Saphir products when it comes to general maintenance but I’ve always found it very hard to get a mirror shine with pate luxe. Now they admit it sucks in that regard and that the Mirror one should be used but before they started selling it they pitched pate as the tool to use. A bit misleading.
toobalkain Yeah, the Pate de Lux has a high solvent concentration in order to liquify the hard waxes, but that made getting a Mirror Gloss a little challenging. Many people would allow their polish to dry a bit in order to use it for Mirror shines.
how come you buff off the mirror gloss with the cloth and not the brush like you did with the cream polish and the wax polish?
It's the only way to create a high shine. The horsehair is too rough. Doesn't allow the shine.
I see. That would explain why I had a hard time getting a good shine when I tried
Question: Do you have to polish the shoe with a high shine cloth or can you use the horse hair brush you use to wipe off your cream?
If you're not trying to get a really high-shine, you can certainly use the buff off the polish with the horsehair brush. But apply the cream either with a chamois or a dauber.
Great video, thank you! Do you have any tips for what to do if you get polish into the brogue orifices on the toe?
You can use a toothpick or anything else sharp to dig the embedded waxes out. Lightly tapping on the broughing with the brush can also help.
The process is detailed. However there are many other better products available which give similar/ better shine in less time.
mvscmd I don't know how you can develop a high shine without using a wax polish... anything "faster" probably uses synthetic products in order to produce a "quick shine." Like those quick shine sponges - they're terrible for the leather.
I will send you some information and if possible videos. Thx for your kind revert
you should do a video on British guardsmen bulling
Great video idea!
Wondering what percentage of your shoes, say oxfords, have the extra glossy Presidential Shoe shine? Initially, I’ve applied presidential shoe shine using mirror gloss to all my shoes. But with couple of young kids, they step on my toe box from time to time and cause the hard wax to crack. Any tips to repair cracks, or it it time for Reno’Mat and start over? Thanks and great job with your videos!!
No kidding! In all honesty, it's probably only two or three pairs, and it's very difficult to maintain. I have three kids, also, and can totally understand the challenge.
What kind of fabric do you use for glassage?
We sell a High Shine Chamois that we have made from Super 180 Giza Cotton shirting. It's incredible!!
I also like the results of final buffing with cut up panty hose.
mxderry Yes, that's another trick that works quite well when using wax polish. But it's different than the Mirror Gloss method b
Pâté Deluxe xD
ecks dee
Great, by the way it is not PATé de luxe, as in cooking, but it's pronounced like PAT !!!!!!
I'll say it differently next time. My French is terrible!
even not if you're going to eat it?
Who has the time to do all this crap?! Come back to reality bro!
Failed at life above