Saphir Shoe Care Products: How to Achieve High Gloss Shine on Your Premium Leather Shoes
Saphir Shoe Care Products: How to Achieve High Gloss Shine on Your Premium Leather Shoes
A high gloss shoe shine will not only catch eyes from a distance and set you apart in a room full of people, this technique will keep your premium leather shoes in their best condition. We’ve created this step-by-step guide on how to achieve the ultimate shoe shine. The secret to this comes down to using a series of high-quality Saphir Medaille d’Or leather care products, most importantly, Saphir Mirror Gloss, Saphir shoe cream and Saphir shoe polish. Now, let’s get started.
Products you’ll need:
Using Saphir’s 100 percent natural horsehair bristles will ensure to bring a glowing sheen to your shoes. These brushes are offered in a range of sizes and come in either a neutral bristle or black bristle to use with your different colored shoes.
A good polishing cloth is essential in bringing your shoes back to life. This all-natural, 100 percent cotton polishing cloth works best with conditioners, creams and waxes on high-quality leathers. It can be used for both applying and buffing creams and wax polishes.
Prepping your shoes with the Saphir Omni’ Nettoyant is an essential step in achieving the perfect shine. This product comes with a hand size brush which enables deep cleaning and removal of stains on suede, nubucks and textiles.
Conditioning your leather shoes with high quality, natural oils will keep the leather fibres strong and will prevent creasing and cracks. Saphir’s Renovating Cream is a mink oil-based conditioner containing mild cleaning agents that rid any excess dirt and old polish.
This cream polish is key in restoring your leather shoes and it contains twice the amount of pigment as an ordinary polish. The high concentration of solvents in this polish allows for further cleansing and prepares the leather for optimal polishing.
Mirror Gloss Wax Polish is a high concentration of hard waxes which produces a glossy shine. It is specifically meant to be used on stiffened areas of the shoe (such as the toe and heel) in order to avoid cracking the finish. This product is crucial in achieving the highest gloss shine possible.
This product is considered to be the best polish in the world. It is a natural polish containing seven nutrient waxes. The high solvent ratio in this product melts hard waxes, allowing for the high gloss shine to come through.
Edge dressing is the finishing touch in perfecting your shoes. The Saphir Renovating Cream is a leather colourant that recolors and repairs premium leathers and outsole edges, ranging in a variety of colors to match your shoes. It will remove any knicks, scuffs and scratches from the edges of your premium leather shoes.
The High-Gloss Process:
Step 1: Saphir Omni-Nettoyant
Using the small brush that comes with the omni-nettoyant, prep the shoes by brushing off any stains or dirt build-up. This product will also open up the leather pores, enhancing the shoe-shining process. Next, lightly brush off the entire shoe using a horsehair brush to remove any large surface dirt.
Step 2: Saphir Renovateur
It’s important to use the renovateur before any additional polish is applied in order to get maximum results from this product. Using your Saphir polishing cloth, apply a dab of the product onto your shoe and massage quickly in circular motions. Continue to apply the conditioner until it soaks in and the surface becomes slightly sticky. After this step, leave your shoes to set overnight. After buffing your shoes the next day using a horsehair brush, you should notice a nice shine.
Step 2: Saphir Pommadier 1925 Cream Polish
When it comes to this step, less is more. Using your Saphir polishing cloth, pull it tightly over your middle and index fingers and add a small amount of cream polish, apply to shoe in small, circular motions. Once the cream polish is dry, you can begin buffing using your polishing cloth. Add a spritz of water to your cloth if you notice it starting to drag on the leather. Continue to buff in low pressure, circular motions until you begin to break through the fog of the polish and see shine.
Step 3: Mirror Gloss wax
Mirror Gloss Wax is a very high concentration of hard waxes, therefore it’s important to lubricate your polishing cloth with water to ensure that you’re able to glide across your shoe smoothly. Take a clean area of your cloth, wet it, and begin massaging wax on to hard countered areas of the shoe (toe box and heels). Once dry, add more water to your cloth and lightly buff in circular motions to work through the wax clouding. Repeat these same steps three to five times.
The amount of layers of wax to apply depends on the shoe you’re starting with. If this is your first time using mirror gloss, you’re going to need more layers to create a solid wax foundation. If you’ve kept your shoes in good shape using this wax several times before, you won’t need to use as many layers. It is also dependent on personal preference of how glossy of a shine you are content with.
Step 4: Saphir Pate de Luxe
Finish off the mirror shine using Saphir Pate de Lux, this high solvent ratio melts the harsh mirror wax and allows shine to come through. Apply a small amount of this to the toe box and heels. Without letting it dry, buff into the shoe in circular motions with a very fine, light touch. If you notice your cloth is dragging, add a small spritz of water. Your shoes should be glistening at this point!
Step 5: Saphir Renovating Cream (Edge Dressing)
The finishing touch that will enhance your freshly high glossed shoes is edge dressing. First, you’re going to clean the welt of your shoe with a clean brush, apply a moderate layer of neutral wax to the outsole edges. Once the wax is dry, remove excess wax and apply the renovating cream with your polishing cloth or fingertips. With this step, ensure you are using a color that closely matches the sole edge or heel color. Finally, allow edge dressing to dry and lightly brush the welts, soles and heels of your shoes.
Now that you’ve gone through all of the steps to achieving the ultimate mirror shine, here are some tips on how to maintain your high gloss:
- Because mirror shine is so delicate, try to avoid wearing these shoes on a regular basis to keep them glossy. Save your impressively high gloss shoes for special occasions and events.
- Try to stay out of the sun with your mirror shined shoes. Heat will soften the wax foundation and in turn, your shoes will scratch more easily.
- If you notice your mirror shine beginning to scratch after a few wears, lightly buff shoes with a layer of Saphir Pommadier 1925 Cream Polish, followed by a layer of Saphir Pate de Luxe to re-elevate the shine.
By now, we hope that your favorite leather shoes are glossy and you’re exuding the utmost confidence and elegance with each step!