How Does Polish Protect Leather Shoes: 6 Main Benefits

Last updated on October 30th, 2022 at 01:10 pm

Hi, today I am going to answer a big question of all time how does polish protect leather shoes. As we all know leather is the most common and perfect material for shoes, furniture, jackets, and many more.

According to the report of Statista, the volume of leather footwear in 2022 is around 296.2m pairs and is expected to show growth of 8.8% till 2023. That means the average volume per person is now 0.9 pairs, which means everyone has at least one pair.

We also use other materials to fulfill the demands but somehow leather becomes the best choice of any user and at the same time, leather products are quite more expensive than others. So, proper care is very important, right?

Regular polishing and caring not only to gift the shoe a long life but also in day-to-day life use you will experience novelty. However, many do not have knowledge about it, that’s why I am here to aware you.

Without wasting a single second let’s straight jump into the topic and understand deeply why it is so important. I will also discuss here good possible ways to polish shoes finely with some suggestions.

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How Does Polish Protect Leather Shoes

1. It Gives Shoe a Shiny Glow

What do we expect from leather shoe polish?

In today’s life, shoes are an essential part of human life because they improve appearance and when we talk about formal shoes or patent leather shoes, polishing, shoe waxing or shoe conditioning is essential.

Shoe polish not only gives shine to the shoe but also penetrates the fabrics and helps to repair them internally. However, choosing the right product is a crucial step for this.

There is a step-by-step process you should always follow to polish your shoes that I mentioned in this article below.

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2. Removes Marks from Shoes

As I am also using leather shoes so I can understand this situation. This mainly happens in the case of every leather material but it is a disaster for suede leather materials.

When the day ends we normally throw the shoes to the corner and the next day we wear them again. But may you not notice these marks at the early stage, but after some months of carelessness, you will surely understand the issue.

These white marks clearly visible to others and look very unhygienic and also unprofessional. These may be happened due to some fungus attack that is mainly invited by your sweaty or dirty shoes.

You can easily remove these white, yellow, or grey marks with the help of a home-used product vinegar. Use vinegar with water and apply it with a cloth and then you can use a good conditioner to help the shoe for a long journey.

In the case of white shoes, the white mark is not that noticeable but maybe you had a problem with yellow or grey marks then you can use the same solution or in addition a white shoe color repair kit.

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3. Makes the Shoe Material Softer

If we talk about full-grain leather shoes no doubt offer a long life but that is not more comfortable sometimes just because to give an authentic look and feel it is not sanded and that makes them hard to wear.

Also, you will notice sometimes, when you buy a new shoe, then if the shoe does not fit you at that time, but the same one starts to fit after wearing it for a few weeks. This happens just because of the stretchability nature.

A good shoe conditioner can help you with this. Basically leather is nothing just a combination of fibers so a conditioner hydrates and nourishes each fiber that helps to repair the old leather and obviously makes the material more stretchable and softer to wear.

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4. Hide Minor Scars or Scratches

Scratches or scars mainly happen when you are walking through any rough surface or object. Due to the friction between the object or surface and the shoe, this happened.

It happens in all types of shoes but it looks worse on formal shoes.

By polishing the shoe properly you can hide these scratches easily but only if the scratches are minor. For major scratches, you need to repair your shoes.

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5. Helps to Waterproof the Material

The real identification of pure leather is that it is water-absorbent. Just because of this nature when the shoe dries it loses the texture and the authentic look and becomes very hard and also it invites dust particles to the surface.

However, molds are the other problem because they like to live in a moist environment. So, whenever your shoe is in contact with water for a long time, then fungus stains start coming on your shoe, although sweat and dust are also other reasons causing it.

So, making the shoe waterproof to some extent is a crucial step. This can be done with the help of a shoe conditioner or wax because these are petroleum products that repel water.

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6. Gives Shoe a Longer Life

Yes, you read right, like a machine if you do time to time proper maintenance that can give long life. Just like in the case of shoes, wax and conditioner make a protective layer that protects the shoe from any kind of problems like fungus, water or moisture, wear and tear, etc.

It is quite simple that by this the life span of your shoe will increase and that is what we want.

Now I think I am quite successful to make you understand how does polish protect leather shoes but, knowing only the benefits is not the solution also you need to understand the process of how to condition leather shoes at home.

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Things in Mind at the Time of Shoe Polish

Right Materials for Shoe Polish

• Clean workspace
• Brush and a clean soft cloth
• Shoe Lotion or conditioner
• Shoe Wax
• Some detergent and water for laces

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Shoe Wax VS Shoe Lotion or Conditioner

As per the name, wax doesn’t mean waxing basically, it looks like paste or cream that helps to give your shoes a premium shiny glow, works as a water repeller, and most importantly it helps to make the material softer and more stretchy. You can apply it with a soft brush or cloth two times for better results.

On the other hand shoe lotion or conditioner is the liquid form of thing which mainly penetrates into the leather fibers and helps in the repairing process. You can use both for better results.

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Clean Shoe Laces

Laces are inseparable parts of shoes and many of us ignore cleaning them or applying shoe lotion on them. As this is made from fabric you can clean it as you clean your clothes just use some detergent and water.

You May Also Read: How to Clean Leather Shoes

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How to Polish Shoes Effectively

• Use a clean cloth to eliminate the dust or mud from the shoe surface.
• Apply the conditioner or shoe lotion and make it dry.
• The conditioner will repair the leather fabrics internally.
• Now, this is time to give the shiny look to the shoe so apply wax-based polish on the shoe with the brush.
• Now add one or two drops of water and for 2 to 3 minutes rub the surface of the shoe and you will notice a shine.
• For the clothy sneakers or loafers, just use soap or detergent water, and with a cloth clean the surface carefully and keep them under sunlight for some hours.

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Final Thoughts on How Does Polish Protect Leather Shoes

I think through this article I was able to make you understand the benefits of shoe polish and the effective process to do it. A leather shoe is quite more expensive than a non-leather shoe so taking care of this is very important.

From my experience, I found that it is better to condition the leather from the inside rather than focus only to give shiny look. I have shared with you the best possible and tested ways to give your shoes a long-life gift.

Taking care for your leather shoes does not cost you much money if you follow the suggestions step by step.

If you have benefited from this article in some way or have any doubts about this, then definitely tell us in the comments.

Thank You For Reading………

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