Care Guides – Mano Skoservice

Good shoes deserve good care. Whether it’s your favorite leather dress shoes, suede sneakers, or sturdy winter boots, the right care can keep them looking sharp and lasting longer. Here are some simple, tried-and-true tips — and of course, if you’d rather leave it to the pros, you can always bring your shoes to us at Mano Skoservice for a professional cleaning and restoration.

Calfskin Maintenance: Once a Month

Always use a horsehair brush to dust off your leather shoes prior to polishing. If the shoes have mud stains, use a damp cloth and gently wipe them off and let them air dry for at least 10 minutes.
Use a leather balm and conditioner like the Saphir Renovateur to remove old polish and condition the leather. Apply the balm sparingly with medium pressure in circular motions and make sure to cover the entire shoe. After allowing the balm to dry for 5 minutes, brush the shoes with a horsehair brush until the surface appears shiny to remove any excess leather balm.
Apply polish sparingly with a polishing cloth or a dauber brush in small circular motions. Let the polish dry for at least 5 minutes. What polish to use depends on the condition of the shoe. If the leather is scuffed and has discoloured areas we recommend you use a cream polish, otherwise use a wax polish. However, the type of polish you use is not very important as long as it is of high quality and turpentine free like the Saphir Medaille d’Or range.
Brush your shoes with a horsehair brush in fast back and forth motions until the leather surface is shiny. If you would like a higher shine, simply repeat steps 2-3 however many times until you have reached your desired level of shine.

Calfskin Rejuvenation: Every 6-12 Months

Use a stiff bristle brush to remove any superficial dust and debris. If the shoes have stubborn mud stains, use a damp cloth and gently wipe them off and let them air dry for at least 10 minutes.
Wrap a shoe shine cloth around your index and middle finger tightly and pour on some Saphir Reno Cleaner. With firm pressure and small circular motions, apply the Reno Cleaner all over the shoe in small amounts and avoid saturating the leather. The purpose of the Reno Cleaner is to remove old polish which accumulates on the leather surface over time, therefore give extra attention to areas of the shoe with more polish build up, typically the toe box and heel counter. After covering one shoe, switch to a clean part of your cloth before moving on to the other. Continue rubbing your shoes with Reno Cleaner until you can see and feel the pores of the leather. Please note that your leather will appear dull and bleak after this step. This is perfectly normal and necessary for proper maintenance and your shoes will appear even more vibrant and shiny than before once the process is complete.
Take a damp cloth and gently wipe the shoes clean from Reno Cleaner, then wait at least 10 minutes for the shoe to dry.
OPTIONAL: Apply a light layer of Saphir Ouraline or Dubbin to the entire uppers and let it sit for at least 1 hour before brushing off the excess with a horsehair brush. This step ensures your shoes longevity by deeply permeating and resupplying the leather with nutrients and oils which naturally dry out with wear. It is important that you apply the oils very sparingly in an even layer as dark spots can otherwise appear. If you have very light coloured shoes or are wary of ruining the look of your shoes, it is perfectly fine to skip this step entirely and go straight to step 5.
Now that your leather is clean and nourished, apply Saphir Smooth Leather Lotion using your cloth and make sure to cover the whole shoe. Let the shoes dry for at least 5 minutes before buffing the shoes with a horsehair brush.
Now that your shoes are fully conditioned, it is time to give them a nice shine. Apply Saphir Creme 1925 in a matching pigment to restore the finish and buff with a horsehair brush after drying for 5 minutes. If you can not find an exact match, we recommend you use a slightly lighter colour if you wish to maintain a uniform look, and to use a slightly darker colour if you want your shoes to develop a beautiful patina over time.
Apply a generous layer of Pate de Luxe polish to your welt and sole edges using a welt brush. This is especially important for hand- or Goodyear welted shoes as the wax thread holding the sole to the welt needs wax to stay malleable and waterproof. This step also removes any dust accumulated in the tight gap where the upper meets the sole.
The last step is to weather protect the shoes and give them a lasting shine. Apply Saphir Pate de Luxe wax polish in a matching pigment sparingly using either a cloth or a dauber brush. Let the wax polish dry for 5 minutes before buffing. Keep applying thin layers and buffing until you have reached your desired level of shine. For an extra high shine we recommend to use a lambswool polishing glove when buffing the final layers of wax polish. This step is very important as it will protect all the rejuvenation work you just did.

Suede Maintenance: Once a month

Before using your new suede shoes it is very important to use a protector spray. It is important to use a spray like the Saphir Super Invulver which does not contain any silicones as that can cause damage to the suede fibres. For maintaining suede it is best to clean them dry as much as possible and only use water when absolutely necessary.

Use a suede brush to remove superficial dust. For this step a brass bristle brush works best. For very delicate suedes like kid and nubuck it is best to use a crepe brush and avoid brass bristle brushes as they can cause the material to appear coarser.
Use a suede eraser like the Saphir Gommadin to remove any stubborn stains. Then use the a suede brush to remove the residue from the suede eraser.
Re-apply protection spray to your suede shoes.

Suede Rejuvenation: Every 6-12 months

Once your suede shoes become very dirty and/or the colour begins to fade you need to properly rejuvenate the suede to get it back to its former glory.

Start by filling a bowl with warm water and laying down a towel on your work surface. Pour some Saphir Omni Nettoyant into your bowl of water, you want the mixture to be roughly 6:1 water to cleaner.
Dip a cleaning brush into the cleaning solution and brush the entire shoe with fast motions until the entire upper is saturated and keep brushing and re-wetting the brush until the shoe looks clean.
Stuff the shoes with kitchen paper to help them keep their shape and expedite drying time. Allow the shoes to dry for at least 12 hours. Do not use open pore shoe trees, like cedar and beech wood, when drying your shoes as you will ruin the finish of your shoe trees and the oils in the wood may cause stains on your shoes.
Once the shoes are dry, remove the paper from inside and place in shoe trees in order to prepare the shoes to be recoloured and conditioned. Cover the opening of the shoe with kitchen paper and cover any different coloured areas with masking tape such as a white sneaker sole or a crepe sole. Take your shoes outside and use the Saphir Suede Renovateur to apply an even coat on both shoes. Keep the nozzle at least 20cm away from the shoes to ensure an even application. Let them dry for at least 1 hour
Use a crepe or brass suede with medium pressure to rough up the suede and make it smooth again. If you are working on a nubuck shoe, use a crepe brush.
Finally, spray your shoes with a protector spray to protect your work.

Patent Leather: Before or After every use

Wipe the shoes with a damp cloth to remove superficial dirt. Some stains, from the likes of champagne, can be hard to remove. Use the Saphir Reno Cleaner for that.
Once the surface is clean, apply a patent leather polish like the Saphir Vernis Rife to the entire shoe. Wait for the polish to dry and then wipe the shoes with a polishing cloth until all streaks are gone.

A Few Golden Rules for All Shoes

Always rotate your shoes — they last much longer if you don’t wear the same pair every day.
Use wooden shoe trees to absorb moisture and maintain shape.
Wipe or brush off dirt as soon as you get home, before it sets in.
If your shoes are wet, let them air dry at room temp, far from a heat source.

At Mano Skoservice, we know some shoes are worth more than the sum of their parts. If yours need a little extra care, drop by our workshop at Riddargatan 16, 114 51 Stockholm or call us at (+46) 08-611 71 94.