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Shoe creme to cover small spots of damage to the topcoat of leather jackets?

jacketjunkie

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2,323
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Germany
Uhh, sorry for the long title, somehow couldn't get it on point any better.

Here's the thing; I bought an old black leather coat. Like real old, the seller (a man in his 50s) told me it's from his grandfather, so it's very likely pre-WWII and also pre-Nazi-Germany, as it's quite different in styling to the classical german leather trench und u-boat coats from 1933-1945.

The condition is accordingly bad, which is okay, as I paid very little for it; the pockets must be re-lined, it's missing pretty much all of its buttons and the inner lining is kind of shabby too, so I may have it completly relined. Lots of work to do and plenty of $$ to pay until this one is wearable again but the leather shell is in pretty good condition, it's very heavy horsehide and the stitching is intact except for a few lose threads. Ofcourse there is plenty of colorloss on the regular spots, which I'll leave as it is, but there also is two spots f actual damage where the topcoat looks torn off, like the entire layer of color missing plus some more. So I did some thinking and came up with the idea to put some black shoe creme onto these two spots. My brother still has some black stuff left from his time of voluntary service in the army and I have seen that stuff cover up comparable damage on his boots.

Now.. to cut a long story short; has anyone ever treated damage to his leather jackets with shoe creme? What are yours opinions on it? Does it work? And, since we are already at it, is here anyone who treats his leather jackets with shoe conditioner? I've been thinking about that a bit since I first came up with that shoe creme idea and after all boots and jackets are both made of very comparable leather, both are garments and exposed to very comparable conditions and stress.

Looking forward to hear your thoughts and experiences on the matter!
 

Carlos840

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London
The one time i tried that the shoe polish dissolved the top coat and it made things much worst.
My small scratch ended up being a brown spot on a black jacket, it really made a mess.
Thankfully it was a very hidden area.

Do that with caution, and try a small discreet area first.

(the leather was black Horween Warhawk)
 
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11,169
Location
SoCal
For me, Meltonian boot cream is the best for leather and woodwork. Unfortunately the company is out of business and the last few batches had colors that were all wrong. If you have a shoe repair place nearby, they might have some in back.
I use it on all my wood windows and doors. It soaks in better than others without the odd fogginess.
 

navetsea

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East Java
I use shoe creme on my jacket to "heal" spots where too much of "patina" happens accidentally on otherwise still a very pristine panel. like spots on the back from sitting against rattan chair, or spot on the front from wrestling dumb drinking water gallon onto the dispenser:eek:.

the thing is with shoes we want more shine and with jacket less shine, so shoe products tend to leave too much shine when used liberally, as spot repair I did it all the time, but don't forget to buff it out once dry, so it won't leave stain on car seat and sofa
 
Last edited:

AbbaDatDeHat

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8,856
Hey JJ et al:
I’ve used plain old Kiwi shoe polish with great results on leather stuff. I just touched up a couple places on a Brown Cal Leather CHP with cordovan Kiwi. I also used a wood finish marker for touch ups. It “soaks in” whereas polish kinda “works in”. All worked great but were small areas, nicks, skuffs. Idk about large areas so can’t say. Hope that helps.
Be well. Bowen
F1562671-2BB2-41E0-96C8-2F57E3F88DF3.jpeg
 

Carlos840

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4,944
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London
Hey JJ et al:
I’ve used plain old Kiwi shoe polish with great results on leather stuff. I just touched up a couple places on a Brown Cal Leather CHP with cordovan Kiwi. I also used a wood finish marker for touch ups. It “soaks in” whereas polish kinda “works in”. All worked great but were small areas, nicks, skuffs. Idk about large areas so can’t say. Hope that helps.
Be well. Bowen View attachment 110703

Black Kiwi is the show polish that dissolved my top coat and damaged my jacket.
As i said in my previous post, make sure you try it in a discrete area first.
 

AbbaDatDeHat

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8,856
Black Kiwi is the show polish that dissolved my top coat and damaged my jacket.
As i said in my previous post, make sure you try it in a discrete area first.
Greetings:
Absolutely!! To be clear, i was doing nicks, skuffs, small cuts, seam edge type work thus small areas.
Thanks Carlos for your input. Now i know too.
Be well. Bowen
 

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