hello! i read that you said it is not generally advised to polish and condition the same garment–how do you decide which to use? is it just personal preference?
Hi!! Good question. There are some rules of thumb to determine whether to condition or polish, but also yes, it can come down to personal preference and yours/your clients goals.
There are two main types of leather: oil tan and chrome tan. Oil tan needs conditioning, chrome tan needs polishing.
In general, it’s probably oil tan if:
- you can see and feel the natural grain pattern of the leather (kind of like the palm of your hand)
- the leather is matte or slightly dull
It’s probably chrome tan if:
- the leather is smooth and you can’t see much texture/natural grain pattern
- it already has a somewhat shiny appearance after a clean/dust off
- the leather is sturdy, inflexible and does not crease and flex when worn
- it appears to have a sealed topcoat.
In general, regular conditioning (a few times a year) is good for leather and extending the lifespan of the piece. It softens it, replenishes the oils, prevents it from cracking, adds some water resistance, and gives it a healthy, natural shine.
BUT conditioning chrome tan/high shine leather is not advised because the conditioners cannot penetrate a sealed topcoat, so conditioning will leave a layer of oil on the leather and preventing the application of wax polish.
Polishing on the other hand does provide a little bit of protection and water resistance, but it is mainly done for the purpose of achieving a shiny aesthetic, and reducing the appearance of scratches and imperfections.
Once a piece has been polished, you don’t really want to condition it without stripping the layers of polish back first (which can be tedious and messy). Conditioner will not penetrate the layer of wax polish.
When bootblacking for others
I usually start a bootblacking session with a quick consult. First by feeling the leather to assess the type of leather, and secondly asking what a client usually does (if anything) to care for the piece - this helps me figure out what products have been used on the piece before as well as the person’s preferences.
Sometimes my opinion of what is “best” for the leather doesn’t match my clients goals or preferences, so I defer to them - it’s their piece after all! Sometimes they are happy to follow my recommendation.
Ultimately even if you use the “wrong process” it can usually be corrected with some work, so it’s probably not the end of the world, but it’s good to be aware of the benefits and risks of each process.
You can polish an oil tan piece, but it will take a lot of layers of polish to begin to get a shine, and the polish is likely to crack and flake off after a little while.
You can condition a chrome tan piece, but the conditioner will not soak in very well and the oily residue left sitting on the surface will collect dust, and will need to be cleaned off before they can be polished again.
Keep in mind, this is my own advice/experience/understanding and other bootblacks may have different takes on it.
Hope this helps! Feel free to shoot me more questions if you have any
