Kaps Brandy Shoe Cream 171 – 50ml Deep Mahogany Red Leather Cream

Description

Kaps Brandy Shoe Cream 171 – 50ml Deep Mahogany Red Leather Cream, a deep mahogany red that sits close to black rather than the amber the drink would have you expect, 50ml with the sponge in the lid, for dark burgundy and oxblood leather

A colleague once told me that all brown shoes are the same brown, which is the sort of remark that only survives in an office with poor lighting. Dark red browns are where that idea falls apart fastest. Two pairs can look identical on the shoe rack and utterly different in daylight, and using the wrong cream on one of them is a mistake you notice for years.

Brandy in a glass is amber. This is not. Measured off the pot, 171 comes out as a deep mahogany red sitting close to the bottom of the brightness scale, considerably darker than 169 Old Leather and carrying nearly twice its colour saturation. In plain terms it is a rich, dark, red brown.

Deep mahogany red, strongly pigmented, 50ml, £5.99, applicator built into the lid.

Why choose this deep mahogany red leather cream?

• It is the right answer for genuine oxblood. Oxblood, burgundy and dark cherry brogues are common in Britain and badly served by ordinary brown creams, which leave a muddy cast over the top of them. This carries enough red at enough depth to sit down into that family properly rather than fighting it every time you polish.
• The depth covers scuffing rather than highlighting it. On dark leather, a scuff shows as a pale line, and a cream that is too light simply widens the pale area. Working at this depth fills the scratch with something darker than the surrounding surface, and the mark stops catching the eye.
• It is meaningfully different from Old Leather. The two shades are neighbours on the chart and behave nothing alike. Old Leather is greyed and restrained, while 171 is redder and deeper. If a previous cream left your burgundy looking flat and brownish, this is the one that puts the wine back.
• Wax carrier, so the hide gains something. Dark formal shoes crease hard across the vamp and those creases dry out first. Pigment carried in natural wax puts colour into the crack and softness into the leather either side of it, which is what stops a crease becoming a split.
• Very little of it gets used at a time. Deeply saturated dark creams get used sparingly, because sparingly is all they ask for. A pot of this size on a single pair of formal shoes, polished monthly, is realistically a multi year supply rather than a season of use.
• Nothing else to buy. The sponge applicator comes fitted in the cap, so a dark red cream never has to meet a cloth that you might later use on tan shoes. Cross contamination between a dark red and a light tan is not a mistake you make twice.

How to use the Kaps Brandy Shoe Cream 171 – 50ml Deep Mahogany Red Leather Cream

Simple enough work, but a dark red is unusually good at staining anything porous. Protect the stitching and the edge of the sole before you begin rather than trying to rescue them afterwards.

1. Remove the laces and lift off old polish.
2. Clean the upper and let it dry fully.
3. Keep a dry sponge aside for the welt line.
4. Apply thinly, working away from the stitching.
5. Press cream gently into any deep creases.
6. Leave the pair overnight before wearing.

My tip as a shoe specialist

Keep a second, completely dry sponge in your other hand purely for the welt. Stitching is cotton, cotton is porous, and red pigment at this depth wicks into thread and sets there permanently. Once a cream welt has gone burgundy nothing on the market takes it back out, and wine coloured stitching looks like a repair rather than a polish. Run the dry sponge down the stitching the instant any trace of colour strays onto it. Ten seconds of attention there will save a pair of shoes that otherwise came out beautifully.

Specifications

At a glance

• Pack: 50ml with sponge applicator
• Depth measured: Deep mahogany red, high saturation
• Site listing: Brandy, 171
• Carrier: Natural waxes carrying pigment
• Designed for: Smooth burgundy and oxblood leather
• Not designed for: Suede, nubuck, light tan
• Alongside it: Welt brush and polishing cloth
• Range: Kaps Delicate, 70 shades
• Origin and shelf price: Polish made, £5.99

Frequently asked questions

My shoes are a light chestnut. Will this suit them?

No, and it would be an expensive way to find out. Measured, this sits well below a chestnut and pulls a light pair most of the way to burgundy in one coat. Try the mid brown family, such as 166 Camel.

Is brandy the same as burgundy on this chart?

In practice, close to it. The name suggests an amber spirit, but the measured colour is a dark wine brown, so read the code rather than the word when you are matching a shoe.

Two brown creams look possible. Which do I take?

The darker one, as a rule. Extra pigment fills scratches more completely, while a lighter cream leaves them showing and cannot be undone once applied.

Where can I buy the Kaps Brandy Shoe Cream 171 – 50ml Deep Mahogany Red Leather Cream in the UK?

Shoespecialist.co.uk holds 171 in stock. Nothing is added for postage once you pass £50, orders arriving inside working hours are packed the same day, and sixty days of thinking time apply to returns.