Kaps Oak Shoe Cream 177 – 50ml Dark Chocolate Brown Leather Cream

Description

Kaps Oak Shoe Cream 177 – 50ml Dark Chocolate Brown Leather Cream, a dark chocolate brown far deeper than oak timber suggests, 50ml behind a metal lid with the applicator supplied, for the dark pair whitened at the heel counter

Dark brown shoes wear out at the back long before they wear out at the front. The heel counter rubs against the hem of your trousers a few thousand times a year, and the finish there quietly goes chalky while the toes still look perfectly respectable. You never see it yourself, because you are never standing behind your own shoes, and nobody else will mention it.

Off the pot, 177 measures much darker than the name leads you to expect. Oak timber is a mid honey colour, and this is a deep chocolate brown with a warm rather than red bias. Read it as a dark brown, and if your shoes are genuinely oak coloured you want something two full steps lighter.

Dark chocolate, 50ml, £5.99, applicator built in rather than sold separately.

Why choose this dark chocolate shoe cream?

• The name undersells how dark it is. Anyone buying 177 expecting a honey oak is in for a surprise. Measured, it is a deep chocolate, which makes it genuinely useful for dark brown brogues and boots. It also makes it entirely the wrong pot for a light tan shoe, so buy it with your eyes open.
• It kills the chalky heel counter. A whitened heel is pigment loss rather than dirt, so brushing at it achieves nothing at all. This puts colour back into the leather instead of a shine on top of it, and one thin coat is usually the whole job on a heel counter.
• Warm rather than red. There is no wine in this one. It leans warm brown with a faint yellow bias, which suits classic dark brown calf far better than a mahogany cream would, since a red tinted cream on plain dark brown always reads slightly foxy in daylight.
• Natural waxes rather than solvent. The pigment sits in a wax carrier, so the shoe is conditioned in the same pass. Heel counters are stiffened leather and stiff leather cracks when it dries, so feeding that panel is not a luxury, it is what keeps the shoe in shape.
• The pad reaches the seam. Where the counter meets the quarter there is a seam that a cloth simply skates straight over. The moulded sponge presses down into that line, and that is precisely where dark brown shoes look tired first when you see them from behind.
• A pot at £5.99 that will not run out. Fifty millilitres used a pea at a time will outlast several pairs of shoes. Buying one pot in place of replacing one pair of brogues is a straightforward piece of arithmetic, and it is the reason I keep this line on the shelf.

How to use the Kaps Oak Shoe Cream 177 – 50ml Dark Chocolate Brown Leather Cream

Straightforward enough, though a dark brown punishes carelessness around the lace holes. Clean the shoes properly, work in thin coats, and save all the fiddly bits until last.

1. Draw the laces out and brush the shoes down.
2. Lift old wax build up with a cleaner.
3. Dry them slowly, well away from heat.
4. Cover the counters and quarters with the sponge.
5. Move onto the toe cap and the vamp.
6. Leave ten minutes, brush hard, finish with cloth.

My tip as a shoe specialist

Do the eyelet facing and the tongue last of all, with a sponge that is very nearly dry. Dark brown cream gathers in the lace holes, sits there and dries as a row of black dots along both sides of the shoe, and once it has set in a punched hole it is a genuine nuisance to get back out. Work the main panels while the pad is loaded, then wipe most of it off on a cloth before you go near the lacing. Two minutes of restraint saves a long session with a cocktail stick.

Specifications

At a glance

• Pack: 50ml with sponge applicator
• Depth measured: Dark chocolate, warm not red
• Site listing: Oak Brown, 177
• Carrier: Natural waxes holding pigment
• Designed for: Smooth and finished leather
• Not designed for: Suede, nubuck, greasy hide
• Alongside it: Stiff brush and soft cloth
• Range: Kaps Delicate, 70 shades
• Origin and shelf price: Polish made, £5.99

Frequently asked questions

My shoes are a light oak tan. Will this match?

No, and it would be a costly mistake. This measures several shades below a light oak and pulls a tan shoe most of the way to chocolate in one coat. Kaps 168 Whiskey or 166 Camel suit a genuine oak tan.

Is it near enough to black for very dark shoes?

This is a brown, clearly and definitely, so against black it reads warm and slightly rusty. For an almost black brown, Kaps 159 Raisin is the shade that does that job.

Will it help on a dark brown leather sofa?

On a scuffed arm or a worn cushion edge it works well. Do a hidden patch first, because upholstery leather often carries a different topcoat.

Where can I buy the Kaps Oak Shoe Cream 177 – 50ml Dark Chocolate Brown Leather Cream in the UK?

Shoespecialist.co.uk has 177 waiting. We stop charging for delivery over £50, an order landing with us short of five on a working day leaves at once, and returns are open for sixty days afterwards.