Kaps Turquoise Shoe Cream 165 – 50ml Deep Petrol Teal Leather Cream

Description

Kaps Turquoise Shoe Cream 165 – 50ml Deep Petrol Teal Leather Cream, a saturated petrol teal far deeper than turquoise suggests, fifty millilitres, applicator included, made for the bright pair that keeps being beaten by the navy ones

Everyone who owns a teal pair also owns a navy pair, and the navy pair wins every argument in the hallway. It is safer, it goes with a great deal more, and it does not need thinking about first thing. Meanwhile the teal shoes quietly lose their edge along the toe, and once the brightness has gone the whole reason you bought them has gone with it.

This is not the pale swimming pool turquoise the name calls to mind. Read off the pot, 165 is a deep petrol teal with very high saturation and a clear blue bias, which is a much more wearable place to sit and a far better match for teal leather that has already darkened.

Petrol teal, 50ml, £5.99, and a sponge applicator you will not lose.

Why choose this deep petrol teal shoe cream?

• It is petrol, not swimming pool. The word turquoise sends people looking for a pale aqua, and this measures nothing like that at all. It is dark and intensely saturated with the blue clearly winning out over the green, which is where almost all teal footwear actually sits in practice.
• Saturation is what fixes a faded bright shoe. Coloured leather fades by losing intensity rather than by changing shade, so a weak cream in roughly the right hue does nothing whatsoever. There is real strength in this pigment and a single thin coat visibly puts the punch back into the panel.
• Blue bias keeps it out of trouble. A teal that leans green drifts towards a slightly sickly bottle colour as it dries down on leather. Leaning towards blue instead keeps the finish clean and modern, and it stops the shoe looking as though it has been touched up at home. Intensity is the whole job here.
• Wax first and pigment second, which is the right way round. The natural wax base means the colour is carried into the leather on something nourishing. Bright leathers are usually thinner and more heavily finished than plain ones, and they crack a good deal sooner if they are never fed at all.
• The sponge is why the edges look right. On a strongly coloured shoe the giveaway is always the border, where cream has not quite reached the sole or has flooded over it. The moulded applicator gives you far more control at that edge than a cloth ever will.
• Enough here for years of occasional wear. Bright shoes come out for good weather and good reasons rather than every day of the week. At a pea a pair, this pot will still have plenty left in it when the teal ones have been to a dozen summer weddings.

How to use the Kaps Turquoise Shoe Cream 165 – 50ml Deep Petrol Teal Leather Cream

Strong colours are easy to apply and easy to get everywhere, so the preparation matters more than the technique. Protect your surroundings, work thinly, and let it dry properly.

1. Brush the shoes down and take the laces out.
2. Lift the surface grime off with a wrung cloth.
3. Let the uppers dry fully before you begin.
4. Charge the applicator and lay the colour on thinly.
5. Pay attention to the toe and the flex creases.
6. Allow ten minutes before brushing the panels up softly.

My tip as a shoe specialist

Put a sheet of newspaper down under the shoe and let it stick out well past the sole on every side of it. A pigment this strong flicks off a brush in tiny specks that you will not notice at the time, and deep teal on a pale carpet is a permanent addition to the room. You will find the marks a fortnight later and have no idea at all where they came from. Two minutes of newspaper saves a genuinely irritating discovery. Spread it wider than you think you need to.

Specifications

At a glance

• Format: 50ml pot, applicator in the cap
• Measured shade: Deep petrol teal, very saturated
• Named on site as: Turquoise, 165
• Contents: Pigment in natural wax
• For use on: Smooth and finished leather
• Do not use on: Suede, nubuck, textile
• Best tools: Built in sponge, soft brush
• Family: The Kaps Delicate creams
• From: Poland at £5.99

Frequently asked questions

Will 165 match a bright aqua trainer?

Probably not, because it measures a good deal darker and bluer than an aqua upper. On a pale bright shoe it reads as a shade shift rather than a top up, so test the tongue before committing to the pair.

Can I use it to turn a pale blue shoe teal?

You can shift it over two or three coats, though a cream is never a dye and the result wears unevenly at the flex points. A proper leather dye is the honest tool for that.

Does it stain the stitching?

Pale thread will take some of the colour, yes. Keep a damp cloth to hand and wipe along the welt every so often as you work.

Where can I buy the Kaps Turquoise Shoe Cream 165 – 50ml Deep Petrol Teal Leather Cream in the UK?

This shade is ready to go from Shoespecialist.co.uk. We absorb the postage above £50, anything in before the five oclock weekday line is dispatched that day, and the return window is sixty days long.