Smooth Black Shoes

October 1, 2007 11:12 AM

Tips for keeping black "man-made leather" shoes looking sharp?

I have several pairs of cheap black shoes, boots and sandals that are fake leather. I love them and they've lasted forever, but they acquire scuffs very much like their natural counterparts. How can I reblacken or clean this matte surface?

I'm not sure if every pair is bicast leather, or if there may be no actual leather component beneath the surface, or if that matters.

posted by Ambrosia Voyeur to clothing, beauty, & fashion (4 comments total)

Seriously -- a permanent sharpie is a must.
posted by wryly at 11:29 AM on October 1, 2007

A marker will only do so much, and if your fake leather is at all shiny, the marker will render the scuffs matte. In other words, it won't match and it'll look patchwork.

What you might want to get is a leather repair kit, preferably geared to scuffs. These work for non-leather/vinyl shoes as well.
posted by cmgonzalez at 12:34 PM on October 1, 2007

Take it to shoe repair. They should be able to examine the material and then advise you on a brush to smooth out the scuffs and shoe polish in the right color to cover it up.
posted by junesix at 1:44 PM on October 1, 2007

I agree with junesix. An intermediary measure, if the scuffs aren't super-scuffy, is to get some black scuff cover, which you should be able to buy anywhere you can buy shoe stuff -- grocery store, drug store, whatever. That'll blacken any darn thing.
posted by YoungAmerican at 1:54 PM on October 1, 2007