How to remove shoe polish

[johns44]

want to remove old shoe polish from a knife sheath ,,without wrecking the leather thanks

[Trailrider]

want to remove old shoe polish from a knife sheath ,,without wrecking the leather thanks

Try rubbing alcohol, followed by a treatment of Lexol(R) Leather Conditioner.

[johns44]

what is lexol ,,wear can i get it thank you

[Rebel Dave]

You should be able to get Lexol at any good shoe repair store, providing you have a shoe repair place near ypu. If not regular "Leather conditioner will work. NOT MINK OIL.

Rebel Dave

[bedbugbilly]

You might try your local hardware - if you have one or if not - if you have a good feed store that deals in horse tack, etc.  I've seen it in both where I'm at in AZ for the winter.   

[joec]

Something I use to remove coatings of compounds from my leather strops is GoJo or some other hand cleaner. Now be sure to use the one with out Pumas as that will not work. Most of these things also add lanolin to the leather in the process. I use a paper towel and just rub it. Don't know if it will work with shoe polish but it does remove chromium oxide from my strops easily.

[St. George]

Kiwi Neutral Shoe Polish...

Weird, I know - but you'd be surprised at what it'll remove on leather.

Good Luck!

Scouts Out!

[Mogorilla]

I second  St. George.   It works well.   Also, just elbow grease.  If you start using alcohol, it will probably work to remove the colored polish, but can remove some of the dye on the project as well.  I have cleaned with saddle soap, my ususal go to, it does wonders too  Then follow with a homemade concoction of bee's wax, (2 parts) Extra virgin olive oil, and neatsfoot oil (3 parts each).   Heat the neatsfoot to just warm enough to melt the wax, add  the olive oil and stir to cool, as it thickens place in a jar, cools to a loose paste.  Buy a decent quality of extra virgin, there are loads of counterfeit oils out there, still one of the most faked products.  True extra virgin is the first cold pressed portion of oil, it should be fairly aromatic, smell like olives, sun, fresh, fruity.    Should also taste good on bread!   Like cooking wth wine, don't use it if you won't consume it.   Any other olive oil has been heated to extract more oil, the more you heat an oil, the quicker it will go rancid. (form peroxides).   Extra virgin will go rancid, but it will more than likely evaporate from your leather long before the peroxides begin to form.   (I was a food/oil chemist for 5 years before moving into more research oriented work).  I have never used lexol, big fan of 100% pure neatsfoot oil as well.   

[Trailrider]

Neats Foot Oil was intended for preventing cracking in the hooves of horses and cattle. But that is living tissue. Leather is not.  Neats Foot Oil will destroy the fibers of the leather. I definitely do NOT recommend it for use on leather. Lexol has other things in it which, although it includes some neats foot oil, prevents the fiber destruction. I've use it for years with never a problem...UNLESS you really overdo it. I generally spray it on or apply it with an old cotton T-shirt, then WIPE OFF THE EXCESS.

[ChuckBurrows]

Trailrider - once again you are making so far undocumented claims about Neats' foot oil and it's origins and dangers...

1) Neats foot oil was not invented for use on animal hooves - one of it's earliest (18th Century) and most well documented uses was for gun oil and it has been used successfully on leather for at least the last 200 years. Neats foot oil is/was traditionally made from the lower leg bones and hooves of cattle and at least Fiebings still makes theirs this way, the majority of Neats foot oil today and since the 1930's is made with a hog lard base.

2) As for the destruction of leather by Neatsfoot Oil - at least three tests I know of have been run by bonafide labs and found no such thing - EXCEPT when over oiling and that is the same no matter what - increase the oil level in bark tan leather above 18-22% and you will cause cellular breakdown. After over 50 years making and repairing leather I will say that over oiling is the #1 cause of leather deterioration and since Neatsfoot is commonly used and abused it has gotten a bad name as being THE culprit rather that the fact that it is plain over oiling that is the fault no matter what type of oil used. Those lab tests were printed in last few years by The Leather Crafter and Saddler's Journal as well as the Harnessmaker's Journal

2) Lexol Conditioner does not include Neats foot oil - it is a secret proprietary blend (most likely incorporating jojoba) that is an almost exact analog of sperm whale oil. The company that produces the Lexol Products also produces balms for burn victims and one of the problems that they encountered with burns was the constant need to re-apply the various balms due to evaporation of the oils. Their research for slowing evaporation has been used in their leather care products to produce various conditioners that are much slower evaporate.

With that said I like Lexol but also use Neats foot as well as tallow and EVOO for leather conditioning - all depends on the final product and it's intended usage

[Graveyard Jack]

what is lexol ,,wear can i get it thank you

I found it at Tractor Supply in the tack section. Some are more well stocked in this department than others.

[GunClick Rick]

Or for the old knife sheath look ,put the leather in a microwave for tad or a bit maybe even a scosh~You'll get nice new cracked leather