How to Clean Suede Shoes

Introduction

In this week's shoe care academy video the champ Prettyboy Rob takes on not 1 but 2 pairs of Suede Air Force 1’s. We picked up a pair of both the red and black Air Force 1's that were both absolutely destroyed from eBay. The suede on both of these shoes are super crusty and matted, making both pairs look nasty. Along with the dirt and grime trapped deep into the materials. It is going to be nearly impossible to bring these shoes back to life again ,but we will see what the Sneaker battle champion Pretty Boy Rob does to bring these pairs back to life once again.

Products Used

To bring these pairs back to life Rob uses the Essential Revive Bundle which features our Reshoevn8r Mink oil, Horsehair Brush, and Dry Suede Kit, along with our Essential Kit which features a microfiber towel, Reshoevn8r cleaning solution as well as our soft, medium, and stiff brush. This Bundle has everything you need to resurrect your cooked suede shoes.

Beginning the Clean

Rob starts off the video by using a dry soft brush on the uppers to remove all of the surface level dirt and grime. He does this because going straight to using the cleaning solution can push surface level dirt further into the shoe making it harder to clean. After going over it with the dry brush, he then dips the soft brush into water mixed with Reshoevn8r cleaning solution, and starts scrubbing on the uppers. When cleaning suede it is important to not oversaturate the shoe with water because it can cause the shoe to bleed. The bleeding of color can get onto the white parts of the shoe, absolutely ruining your prized kicks. Which is why you try to use the least amount of water and solution possible, while drying the shoe with a towel as you clean. Doing this will prevent bleeding onto other parts of the shoe, while giving them a deep and effective clean.

Elbow Grease

Next you will use the medium brush to clean the midsole, and move onto the stiff brush to get off any hard to clean spots on the midsole and then to clean the outsole. After scrubbing the entire shoe with our regular brushes and solution the suede is still a little messed up on both of these with some dirt sticking to the delicate materials, which is why we have the dry suede kit and mink oil. The dry suede kit features our dry suede brush and eraser which helps remove the stains while turning the suede silky smooth. After using this on the uppers of both shoes there is a night and day difference with how these shoes look. Now for the finding touches Rob sprays some Mink oil to revive the color while using the horsehair brush to make it even smoother.

Video Link

After adding the Mink oil these Air forces are back to looking brand new except for a little bit of bleeding around the shoe. If you want to see how to clean your all suede shoes hit the link below!