Had some new tan shoes polished last night.

Didn't really need them polished but figured it would be good for the leather and would help the enterprising polisher guy who's working not begging.

Thing is, I preferred them before. They look too dark now, brown pretty much.

I have given them a good buff with an old white tee shirt but this hasn't done much to restore the tan colour.

Apparently saddle soap and vodka is what I need. This will restore most of the area to its orignal state and leave some of the difficult to reach areas darker, which I don't mind. That would be quite a nice effect.

Cheers

SB

I grew up on a large ranch in the Western US and we made our own. Different brands vary slightly in ingredients but all are basically this:

It does contain a mild soap because saddles and other leather tack get very dirty. That's not the problem here.

It contains neetsfoot oil but if you buy it you don't know if that natural oil was cut with petroleum oil. Neetsfoot oil will darken leather. Ranchers don't care but you might.

It contains glycerin and lanolin and beeswax, all of which are to preserve the leather.

It really is great stuff for what's intended, but I don't think it's your answer here. It does a wonderful job of cleaning, softening and preserving leather even though it darkens it over time.

Since I don't know what the guy used, I have no idea how to remove it. If it's in the pores you may be stuck with it but I don't know.

In colder climates I would definitely use saddle soap on things like work boots etc. to clean, soften, preserve and even somewhat water proof them.

I'm posting only to tell you I think you need something else, or just accept it.

A lot of equestrian gear is imported into Thailand. I think that in the event of not locating a saddlers in Bangkok, I would try ordering saddle soap, online.

Murphy's oil soap (a liquid ) is a good substitute and can be found in the more upscale foreigner groceries in the household section.. You can also use a liquid wood soap that most high-end teak furniture stores would carry. But not sure any cleaning product wil lighten the leather back up- they all tend to darken, maybe a very weak solution of water and Deetol antiseptic which is an acid, or vinegar- yes apple cider vinegar might work nicely .

Coconut oil to preserve the colour is a last suggestion.

Find an equestrian centre, They should have some. The only one I know of is in Pattaya, but there must be more in LOS.

Find an equestrian centre, They should have some. The only one I know of is in Pattaya, but there must be more in LOS.

That's interesting. Can you furnish us with an address?

Well, I could google it for you, but I'm sure you can do that yourself.