Cleaning white golf shoes?

[perseveringgolfer]

After months of mud and dirt the white FJ shoes look a state- even after wiping after each round- the mud and dirt gets ingrained and they look tatty for $150 shoes.

So, who has tried and tested guaranteed way to get them looking much better than they are?

[perseveringgolfer]

2 hours ago, Middler said:

• Clean with mild soap and water regularly, dry with soft clean towel.
• Keep them on shoe trees when not in use.
• Gently use a Magic Eraser once in a while.
• White shoe polish a couple times a year, use clean rags/towels. Regular old Kiwi for about $2 works fine, but you can spend more for a fancy polish.

Polishing shoes seems to be a lost art, but it's a great way to keep all your shoes looking great for a long time, and it costs next to nothing.

I've kept my white shoes looking great that way for decades...

 

Thanks, good advice for keeping them clean. Issue is with all the mud and dirt the last few months, it's ingrained. Short of buying new ones (which I have already done for the new season) I'd like to get these leather mofo's looking respectable again  

[perseveringgolfer]

11 minutes ago, Middler said:

When routine cleaning and Magic Eraser aren’t enough any more with ‘dirt ingrained’ usually in creases, polish takes it out or covers it up. Shoes look almost new again - I’ve done it dozens of times. Try it, you’ll see. Will cost you about $2. Or use Saddle Soap to deep clean and condition, then polish, also cheap.

Polishing shoes is a lost art, ask any vet. I grew up polishing all the shoes in our family weekly, military Dad...

Thank you.

I like the idea of saddle soap to deep clean first, then white solid polish applied by hand and cloth, not a fan of the liquid polishes, never seems to work as well on black shoes.

As an aside I used to find it therapeutic to clean my shoes many years ago so quite looking forward to doing it properly. Any other tips from a military man most appreciated.

[tony@CIC]

• Clean with mild soap and water regularly, dry with soft clean towel.
• Keep them on shoe trees when not in use.
• Gently use a Magic Eraser once in a while.
• White shoe polish a couple times a year, use clean rags/towels. Regular old Kiwi for about $2 works fine, but you can spend more for a fancy polish.

Polishing shoes seems to be a lost art, but it's a great way to keep all your shoes looking great for a long time, and it costs next to nothing.
I've kept my white shoes looking great that way for decades...

 

Great tip on the Kiwi white polish. I've used the liquid white polish that you sponge on but it's basically a coating that looks terrible after a few times.


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[perseveringgolfer]

5 shops today and not one sells white shoe polish- tons of black and tan plus suede but no white!!

[Kanoito]

One thing you should definitely avoid is brushing to get the dirt out. I did it with my first pair and the waterproof qualities were gone shortly after.

[Mr. 82]

20 hours ago, perseveringgolfer said:

After months of mud and dirt the white FJ shoes look a state- even after wiping after each round- the mud and dirt gets ingrained and they look tatty for $150 shoes.

So, who has tried and tested guaranteed way to get them looking much better than they are?

OxyClean in the spray bottle.

Shout in the spray bottle.

I've used both of these, and when I spray the shoes I then take a scrub brush to remove all evidence of dirt and debris.  When I am done they look as good as new.

I should also add that if you want clean shoe laces just throw them in the sink and bleach them in hot water for 15+ minutes.  The tongue of your shoe will not be helped much by any of these remedies.

[tony@CIC]

Being a boater and having to waterproof the canvas covers on occasion I always have a bottle of 303 waterproofing hanging around. I spray my shoes occasionally after they're cleaned - it seems to keep the dirt from penetrating. Also spray the laces after they've been cleaned. And yes I am a bit OCD 

[GregB135]

I watched a bit of a behind the scenes show about the Major League Baseball clubhouse personnel and what they do. This team's clubhouse folks clean the cleats with Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner.

I tried it on my dirtiest golf shoes, and except for the foam in the soles it worked like magic.

[Mr. 82]

4 hours ago, Middler said:

Oxyclean, Shout or other aggressive cleaners will work if you’re not too aggressive scrubbing AND you follow with a leather conditioner immediately after. If you don’t, you’ll shorten the life of the leather. If the uppers are synthetic it probably doesn’t matter.

Your clothes go in the wash after spraying with Oxyclean, Shout, etc. - it’s not meant to be left on to dry penetrate.

I’d try a Magic Eraser before resorting to Oxyclean FWIW.

https://h2obungalow.com/how-to-clean-white-leather-furniture/

 

I spray Shout on them, scrub with the brush, rinse off with a hose, and dry with a towel.  And since I only paid $60 for either pair of my Skechers, they are no doubt synthetic, so no worries about leather issues.

[HardcoreLooper]

When I worked at a country club back in the late 80s - early 90s, we always had white shoe polish for the members' shoes (and our own).  When I stopped working in the shop, I stopped buying white shoes.  We always used the Kiwi white (and the Kiwi black - I had a pair of navy blue FJ Classics that I'd polish with black to make them really dark).

[perseveringgolfer]

Update.

wiped with damp cloth.

cleaned with magic marker (worked well)

Further clean with saddle soap (worked even better)

Finally applied white shoe polish (not liquid) and a light buff.

They look superb for a shoe I've worn on average 2 times a week for 3 years in all weathers!

Final part is put in new cleats to have a pristine 'new' shoe for the season.

 

Heres the kicker though-see what I did - they are Adidas Adi Power boost, all internet searches say the cleats were never intended to be removed and would last 2 seasons!!! so I have plastic stumps and not cleats now. Meh!

[Flip4000]

I use a damp cloth ans wipe down after each round. However I do spray all my golf shoes when they are brand new with jason markk repel. Not sure if it does much, but i'd like to think it prevents major stains

[MattF]

I've heard that a Mr Clean type magic eraser pad works well on the white golf shoes. I haven't tried it myself but I know a few guys that swear by it.

[Golf2Much]

I've used the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers on my white shoes and it works great.   Not sure why...I guess that's why they call it magic!

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Yea I am a magic eraser guy 100% and for laces soak them in water with oxiclean