A suede cleaning brush is an essential tool to help maintain your suede shoes and should be used after each wearing. Use a suede cleaning brush to remove dirt from suede after wearing and to re-fluff the suede pile.
Products used in this video:
Natural Bristle Suede Cleaning Brush
Horn-Backed Suede Cleaning Brush
Crepe Brush for Suede and Nubuck
About Suede
The purpose of this guide is to discuss the differences between our types of suede cleaning brushes and to demonstrate their use. Suede shoes are incredibly easy to take care of. It's one of the most robust materials that you can have a pair of shoes made out of. The most important thing that you can do for the regular maintenance of a pair of suede shoes is to simply use a suede cleaning brush to just brush the suede daily, before and after you wear the shoes.
When brushing, use moderate to firm pressure. You don't want to use too much pressure because you can actually damage the suede, so using light to moderate pressure is certainly sufficient. Anywhere that you see any type of discoloration due to the accumulation of dust or dirt just brush those areas of the shoe, especially on the back of the shoe, where you naturally have a lot of accumulation of dirt and debris from driving or other things.
Natural Bristle Brush
This hard-bristle suede cleaning brush, consisting of a flexible boar bristle and wooden body, is used to remove dirt from suede after wearing and to re-fluff the suede pile. The natural bristles in this brush have a little bit more flex in them, and they're at varying lengths. Natural Bristle Brushes seem to do a better job getting into the suede, and are the least likely to damage the suede.
Combination Brush
This hard-bristle suede cleaning brush features a combination of brass bristles and natural or synthetic bristles. It is an essential tool to help maintain your suede shoes and should be used after each wearing. This brush features a horn backing like the Abbey Garment Brush.
Crepe Brush
The Saphir Crepe Rubber Brush features a soft, gummy rubber crepe "bristle" used to clean and re-fluff the pile on suede and, most importantly, nubuck shoes. Nubuck, which features a pile finer than suede, is very delicate and will be ruined if brushed with a traditional hard-bristle suede brush. The softness of the natural crepe combined with it's sticky texture makes it perfect for cleaning this delicate leather. The crepe brush is best used when at room temperature so that the crepe rubber is soft. Use like a normal brush. You will see that the crepe becomes darker as it accumulates dirt from cleaning the nubuck or suede. This is normal.
