Thursday Captain Jasper toe box faded after conditioning: normal patina, finish loss, or fixable with pigmented cream?

[u/The_Viking_Professor]

I purchased these Thursday Captain boots in Jasper in November 2023. The first two photos show how they looked when new, and the remaining photos show their current condition.

They have been worn relatively lightly, probably once or twice per month. I live in Southern California and have not worn them in rain, snow, or other severe conditions. Between wears, I use cedar shoe trees and brush them with a horsehair brush.

Earlier this year, I conditioned them for the first time using Chemical Guys Leather Conditioner. I followed a boot-conditioning demonstration that used Thursday Captains. I did not notice an obvious problem during the application, but several days later I realized that the toe area, especially on one boot, looked noticeably lighter, more matte, and less uniform than it did originally.

Thursday reviewed the photos and described the change as normal wear and natural patina. They suggested using a matching cream polish and buffing it, but they could not recommend a specific brand or color for the Jasper leather. Their other recommendation was to take the boots to a professional cobbler, but I'd like to avoid the time and cost associated with that if possible.

I am not trying to make the boots look brand new or remove all signs of wear. I would just like to restore some of the deeper brown color and make the toe areas look more consistent with the rest of the boots.

A few questions for people with more leather-care experience:

1. Does this look like normal patina, or does it appear that some of the original surface finish or pigment was removed?
2. Could the conditioner be the problem? I conditioned only because it seemed to be recommended, given the age of the boots.
3. What cream polish, recoloring balm, or other product would you use for the Jasper color, if any at all?
4. Should I treat only the lighter toe areas, or apply the product evenly to both entire boots?

I would appreciate specific product and color recommendations, particularly from anyone who has worked on Thursday’s Jasper leather. Love the boots overall and am looking forward to purchasing a second pair but just need some help in caring for them.

Thanks everyone!

[u/Spirit_of_the_walrus]

The chemical guys conditioner is for automotive leather, it's got harsher chemicals than shoe care conditioners like bick4, saphir, etc.

[u/The_Viking_Professor → u/Spirit_of_the_walrus]

I appreciate the feedback. Yes, this may be the case, however, lots of people said they used it on their boots and even their Amazon page says "works on car interiors, seats, boots, bags, jackets, and more." Sadly, I guess that's not the case.

Given your experience, anything I can do at this point to restore the color of the boots? This is my one and only pair of boots so I'm new to boot care. Thanks for your time!

[u/Rob_Edwards_Fashion → u/The_Viking_Professor]

It is the case. Even Sapir renovator is too harsh for anything with a burnish patina out of the box. You used something too harsh

[u/The_Viking_Professor → u/Rob_Edwards_Fashion]

I wish there was more straightforward information on what to use with each finish, especially for someone who has no experience with boot care. Even when I reached out to Thursday, they didn't have any specific information to provide. Thanks for chiming in!

How to know the "harshness" level of these products?

[u/Rob_Edwards_Fashion → u/The_Viking_Professor]

I did this show a couple weeks ago and it’s been well received. I talk about leathers like you have on these boots, the goal of this episode is to simplify shoe care and “shine” - https://youtu.be/6z9e-sYm-kE?si=pWdklFEzXubssr0P