SAPHIR REPTAN Leather Polish colourless Size: 16

I recently bought this vintage patchwork snakeskin handbag which was a bit dull and flaky, so after doing some research found this stuff which has made it look and feel much better.Easy enough to apply and buff to a nice shine after a couple of hours (although the cloth supplied was too fluffy).As you can see, there are many different types of snakeskin here and it has worked nicely on all of them!

Very appropriate for shoes, wallets in crocodile, caïman, alligator, lizard.

This product consists of a small 50ml jar of conditioning cream and a cotton cloth.The cream itself is the colour and consistency of the moisturiser you might use on your own skin.Details are a little hard to come by - the packaging isn't helpful - but I believe this product is lanolin-based, for the conditioning, with some hard waxes, to help with the shine.In that way it's very similar to Saphir's Renovator cream which I very much like, although Renovator is mink oil-based. It appears that mink oil is good for calf (and other mammalian) leathers whereas lanolin is best for exotic leathers (i.e. any leather not derived from a mammal). I've no idea about the science behind this (if any) but these pots are small and cheap (at least relative to a pair of good shoes) so having them both isn't a problem.I've recently bought my first pair of exotic footwear - a truly gorgeous pair of Tony Mora zip-sided ankle length cowboy boots in olive brown python.Apparently one thing you should not ever do is get python wet - the scales will curl upwards but will not return when dry. Given that I live in the north of Scotland these boots will be for indoors and fair weather.Reptile scales are impervious - just like fingernails - so this cream is to moisturise and condition the leather between and under the scales.It's very easy to apply - I used my fingers so I could feel the grain of the leather and always follow the grain of the scales.The - pictorial - instructions say leave for 5 mins and then buff off. I left them overnight and then used a microfibre cloth. I'm sure the cotton cloth supplied or a brush would have been fine. Again light pressure and always along the grain of the scales (to avoid lifting them).The cream was quickly absorbed and a gentle buffing with the microfibre cloth got them to the semi-shine that they came with. A very pleasing result.Information on the internet says that this cream gives a measure of waterproofing. That maybe so but I've also ordered some waterproofing spray that's specially formulated for exotic skins.I've been very impressed using Renovator on calf skin shoes and boots. This Reptan cream seems to have the same effect on my python boots.Is it really necessary? I'm not sure. My boots are not work boots, and will not get a huge amount of wear. I suspect that any regular shoe cleaning product wouldn't do too much damage. But...there's no point taking that chance especially as this special cream is no more expensive than the products for calfskin.I'm really pleased with this product but I can be absolutely sure that it does what it says.

Great quality and easy to use

I got some new (to me) vintage teju roper boots. I used some angelus cleaner and then followed up with the reptan. They were already in good condition, but these two products really added that little bit of extra life to them.

A wonderful product, keeps snakeskin really supple and does not block the pours.

Really useful product, used on croc watch straps and revived some of the sheen and lifted some dirt.

Regarding the type and finish of reptile leather: I'm lead to believe that real alligator skin is supplied in two main finishes: either a (less natural) shiny/glazed finish or a (more natural) satin/dull (or 'safari') finish. Various sites on the Internet seem to suggest that traditional leather treatments will damage alligator skin however, no statement is made about the finish of the skin. Are both types of skin equally susceptible to damage from traditional leather waxes? I wish more information was available on the proposed mechanism of damage so that I could make informed decisions. Anyway, my watch strap is made from satin finished alligator, so please keep this in mind when considering the results I had!Regarding this product: I don't like it. The stated capacity is incorrect: the pot is 50ml not 75ml. But what bothers me more is it behaves similar to PVA glue (it goes sticky and then dries to a glue-like gunge that it difficult to remove). The instructions require you to remove excess and buff after five minutes which I didn't do (I applied liberally and left it on). Admittedly this deviation was my own fault; however I'm still concerned about the glue-like nature of the product. If you do apply it liberally and then allow it to dry (as I did) be warned, it's not coming off easily! I struggled a long time to rub off the over-spill from the watch and clasp so much so that I now won't use it again. How is something that apparently dries like glue going to feed and moisturise leather? Any material experts out there: why can I not use traditional wax/oil based leather treatments on reptile skin? Apparently reptile skin is very durable so then how come it is less resistant to things that normally preserve other types of leather? I do not want to risk destroying my alligator strap. I'm now looking for an alternative product.Update 23/11/2016: Okay I've done it: I've abundantly applied traditional leather treatments to the alligator strap (i.e. oil and wax). I undertake to update this review when there are developments. Watch this space...Update 28/3/2017: I've mentioned an apparent "crack" before (comment now deleted), but I've concluded after several months that there never was any crack: it was simply a deeper fold in the skin that had filled with wax: it was the wax that appeared to crack after time so no problems with the skin. When I now wax the leather I buff it with a horsehair brush as final step to remove any excess wax and frankly so far (4 months later) the strap is looking amazing. My treatments appear to only benefit the leather: it looks better than when new!Update 23/11/2017: I’ve had my watch strap now for a year and it is still going strong (see pics). I wear it constantly, only taking it off for washing and when using power tools. Basically I’ve worn it uninterrupted for the whole year even when sleeping. I think it is in great shape and I suspect I should get at least another couple of years out of it, or even longer. The only “degradation” I can see it a dulling of the surface where it has been rubbing against my clothing, but I think this is normal for leather. There is no cracking, separation or drying out. Since throwing the Reptan away (i.e. early on) I’ve been applying the following liberally (I’m not kidding):Sedgwick Leather Feed;Burke’s Gun Oil;Albion Swiss Leather Balm.I know, normally “gun oil” is rubbish and dissolves even the wooden parts of a gun! But I use the Burke’s stuff on anything from wood, rubber and leather, and cleaning the gun! Normally I soak the strap in the oil and then apply copious amounts of one of the waxes and leave it like that for a while before brushing the excess wax away.