I'm sure a lot of you own nubuck shoes and have seen them get destroyed easily. Though its a more durable form of leather (as compared to suede) it stains easy and super difficult to clean. Nubuck is a form of leather which is soft and velvety to touch (kinda like suede). It looks a lot like suede so its easy to confuse the two. The best way to know for sure is to check on the shoe box itself (or ask me). Just so you know, those tan colored timberland shoes are USUALY nubuck, so if you've seen them then you know what I'm talking about. 

I dont own a lot of nubuck shoes so I've not tried a variety of products so I'll talk about what I've used and the fact that its worked for me. 

The first and the most important thing to do clean your nubuck shoes is to try and not get them dirty. I know it sounds silly but that's seriously the best way to take care of them. There are products that help this purpose too so dont start freaking out and close the page. The instructions are as follows: 

Cleaning instructions: 

• As soon as you buy a nubuck shoe get a protector spray. This is probably the single most important thing you can do to protect your shoes. I've used Shoe Protector by Footlocker and it worked really well for me. 
• Now once your shoes are protected cleaning them with this Timberland brush is cake work. 
• If you're already using your nubuck shoes and did not use the spray before wear, its not too late clean then nice with the brush and spray on a nice coat. Trust me you'll thank me later
• I've used Renewbuck by Timberland to clean those tough stains and it worked like a charm. Its easy to use and the best part is its available in Mumbai/India (@ the Timberland store at Pheonix Mills, Parel)
• Brush off the dirt after every wear. I've got a pair of Supra sneakers and I brushed them after every use and even today after about 3 years find it hard to believe they are so old. 

I've always loved nubuck shoes but shyed away from buying them because I thought cleaning them was a bitch. Through the years I figured nubuck does take a little more upkeep but then its not that tough. 

Finally some points to note: 

• Invest in good products and you'll save a lot of money buying new shoes
• Get Renewbuck
• Get Suede Brush
• Get a good shoe protector/water proofer, Timberland has Balm Proofer but I've not tried it yet. 
• NEVER use water unless explicitly mentioned in your shoe care instructions

Thats it peeps! now you can go ahead and buy those awesome nubuck shoes you wanted and as always feel free to reach out to me for any questions/concerns.