How to remove scuffs from Dr. Martens boots

I recently found a pair of Dr. Martens at the Goodwill Outlet that were scuffed. They were only $10 and Docs have been on my thrift wish list for a long time, so it was worth a try to clean them up. I reached out on Instagram and asked for tips on how to clean Dr. Martens and the majority of the responses suggested Mr. Clean eraser. Mr. Clean eraser is my go-to cleaning tool for thrifted shoes, however, it wasn’t cutting it on the patent leather.

A few people suggested nail polish remover or a pencil eraser. A pencil eraser worked well on a few small scuffs but this needed a little more elbow grease. The best solution was regular nail polish remover. Apply a small amount of nail polish remover on a cotton swap and rub the scuffs out. Don’t use acetone! It will ruin the leather.

This took about 10 minutes and most of the scuffs are gone. I finished it up with a Kiwi shoe shine to condition the leather. I’m happy with the results!

before / after dr. martens shoe cleaning
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