It's not based, it's just dumb. Seriously:
- WITHOUT maintance, item X (your shoe) will stay intact for Y time.
- WITH proper maintance item X will stay intact for Y*2 time, possibly Y*3/Y*4/etc time.
There is simply no going around this, you have to be delusional or not thinking with your brain but with your emotions to go against reality. Without maintance your shoes will just live a shorter time.
>just greased mine and I can't get the grease off my hands; the only good thing is that it's transparent
Normal soap should do the trick. Good work. What type of grease did you buy? I recommend Saphir Medaille d'or Creme Pommadier 1925. Preferably use correct colour with rich pigments that will give your shoes a rich, fresh colour.