# Polishing Shoes



## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

EDIT: Don't read this thread. I went from using 99p polish to spending £100 on shoe care accessories within 24 hours of starting this thread! It's worse than detailing!


Right. I've always used the bottle of black polish with the sponge on the end then a quick brush. 

As a member of DW I'm guessing that there's a better way. My memories of sea cadets involve a tin of kiwi and a yellow duster but I don't know if this is any good either.

Anyone got any recommendations for products and techniques? I'm not looking for mirror finish but I've got a couple of pairs of fairly expensive shoes I'd like to look after a bit better than I usually do.


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## BrummyPete (Jun 10, 2010)

I use kiwi boot polish on both my Lowa work boots and also my 'going out' shoes, I just do a couple of thin layers on top of each other leave for 20 mins then buff


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Kiwi parade gloss.
http://m.wikihow.com/Polish-Shoes
A light coat of brown over the black polish will increase the depth of shine on them.. Dont use it excessively or you will have brown shoes.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Google Army spit shine and a few good tutorials will give you an idea how to get that deep glossy shine, you'll need a good polish, cotton wool balls and water which I think is better than actual spit. A bit of patience is required but if you have good leather to work on, once you get there it becomes quite easy to maintain a nice shine.


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## Franzpan (Mar 2, 2009)

Saphir Renovateur is good stuff followed by either their polish or cream. Or both!


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Dont use spit as s63 says it will bloom the finish.
Hold them under a slow running cold tap to really jewell the finish.
A jewellers sylvet cloth would be the best sort of cloth rather than cotton wool as this can scratch deep coats on a mirror finished wax job making them look dull.
A cheap quick dirty method is silcon spray left for five minutes then buffed. But not recomended.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Franzpan said:


> Saphir Renovateur is good stuff followed by either their polish or cream. Or both!


My favourite polish that gave the best results was Saphir Médaille d'Or, very expensive but so much better than Kiwi, available on the bay.


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## Eliasasas (Feb 22, 2014)

Clicking this thread I actually thought, because of the title, that you were asking for recommendations on what shoes to wear when polishing. I thought, this guy must be crazy if he's actually asking about that. Now one minute later I realise I'm the crazy person here for even thinking that thought... :wall:


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Eliasasas said:


> Clicking this thread I actually thought, because of the title, that you were asking for recommendations on what shoes to wear when polishing. I thought, this guy must be crazy if he's actually asking about that. Now one minute later I realise I'm the crazy person here for even thinking that thought... :wall:


Nothing crazy there, good footwear is an important factor when detailing.:thumb:


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## huvo (Dec 14, 2009)

Eliasasas said:


> Clicking this thread I actually thought, because of the title, that you were asking for recommendations on what shoes to wear when polishing. I thought, this guy must be crazy if he's actually asking about that. Now one minute later I realise I'm the crazy person here for even thinking that thought... :wall:


your not the only crazy person as I was thinking the same  being only 5 foot 4 inches I was hoping to see a pair of shoes that might help reach a roof when washing. Had visions of a pair of Elton John platforms aka 1970's style to solve all my out of reach issues.


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Yup cant agree more s63.
As funny as it was at the time looking back on it it was quite scary when the guy in the bay stood on a platform machining the roof of a motor.. Slipped caught jaw on gutter rail broke his chin and nose and had fourteen stitches to boot.
Not to mention the scratch he put across the roof and down the side.


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## danycrook (Jan 12, 2013)

the liquid polish with sponge dry the leather out and it will crack always better with kiwi and the brush


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## fifer807 (Sep 7, 2013)

Cotton wool. Parade gloss. Water and time.
Damp the cotton wool
Dip it into the polish lightly
Using small circular movement apply the polish.
Keep the cotton wool damp
Continue untill all the haze has gone
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat.

Or use Klear floor polish and put 1 layer of polish over the top to prevent colour change. Even better get a can of japlack and spray them.
A piece of tape will give a nice obvious line or feather the edge for that "put a lot of effort in" effect.


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

Appky kiwi polish put them under the grill 

Turn up the grill to max

Burn your shoes

Go buy some patent leather ones they are shiny already


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## ben4012 (Sep 8, 2013)

fifer807 said:


> Cotton wool. Parade gloss. Water and time.
> Damp the cotton wool
> Dip it into the polish lightly
> Using small circular movement apply the polish.
> ...


This. Expect normal kiwi, warm water and blow the water off to stop water spots.


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## m4rkymark (Aug 17, 2014)

We used to put polish into a tea spoon and warm it up before pouring it on and using the spit&polish method.


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## fifer807 (Sep 7, 2013)

> We used to put polish into a tea spoon and warm it up before pouring it on and using the spit&polish method.


I have used that method before on dimpled surfaces to get a good base layer down and fill the dimples.


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## nokia (Mar 3, 2009)

I get a regular wooden shoebrush, drive a screw half way through the wood, then attach to drill/drill driver. Then buff them to a high shine.


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## davo3587 (May 9, 2012)

Parade gloss on my danners.


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## Lugy (Nov 4, 2009)

I feel a 'Show us your shoes' thread coming on! :lmao:

Can't beat a pair of shiny black shoes though!


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Well you can
Red shoes with red stockinged feet leading to a nice long set of legs .....ENOUGH


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

Oh now your talking

Hang on not your bandy old legs in red stockings ??? Deffo ENOUGH

Which actually reminds of this night out in Prague


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## PaulaJayne (Feb 17, 2012)

Use distilled water when bulling shoes.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Lugy said:


> I feel a 'Show us your shoes' thread coming on! :lmao:
> !


Stupid idea, who in their right mind has photos of their shoes?


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

Be careful putting them on someone has put blocks of bloody wood in them you'll get splinters


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## Carshine (Nov 11, 2009)

Newspaper and Kiwi works for me


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

Thanks for the input everyone. My main concern is my Paul Smith Berty Brogues but I suspect I'll be practising on my M&S brogues first.


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

Always best to get a scrap shoe to practice on mate


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

This is what you need, and it contains carnauba.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

It also contains paraffin which makes the standard Kiwi a superior polish.


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

There are several good videos on YouTube from air cadets on how to get a good shine on shoes.


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

So I bought some polish today. I also realised how similar to detailing this is.

I bought a tin of standard Kiwi black polish, not the parade shine, because I'm not looking for super glossy. I'm just looking for a nice clean 'as new' look.

Tools:
Kiwi Black Polish Tin
2x brushes
Cotton wool balls
Water

I removed the laces then gave the shoes a quick clean with a damp cotton wool ball followed by a quick brush with the cleaning brush.

I then dipped the polish brush in the tin of polish then applied quite a lot of polish to each shoe. Once each shoe had a liberal coat of polish I gave them a good brush with the cleaning brush.

I then took a damp cotton wool ball which had been dipped in the tin of polish and buffed using small circular motions. This was repeated several times until the desired shine was achieved.

I committed the cardinal sin of not getting before/after pics or a 50/50 but I'm quite happy with the results.

James May helped out a bit 




I can see my polish collection growing rapidly... followed by a variety of cloths and brushes... oh and then there's the storage boxes required for keeping my equipment in. I'll admit I was nearly tempted to apply a coat of 476S when I noticed the 'contains real carnuba wax' message on the tin. 

Today was my old faithful M&S brogues. I think tomorrow I'll give my Bertys a go.


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## ben4012 (Sep 8, 2013)

pantypoos said:


> This is what you need, and it contains carnauba.


Parade gloss is good with brushes. Straight Kiwi black for bulling properly.


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

A couple of good shoe care guides are in the links here...

http://www.afinepairofshoes.co.uk/# 
http://www.hangerproject.com/shoe-care.html


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

I take it you have some good wooden shoe trees?


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

S63 said:


> I take it you have some good wooden shoe trees?


They're on the way... along with £65 worth of shoe care stuff from www.afinepairofshoes.co.uk !!!

After looking into it a bit more it's not a wax polish I need for my bertys, it's a creme polish ( http://www.afinepairofshoes.co.uk/c...phir-medaille-dor-pommadier-cream-polish-75ml ). So of course I need the renovator creme, the winter salt stain remover, the saddle soap, two polishing cloths (shoes need different ones to the car of course), the pommadier brush applicator, the chamois and a horsehair brush for buffing the creme.



> 1x Saphir Softwood Pommadier Brush - Natural for £3.00 each
> 2x Saphir Polishing Cloth - White for £3.50 each
> 1x High Quality Chamois Leather - Large (50x 70cm) for £10.00 each
> 1x Saphir Horsehair Brush - 18cm for £8.25 each
> ...


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

How much were these shoes ??


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

Dougnorwich said:


> How much were these shoes ??


About £250. But my Mrs has some Jimmy Choos and fancy handbags that I could use some of it on too.

Incidentally am I the only one that doesn't have a $239 toothpaste squeezer in my bathroom? http://www.hangerproject.com/chrome-plate-brass-toothpaste-squeezer.html


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Nanoman said:


> Incidentally am I the only one that doesn't have a $239 toothpaste squeezer in my bathroom? http://www.hangerproject.com/chrome-plate-brass-toothpaste-squeezer.html


 Hmmm... may consider them for the guest rooms in the East wing but would naturally require something more upmarket for the personal bathroom ...


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

Bought my missus some Jimmy choos for Xmas she can clean them herself

Mind you at £395 a pair I'd be hoping they would be self cleaning


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## BRYHER (Aug 19, 2008)

Don't just polish them add a patina, instructions here, WARNING ADICTIVE, http://the-shoe-snob.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/how-to-put-patina-on-your-shoes.html

how to polish shoes here, http://the-shoe-snob.blogspot.co.uk/p/polish-your-shoes-properly.html
enjoy Michael


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