Shoe polish

[Phantomfixer]

Hey all,

I found several cans of old Kiwi shoe polish. There is no date on the can. The price tag reads
.89 Rite Aid; not terribly old, the polish was made in Douglassville PA. Current Kiwi is imported.
The reason for the post...I can't believe how much better the old polish is. It is very thick and pasty, the polish sticks to the leather and buffs out sooooo much better than new Kiwi.
I have used Kiwi since 1983 and over the years, I never really noticed the change but now my eyes are open.

Can anyone recommend a polish other than Kiwi that is of the same caliber as old Kiwi???
BTW if anyone is interested, a can of blue polish came with my find, does anyone have a use for a 1 1/8 oz can of vintage Kiwi polish???
John

 

[Tomasso]

Can anyone recommend a polish other than Kiwi that is of the same caliber as old Kiwi???

 

[Phantomfixer]

Thanks A.C.
here is what I found and thanks for the tip....
http://leffot.com/shop/saphir-wax/
John

 

[Isshinryu101]

HA! This polish GREATLY exceeds Kiwi in terms of quality! Good suggestion. On a side note, a wax-based polish (like Kiwi) should NEVER be used on the flexing areas of old shoes. Cream Polish only for old shoes. Wax on the toebox can make a very nice shine, though.

 

[Phantomfixer]

and here I thought shoe polish was just shoe polish....why no wax based on creased areas of old shoes vs new shoes?

 

[Paul Roerich]

and here I thought shoe polish was just shoe polish....

When it comes to the market, is anything really just anything?

 

[bburtner@moran]

Fiebings...

 

[regius]

Wondering if I could resurrect this thread. Can’t seems to find another, better old thread, when this one is quite short and neat.

I seem to not be able to grasp the skill of shoe polishing, it’s been a great frustration. I am stocked with some good products (I think). Several cans of Alden’s and Crocket Jones polish/wax polish, including a neutral color one. Then I have all those various leather conditioners including the Venetian Cream from Viberg.

Now, I’ve done these steps:
1. Use big brush to dust away dirt and prep the surfaces
2. Apply a little wax polish (they say less is more when comes to polish?)
3. Wait a few min
4. Use a cotton cloth to polish and try to shine.

At step 4, the surface just keeps getting cloudier and cloudier. No matter what pressure and motion I use (and you are supposed to use light pressure only). BUT, the one motion that did create the shine was the the long towel, left and right one as seen at train stations. Note that this classic motion is NOT always highlighted in many shoeshine article and videos, it seems to be not absolutely necessary.

I wonder where I did wrong or used the wrong product or the wrong amount, and is there any motion other than the left and right with both hands that’d work? Cause I’d much prefer not to use the two hands L-R motion.






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[Dphillip]

After you apply the polish instead of going after it with a cloth towel try a good horse hide shoe brush. I’ve still got my Marine Corp issue shoe brush from 40 years ago. I always use it first after applying the polish and never need to use a cloth. Just a light brushing, no need to bear down.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Wondering if I could resurrect this thread. Can’t seems to find another, better old thread, when this one is quite short and neat.

I seem to not be able to grasp the skill of shoe polishing, it’s been a great frustration. I am stocked with some good products (I think). Several cans of Alden’s and Crocket Jones polish/wax polish, including a neutral color one. Then I have all those various leather conditioners including the Venetian Cream from Viberg.

Now, I’ve done these steps:
1. Use big brush to dust away dirt and prep the surfaces
2. Apply a little wax polish (they say less is more when comes to polish?)
3. Wait a few min
4. Use a cotton cloth to polish and try to shine.

At step 4, the surface just keeps getting cloudier and cloudier. No matter what pressure and motion I use (and you are supposed to use light pressure only). BUT, the one motion that did create the shine was the the long towel, left and right one as seen at train stations. Note that this classic motion is NOT always highlighted in many shoeshine article and videos, it seems to be not absolutely necessary.

I wonder where I did wrong or used the wrong product or the wrong amount, and is there any motion other than the left and right with both hands that’d work? Cause I’d much prefer not to use the two hands L-R motion.

Good morning. Not sure what went wrong. Clear gloss wax makes shine in my experience. I use

How to work the mirror shine: (1) Remove old wax or shoe polish - Saphir Reno’Mat . In treating much used/polished shoes I find getting the shoe down to the "beginning" is helpfull. Use the Reno sparingly as it is powerful.


(2) Gloss wax - Saphir Mirror Gloss Wax.

Do use small amounts and water. If you puruse the vid (very long) it provides a terrific outline for a gloss shine on the toe box of the shoes. I mostly use creme polish on my calfskin shoes and then go to the gloss wax product to get shine. On black dress balmorals I do use Kiwi black, but sparingly and spiff it up with clear gloss wax.

Some pic examples of the gloss on the shoe toe areas below.

I hope that this assists. Best, Eric -