What shoe polish?

Jonny69 · 20 Jun 2011 at 13:48

This might sound like a bit of an odd question. I'm struggling to find good quality shoe polish in the supermarkets and I'm nervous about shelling out premium dollar on anything from the shoe shops without knowing anything about it. Does anyone have any recommendations for smart black leather shoes?

Traditionally I've used Parade Gloss, but while it's great on parade shoes, it's not brilliant if you're not spit and polishing a toecap. It's a bit smeary with a brush and doesn't seem to protect the leather well. Likewise, Sainsburys own (don't seem to be able to get Cherry Blossom there any more) is just greasy and disappears quickly. I'm looking for something that will put that vintage high shine on a good quality leather shoe and soften and protect it.

Selekt0r · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:02

I've always just used parade gloss anyway - but I still use a duster to apply & buff rather than using a brush even if not doing a toecap/parade shoe.

Bunka · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:04

I've always used Kiwi polish with two brushes, one to apply and one to buff off, seems to do the job nicely. I'm borderline addicted to the smell as well

arknor · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:09

shoe polish is only as good as the person applying it

Cleeecooo · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:10

Bunka said:
I've always used Kiwi polish with two brushes, one to apply and one to buff off, seems to do the job nicely. I'm borderline addicted to the smell as well

Kiwi F TW

arknor said:
shoe polish is only as good as the person applying it

yeah, might be why all my shoes are crappy

Master_X · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:11

Bunka said:
I've always used Kiwi polish with two brushes, one to apply and one to buff off, seems to do the job nicely.

SeraphX · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:13

i used to use Kiwi, back when i was in the air cadets,
Take a small tea spoon, heat it up ( lighter, or some type of fire ) till it's very hot, rub it against the polish, then place and rub it into the shoe with the spoon, keep rubbing and after say a minute heat the spoon up again, repeat as required for around 5 minutes, buff with a clothe not a brush and your toecap should have a mirror finish

SeraphX · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:18

Moses said:

can't see that lasting long lol

wkingsnorth · 20 Jun 2011 at 15:54

I've always found kiwi parade gloss good for toe caps as well as parade shoes - although the standard Kiwi Black is supposedly better. The best thing I've found is to:
1) Really rub the polish in with a brush,
2) then take it off with another brush
3) Sprinkle a few drops of water onto the shoe/boot
4) Rub that in with some cotton wool
5) Repeat 3 & 4 a few times
6) Use a cloth (or thicker sock) to rub the remains off

Nick1881 · 20 Jun 2011 at 16:02

Whilst we're on the subject, I have some brown shoes that have faded, can I use polish to bring them back or are they rubbish leather or maybe even synthetic? I bought them from River Island so didn't expect much

Jonny69 · 22 Jun 2011 at 18:13

If they're synthetic you won't be able to do much. Leather usually comes back up though, and it depends what shade of brown you get.

I think I'm going to peruse the shoe shop tomorrow and see what they've got. Might end up resorting back to Kiwi if they can't convince me their stuff is better and why.

J1234 · 22 Jun 2011 at 18:17

Kiwi is the best imo!

TheCenturion · 22 Jun 2011 at 18:19

wkingsnorth said:
I've always found kiwi parade gloss good for toe caps as well as parade shoes - although the standard Kiwi Black is supposedly better. The best thing I've found is to:
1) Really rub the polish in with a brush,
2) then take it off with another brush
3) Sprinkle a few drops of water onto the shoe/boot
4) Rub that in with some cotton wool
5) Repeat 3 & 4 a few times
6) Use a cloth (or thicker sock) to rub the remains off

Pretty much this. Gets shoes so shiny!

Biohazard · 22 Jun 2011 at 18:19

Spit and shine

Begbie · 22 Jun 2011 at 18:57

Kiwi is the only boot polish to use, I don't even think shoe shops sell any different.

Just get a nice big brush which will help. But I use smallish ones all the time, and well they pass parades fine enough.

chrisd · 22 Jun 2011 at 19:51

Kiwi Parade Gloss Prestige

GolfNovember90 · 23 Jun 2011 at 03:25

Kiwi Black and a duster

all you need!

Knight_Of_Zero · 23 Jun 2011 at 04:08

Hmmmmmmmmmm... I love the smell of the stuff... Does that make me a bad person?

Oh and, I agree, I've always used Kiwi!

UberTiger · 20 Jan 2015 at 16:09

I just picked up a nice pair of Barker shoes, discounted as one of the shoes is very slightly faded compared to the other.

You can see the left shoe (right in the photo) is a bit lighter and faded in comparison to the right shoe. The right shoe feels slicker and more glossy, the left shoe feels more matte to the touch.

What's the best way for me to try and get them both looking the same and to their best?

The shop gave me a tin of Dasco High Gloss shoe polish in medium brown.

It's quite pinky in the can and transparent when applied, is this normal? Also it didn't seem to make much of a difference when I applied some to a sample, could it be it's just absorbing in and needs a lot or should I try a different polish? I don't want to mess them up and would rather buy some other polish if necessary.

newbiejim · 20 Jan 2015 at 16:58

http://www.pediwear.co.uk/saphir-shoe-care/products/5603.php

http://www.pediwear.co.uk/saphir-shoe-care/products/5547.php

What shoe polish?

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