Polishing brogues??

[Thunderbolt]

Hi all,

I'm an old military guy, and I'm going to be polishing my brogues. HOWEVER:

There are so many holes, tabs and other places for polish to get stuck in and built up in!

So how the heck do I polish these things?? I'll have to remove the lacquer first with some rubbing alcohol, then go to it with an old t-shirt and Kiwi, and plenty of spit (cold water). I don't like the old dauber brush and shine brush setup, I've never been able to get a great polish with them.

But I'm not sure how to spit shine these things without getting the polish in all the holes and such. Let alone polish them to a high gloss like my other dress shoes.

Ideas??

T.

[thanmuwa]

well, this guy has some advice, although he seems to have wanted to fill the holes.....
Edit: found more info on how to clean out the holes once you have accidentally got polish in :-)

[DWFII]

As a shoemaker and an old military man myself...I have several comments...

First, a toothpick works fine if you get build up in your broguing.

But, and second, you know as well as I that spit shining a pair of shoes is done slowly, incrementally and with the smallest amount of polish that the cloth will hold. And only done over the toe (maybe on the hard parts of the heel area) Use sparing amounts of polish on the rest of the shoe--it will shine better and not build up.

Third, don't use cream unless you have a deep scuff and even then don't expect miracles.

Fourthly ignore any advice to heat or burn wax into or onto a leather shoe. The heat of molten wax, all by itself, will destroy the leather.

If you spitshine as above, you shouldn't get any significant buildup in the broguing...and that which you do get can, as I said, be cleaned out with a toothpick. But except for the first time, when you need to build your wax base, you shouldn't need to clean the broguing but maybe once every three or five times.

[george7]

Don't put too much wax on and it won't gunk up the holes. I just use a little parade gloss (I know, it collects dust faster) and then polish away with the brush. It gets as shiny as a spit shine with wax, but you get a lot less build up.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Are your shoes, by any chance, patent leather? I ask because patent leather shoes are dyed and lacquered-- they aren't polished, and aren't meant to be (I believe there is a slightly different finish applied to the leather prior to lacquering, but I'm not positive). I'd suggest you take it easy before stripping the lacquer and seek some professional advise, or at least google "patent leather" and see what you are up against.

[Bugbear]

I am not able to polish my own shoes, so take them to a shoe shop... But I have heard that a tooth pick can work, and remember my grandfather doing that after working on his shoes.

I did google patent leather a while back, and there is a lot of strange advice out there. I would like to know what DWFII suggests.

[###KILTEDKIWI###]

So how the heck do I polish these things?? I'll have to remove the lacquer first with some rubbing alcohol, then go to it with an old t-shirt and Kiwi

ah ;) i hope that you are refering to the famous brand of nugget (as in parade gloss nugget a type of "kiwi" nugget), and not a small iconic, flightless, endangered, noctirnal bird found only in New Zealand...

i believe my are patent leather as they look like they have been painted and buffed for a century...

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/6629/kiwi2vp.jpg

[###KILTEDKIWI###]

lol

all i can picture now is an american frantically rubbing his shoes with a small ball of fluff with a beak

lulz

[Bugbear]

Don't forget that a kiwi is a fruit also known as the Chinese gooseberry! I do kind of wonder why Kiwi polish is named kiwi...

[DWFII]

Ted,

I don't know precisely what old patent leather was made of but I've been in this business for 35+ years and for most of that time "patent" leather has been a rough, poor quality leather with a plastic (vinyl?) top. It is one of the ways the leather trade recoups some of the cost in damaged or waste hides.

Perhaps if I had come along years ago, I might have had a better opinion of patent but I don't like it and I never use it. I've yet to meet a plasticized leather that "breathes." I have heard tell that the best way to deal with it is to put mineral oil on it...that alone is supposed to revitalize the shine.I suspect that refers to the plastic top patent.

Beyond that I plead ignorance. You're on your own with patent until a real expert comes along.