Shinello — Shoe Shine Guide | shinello.net
Three forms of polish do three different jobs — here is what each one gives you in gloss, conditioning and drying time.
Shoe polish comes as wax paste, cream emulsion and liquid. Wax gives the highest gloss, while cream puts the most conditioning back into the leather; liquid is the lightest of the three on both counts and dries fastest.
All three are made from waxes such as carnauba, beeswax and paraffin, dissolved in a solvent like turpentine or a petroleum distillate. The solvent carries the wax into the grain of the leather and then evaporates, which is why every coat needs a few minutes of drying before it can be buffed.
Carnauba wax, the hardest of the common natural waxes, is harvested from the leaves of the Brazilian palm Copernicia prunifera. It is the component that gives a wax paste film its hardness and its ability to hold a reflection.
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Cream emulsion is the form that puts the most conditioning back into the leather, which makes it the right choice on dry or creased uppers and on scuffs, before any wax goes on. Wax over dry leather seals the surface without restoring moisture.
Liquid polish gives a quick single-coat shine in a thinner film than paste. It is convenient for travel and for a fast touch-up, but it does not build the layered base that a mirror shine needs — that job belongs to wax paste alone.
Before modern shoe polish was introduced in the late nineteenth century, people protected leather with dubbin, a grease of tallow and wax. Dubbin conditions heavily but leaves a dull, heavy film compared with modern paste.
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