Untermensch
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 355
What's in the acid water? Is there an ingredients list?
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Spot on.Never had any problems with Kiwi parade gloss. In fact G&G recommended it when I asked them. Cherry Blossom is good too. Thier equivalent is regimental gloss.
No need to pay inflated prices for these 'exotic' brews with their marketing clearly aimed at the iGent shoo brigade.
What's in the acid water? Is there an ingredients list?
Yeah that’s the spirit. You’re a credit to the memory of the Aussies who stormed the trenches at Gallipoli.This thread was a thread for shoe shine people, but being the internet there are always a bunch of people who ruin threads with stupid stuff. I don't think l want to be part of this anymore if this is how it's going to be.
Well, l am really jumping into the big game of big time shoo polishers now.
Soon l will have the `Boot Black high shine collection'
The High-Shine Base primarily serves to smooth the leather surface so that the High-Shine Coat can be used in the next step to create a high gloss.
The High Shine coat is like a mirror gloss with extra waxes that are extra hard and hence create the shine. It comes in clear, black, dark brown and burgundy (last colour not available here)
High-Shine Coat – Mirror Gloss | Boot Black Shop
bootblack-shop.com
The acidic polish water.
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I already have the polish clothes and they are great for a high mirror shine.
Saphir renovateur and creams, not good enough for me
I also ordered a range of colours from the Boot Black Artists Palette. Medium brown, navy blue, mustard brown, red, green and purple. These are very expensive, but l am looking for something that is excellent. Saphir is o.k, but it is not good enough because it dries some leathers out after a short time. My Edward Green were dried out after 2 weeks from using Saphir renovateur and shoe cream. I knew l had to look for something else after a top cobbler refused to sell Saphir products because he also said they dried out the leathers of shoos.
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Apparently the Boot Black Artists Palette are by far the best shoe creams on the market and leave Saphir products a distant second. They are oil based and l am hoping they don't dry some leathers like the Saphir creams do. According to this forum topic they are excellent creams that soften and moisterize the leather properly.
Boot Black Artist Palette
So I did order some new shoe care products because I was curious and had a "problem shoe", more later on. I thought why not share with you as I take pictures of shoe polishing quite often so I can see the before and after magic for myself:) So I usually use the Saphir Medaille D'or or regular...www.styleforum.net
I also splashed out on the Boot Black `moisterizer'. It is highly expensive but it is said to do deep moisterizing of the leather. The Saphir renovateur tends to dry leathers are a short while and l find it not as great product. Finally l have decided to pay the money and try to find something really excellent that does the job needed.
I also bought Collonil red and pink creams this morning because l am a collector of red shoo creams. I have many. Collonil does not contain solvents and it moisterizes shoes properly, but it is not as fun to use as the creams that are easy to apply and create a shine.
I have tried the Artist's Palette.
I like how the stuff spreads easily. However, it has not completely won me over: the Palette cream is intended to have a shine effect, making the upper creases look a bit like plastic-y leather. I find myself reaching for the normal Boot Black cream more..
Regarding the polish water, a long time ago I was advised by a cobbler to use distilled water.
The solutes in normal water, even the hardest, are in such tiny quantities that they won't leave a visible mark on your leather once the water evaporates. You get more dust and particulate matter deposited while you're shining your shoes that all the solute in the water.
I'm not suggesting we use bog water, but tap water's just fine. You don't need distilled water. As for this acid water,
I've tried using distilled water, filtered water, tap water and ice cold half frozen filtered water. No difference between the first three, but the frozen water is good for high shines. The only hesitation l had with distilled water was using a `hungry water' might have opposite results and pull some of the polish off, but it was only a small amount and probably dried before it had any effect.
I still haven't received the acid water yet.
You’ve never touched a woman’s boob have you?
Shooey - I will be going to Lefflers in the new year.
You around or are you living it up down on The Great Ocean Road with all the other rich people?
Boot Black - results Part 2 and the verdict
I gave the products the ultimate test and tried them on a stubborn tan Vass shoe that is tough to moisterise and one which lacks depth of colour/patina. I went through the entire process.
I started off using `rich moisture' to really moisturize and nourish the leather and smooth out the leather. After doing that the leather felt so much better, not rough and dry and porous like it usually is, it actually felt luxurious. Amazing how the leather as transformed.
Next I used the Two Face Plus Lotion to clean and further moisterise and nourish the leather. Note: this will darken the leather slightly because the solution has argon oil in it, but the slight oil darkening gave the shoos a spectacular patina and depth to the leather that is something l have ever only dreamed of.
Next l used the mustard colour artists palette cream. That also has oil in it and further added to the patina. The oil really nourishes the leather and gives a great patina in brown shoes. Being an oil based paste, l think it is best to use a lighter colour.
After buffing l used the high shine coat twice on each shoe and rubbed it in well. It was easy to rub in because the previous layers had already smoothed out the surface of the leather. The shine really started to come out.
Next l used a light tan wax, but already l see this was a mistake because l can see the pore of the darkened shoe now shows lighter wax in some small parts of the shoo. Ughh. I skipped the high shine wax in this case because it is a casual tan shoe.
Beware - some Boot Black oil based products can darken shoos a tone.
The Two Face Plus Lotion and Artists Palette cream will darken the shoos a shade. For many shoes it will make them look much better with depth of patina, but for dark navy shoes with a museum calf patina it makes them too dark for the patina highlights to come out properly, so best avoiding Artists Palette for some shoes with fancy patinas.
The mirror shine - perfecting it and common mistakes to avoid
Glass mirror shines are easy to get with Boot Black products. The polish water is magnificent, especially when ice cold, it really works to smooth out that wax with ease and bring out the high shine. The best way to get the ultimate high shine is to use the Boot Black high shine base followed by a combination of Boot Black high shine coat with Saphir mirror gloss with the Boot Black polish water. The effect is stunning, and the water does have some alcohol in it, but it is not enough to dry out the shoes, especially since oil based creams and lotions are also used to keep it moist.
Beware...like with most people, they mess up the mirror shines because they finish the process with buffing with a smooth cloth. BIG MISTAKE. After buffing the mirror shine, the shine will end up with scratches, so then you need to go back a final time with a hint of wax and water and just go over it again and let dry without any final buffing. This will bring a flawless glass shine.
I will try and take good pictures soon.
What is your new process for shell cordovan?
Do you use all Boot Black with the moisturizer, two face plus lotion, artist palette cream, high shine base, and lastly high shine coat? Or do you replace the artist palette cream with the shell cordovan cream? Or do you use both creams (...two face plus lotion, shell cordovan cream, artist palette cream, high shine base, etc.)?
Thank you for posting your experiments with Boot Black, it's been difficult finding information about their products.
Even the regular Boot Black shoe polish is far, far superior to Saphir (don't know about the other ones). The Artist Palette and some other products are out of this world.I didn't know this brand, never seen in person. It seems high quality, but as I'm glad with Saphir, Cordonnerie Anglaise and, even more with Famaco recently, I don't think I'll be wanting to try that, unless you say it's really exceptional and superior quality.
As I said, since I discovered Famaco I'm a great fan: they are excellent products and the shoe cream is available in a huge selection.
Thanks. So it seems that I have to give a try.Even the regular Boot Black shoe polish is far, far superior to Saphir (don't know about the other ones). The Artist Palette and some other products are out of this world.
Boot Black - horse hair brush
I think for buffing you want as little pressure as possible and very soft hair, because you get the shine from the heat. That’s also why you can get a pretty good mirror shine with only using your hand, with Boot Black at least.At the risk of sounding odd, how firm are the bristles on the horse hair brush?
I have four old polishing brushes - two for black, two for brown, one of each for applying polish, one of each for buffing - that I inherited from my dad decades ago. The brushes are fairly small and the bristles are quite stiff.
I also have a horse hair brush that I bought a couple of decades ago. It's larger and the bristles are longer and softer. Even though horse hair brushes are supposed to be good for polishing shoes, I never really use it because the bristles just seem too soft - it's difficult to really apply much force and so I can't really buff the shoes with it. I'm interested in what other horse hair brushes are like, and whether I just got a dud.
I have many horse bristles brushes (I know, it sounds odd and it's probably unnecessary), with dark and light (mostly) hairs, and they are all pretty soft and long.At the risk of sounding odd, how firm are the bristles on the horse hair brush?
I have four old polishing brushes - two for black, two for brown, one of each for applying polish, one of each for buffing - that I inherited from my dad decades ago. The brushes are fairly small and the bristles are quite stiff.
I also have a horse hair brush that I bought a couple of decades ago. It's larger and the bristles are longer and softer. Even though horse hair brushes are supposed to be good for polishing shoes, I never really use it because the bristles just seem too soft - it's difficult to really apply much force and so I can't really buff the shoes with it. I'm interested in what other horse hair brushes are like, and whether I just got a dud.
At the risk of sounding odd, how firm are the bristles on the horse hair brush?
I have four old polishing brushes - two for black, two for brown, one of each for applying polish, one of each for buffing - that I inherited from my dad decades ago. The brushes are fairly small and the bristles are quite stiff.
I also have a horse hair brush that I bought a couple of decades ago. It's larger and the bristles are longer and softer. Even though horse hair brushes are supposed to be good for polishing shoes, I never really use it because the bristles just seem too soft - it's difficult to really apply much force and so I can't really buff the shoes with it. I'm interested in what other horse hair brushes are like, and whether I just got a dud.
I found this one from Boot Black with rather short bristles, at a horrible price though.At the risk of sounding odd, how firm are the bristles on the horse hair brush?
I have four old polishing brushes - two for black, two for brown, one of each for applying polish, one of each for buffing - that I inherited from my dad decades ago. The brushes are fairly small and the bristles are quite stiff.
I also have a horse hair brush that I bought a couple of decades ago. It's larger and the bristles are longer and softer. Even though horse hair brushes are supposed to be good for polishing shoes, I never really use it because the bristles just seem too soft - it's difficult to really apply much force and so I can't really buff the shoes with it. I'm interested in what other horse hair brushes are like, and whether I just got a dud.
At the risk of sounding odd, how firm are the bristles on the horse hair brush?
I have four old polishing brushes - two for black, two for brown, one of each for applying polish, one of each for buffing - that I inherited from my dad decades ago. The brushes are fairly small and the bristles are quite stiff.
I also have a horse hair brush that I bought a couple of decades ago. It's larger and the bristles are longer and softer. Even though horse hair brushes are supposed to be good for polishing shoes, I never really use it because the bristles just seem too soft - it's difficult to really apply much force and so I can't really buff the shoes with it. I'm interested in what other horse hair brushes are like, and whether I just got a dud.
I have never used edge dressing. I routinely apply a dark brown or black shoe polish to the edges. Or a lighter colour if appropriate.Edge Dressing
This can be good too. Have the edges of the soles look nice again.