# Best Shoe Polish



## pinstrip (Dec 12, 2008)

Who makes the best shoe polish???


----------



## signal (Dec 6, 2008)

I dont know if "best" gets you anything in this department. I use Kiwi for most of my polishes. On some colors where its a bit hard to match, I will buy the Allen Edmonds product since its a perfect pair up for the shoe colors. In cremes I have meltonians product and that works good as well.


----------



## welldressedfellow (May 28, 2008)

:deadhorse-a: This subject just keeps coming up. I use Kiwi.


----------



## JordanH. (Jul 31, 2008)

i have kiwi products and i have one little jar of meltonian dark cordovan cream polish. though they are owned by the same company, i'd definitely have to say that meltonian is the better product (after only 2 days of use!). when i use kiwi on my reddish brown bluchers and i walk around in them, the creases develop this very light/ whitish look on them. when i used the meltonian, the light color didn't come up and in my opinion the shine is brighter.


----------



## perryw (Sep 22, 2008)

I don't know if it would be considered the best, but Kiwi has never let me down.


----------



## mcarthur (Jul 18, 2005)

Kiwi wax polish


----------



## Stuhrling (Apr 14, 2005)

I really like Saphir.


----------



## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

I use Lincoln black polish because BMC Williams used Lincoln black shoe polish, and informed us boots that 
only a navyman would use Kiwi.
I reached for kiwi once, the store not selling Lincoln, which seems harder to find. My hand began to tremble as flashbacks of high porting a M1 on a fog wet grinder.
Aside from black though, I like them all in a pinch.


----------



## Solomander (Dec 1, 2008)

mcarthur said:


> Kiwi wax polish


So you prefer Kiwi polish to Alden polish? Interesting...

Joel:icon_smile_big:


----------



## mcarthur (Jul 18, 2005)

Solomander said:


> So you prefer Kiwi polish to Alden polish? Interesting...
> 
> Joel:icon_smile_big:


I call it the way it is!


----------



## Leather man (Mar 11, 2007)

mcarthur said:


> I call it the way it is!


I think he's implying that Kiwi make Alden's polish.


----------



## indylion (Feb 28, 2005)

I have never seen Kiwi in a shoeshine parlor:icon_smile_big: Lots of Lincoln, Kelly, Meltonian, and Saphir.


----------



## Rich (Jul 10, 2005)

Saphir for calf. For cordovan I use Paraboot's own brand.


----------



## moss01 (Dec 6, 2008)

Love Saphir (nicer smell as well), but hard to argue against Kiwi for just wax.


----------



## JohnHarvard (Oct 7, 2008)

Lincoln over here!


----------



## sucitta (Nov 13, 2008)

I have no idea whether Kiwi makes Alden paste wax and, if so, whether it is the same formula. However, I definitely prefer the Alden glass jars to Kiwi's tin cans. I do use a Kiwi black liquid dressing on the edges of my leather soles and heels with very good results.


----------



## brokencycle (Jan 11, 2008)

I just use Kiwi. It works.

I do have some Allen Edmonds stuff. It also does the job.


----------



## Pengranger (Apr 13, 2008)

I've been using Saphir Crème Surfine Pommadier and Pate De Luxe. Both have worked very well. Recently I've been replacing it with the Saphir Medaille D'Or range and I have seen an improvement in the finish.

I particularly like the Medaille D'Or Renovator neutral shoe creme which has helped to significantly soften the leather. It doesn't leave any white traces, and it's great on antiqued finishes. Being based in the UK, getting hold of Saphir products isn't that easy. There is an eBay source for Crème Surfine Pommadier, but I have had to use Valmour for the remainder.


----------



## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

I use Kiwi, Allen Edmonds products and Meltonian polish, depending on the availability of the hues needed for my shoes!


----------



## Observer57 (Nov 25, 2007)

I use Kiwi. The availability alone makes it a wise choice. You'll never have any trouble locating any.


----------



## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Back in the early 80s when I needed a high gloss on my RAF Regiment shoes & boots I used Cherry Blossom.
During my police days I used Carr,Day & Martin, Kiwi and Cherry Blossom.
Now in Sweden, the only proper cirage available is Kiwi, like Observer said availability alone makes it a good choice. 
I use the Kiwi black parade gloss on my Loake Oxfords to bull them up to a mirror shine. 
And from England a mate gets me tins of Guardsmans Gloss - Oxblood, which I use on my red Dr. Martens boots. Guardsmans Gloss is actually the brand. And their oxblood is basically the same as Kiwi's burgundy parade gloss.
And I use Kiwi dark tan on my two pairs of brogues.

And I have successfully darkened a mid tan (you know that orangey colour) pair of soft leather half brogues to a nice chestnut colour using Kiwi dark tan. The soft leather meant that it absorbed the polish and colour realy well. I'd gone off the lighter orangey mid-tan colour.

Kiwi is now sold all over the world!


----------



## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070125174251AA5b9uT

scroll down and read what Jason C says about Guardsman's Gloss.

And scroll down and read what Nuffield says


----------



## My Pet. A Pantsuit (Dec 25, 2008)

I've liked Kiwi's paste but anymore, unless I'm going for a very particular shade, I've been leaning toward the paste distributed by Johnston and Murphy. Say what you will about their shoes (but I, for one, have enjoyed my pairs), but it's essentially the same as Kiwi Parade Gloss - except that the can is easier to open, and you get more of it for the same price.


----------



## Cary Grant (Sep 11, 2008)

Depending on the shoe, I use Kiwi, Meltonian AND Saphir... believe it or not.


----------



## Hector Freemantle (Aug 2, 2008)

Earl of Ormonde said:


> Back in the early 80s when I needed a high gloss on my RAF Regiment shoes & boots I used Cherry Blossom.
> During my police days I used Carr,Day & Martin, Kiwi and Cherry Blossom.


Love Kiwi, and Carr & Day and Martin for the blackness of their black which befits their being the original of the 'blacking' company that Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby worked for. Did not like the Cherry Blossom version of ox blood, finding it too reddish. Kiwi Parade gloss is a fine product as is Kiwi Renovating polish - the oxblood version lends an amazing luster to burgundy color shoes and covers a myriad of scuffs so that there is no need to mamby pamby your shoes at all but enjoy them and trust the Kiwi to knock them back into shape later.


----------



## bluesmobile_440 (Mar 17, 2008)

Kiwi seems to be the best value proposition. I think there are definitely diminishing returns at work.


----------



## My Pet. A Pantsuit (Dec 25, 2008)

Here's sort of a related question - I picked up some Kiwi creme polish today to darken up some cordovan brogues. Now, the store tag implies that the creme is cordovan in color (the tag reads "COR"), but it looks rather purple in color. Does this sound abnormal, or should it appear more red when it is applied?


----------



## Uta (Nov 29, 2008)

I prefer Saphir...Nice:icon_smile:


----------



## prospero1b (Mar 10, 2008)

For black shoes, absolutely nothing else is as good as Kiwi Parade Gloss. :thumbs-up:


----------



## Pengranger (Apr 13, 2008)

prospero1b said:


> For black shoes, absolutely nothing else is as good as Kiwi Parade Gloss. :thumbs-up:


I used to use Parade Gloss, but I found in the end it made the leather crack. From reading other threads I believe this may have been due to the silicone. If I used it again, I would only use it on parts of the show that don't flex.

Anyone else with any good/bad views on Parade Gloss?


----------



## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Pengranger said:


> I used to use Parade Gloss, but I found in the end it made the leather crack. From reading other threads I believe this may have been due to the silicone. If I used it again, I would only use it on parts of the show that don't flex.
> 
> Anyone else with any good/bad views on Parade Gloss?


You see, this is where people have been going wrong. Parade gloss is so called for a reason i.e. you're only supposed to use it on the toecap and heel, the (non-flexing) parts that are traditionally bulled up by soldiers for parade.

I only use parade gloss on toecaps and standard polish on the rest of the shoe/boot


----------



## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

prospero1b said:


> For black shoes, absolutely nothing else is as good as Kiwi Parade Gloss. :thumbs-up:


You should only use it on the toecap and hard heel section though.


----------



## Cary Grant (Sep 11, 2008)

Pengranger said:


> I used to use Parade Gloss, but I found in the end it made the leather crack. From reading other threads I believe this may have been due to the silicone. If I used it again, I would only use it on parts of the show that don't flex.
> 
> Anyone else with any good/bad views on Parade Gloss?


Let me relay a great regret.

I enjoy stopping at shoe-shine stands. You can tell the good ones in a short glance. I've had sonme of the best shines and best conversations via a local shine.

However, 3 years ago I made a critical error, I was rushing between flights, my shoes needed help before a big meeting... the shine promised me the bst shine I ever had. So I said sure. He parade-glossed the entire shoe which, truth be told, were a pair of about 5 year old allend-edmonds.

Yes, the shoe looked great.

Just three weeks later the softest leather parts cracked all over. :crazy:ic12337:


----------



## bluesmobile_440 (Mar 17, 2008)

My Pet said:


> Here's sort of a related question - I picked up some Kiwi creme polish today to darken up some cordovan brogues. Now, the store tag implies that the creme is cordovan in color (the tag reads "COR"), but it looks rather purple in color. Does this sound abnormal, or should it appear more red when it is applied?


There are many different shades of cordovan. The purple color is due to the fact that for some cordovan implies the #8 cordovan shell color that alden uses for their cordovan colored shoes. Calfskin is usually not found in that sort of shade and is usually more reddish than purple in appearance. The kiwi creme polish is probably meant for shoes more purple/dark red on the scale than the lighter red typically found with calfskin "cordovan" shoes. I hope this helps.


----------



## My Pet. A Pantsuit (Dec 25, 2008)

bluesmobile_440 said:


> There are many different shades of cordovan. The purple color is due to the fact that for some cordovan implies the #8 cordovan shell color that alden uses for their cordovan colored shoes. Calfskin is usually not found in that sort of shade and is usually more reddish than purple in appearance. The kiwi creme polish is probably meant for shoes more purple/dark red on the scale than the lighter red typically found with calfskin "cordovan" shoes. I hope this helps.


It most certainly does help. Thank you, I was about to make a terrible mistake.


----------



## bluesmobile_440 (Mar 17, 2008)

My Pet said:


> It most certainly does help. Thank you, I was about to make a terrible mistake.


I don't think you would be making a mistake by applying the darker color polish since your original intention was to darken them up. Perhaps I'm not understanding what you were getting at? (Which wouldn't be the first today let me assure you ic12337


----------



## The Sartorial Executive (Apr 19, 2008)

I am a Kiwi fan also. Kiwi is what is recommended by Rik Fink of the self named butler school


----------



## My Pet. A Pantsuit (Dec 25, 2008)

bluesmobile_440 said:


> I don't think you would be making a mistake by applying the darker color polish since your original intention was to darken them up. Perhaps I'm not understanding what you were getting at? (Which wouldn't be the first today let me assure you ic12337


I suppose it might not be a mistake per se. By "darken," I was thinking of darkening some white creasing to more closely match the rest of the shoe.


----------



## Hector Freemantle (Aug 2, 2008)

Cary Grant said:


> Let me relay a great regret.
> 
> I enjoy stopping at shoe-shine stands. You can tell the good ones in a short glance. I've had sonme of the best shines and best conversations via a local shine.
> 
> ...


Sorry to read what happened to your shoes. But I find it difficult to believe that a single application of Kiwi Parade would cause cracking on a pair of AEs which are hardly a princess and the pea, hothouse kind of shoe. I've met plenty of folk who have regularly used Parade Gloss all over ( yes, all over) and never had a single crack.


----------

