Shoe Polishing assistance required.

SuperChrome

SuperChrome

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179
Location
Essex
Just as I began taking much longer with shaving once I started DE, many years previous I started learning the art of polishing my shoes.

At the moment I have a nice pair of black brogues that I wear for work. Every weekend I polish them up and in recent months I got it down to a good routine. Nice shiny shoes that look better than new every week.

Then today I discovered the satan of all products - DUBBIN! I mentioned my enthusiasm for shoe polishing to my father so he said 'come round and look at my stash'. It was impressive... a box full of all sorts of brushes, many of which his grandfather had used. 'This stuff is great' he said as he passed me a tin of dubbin that looked like it was purchased in the 50's. I applied it to my shoes, let it dry then buffed.

Now I am left with a horrible finish that a turn of the century chimney sweep would probably stick his nose up at. They are dull, soft and have a horrible waxy feel. I tried scrubbing it off and polishing then applying shoe shine but after a minute or so it all seemed to soak in and go dull again.

So my question is does anybody know anything I can use to remove the Dubbin, or at least break it down to the point where I can build up a Polish again? Unfortunately I Googled Dubbin AFTER I'd used it and learnt it is designed for heavy duty military style use to waterproof big boots. My lesson has been learnt.
 
This is not a joke but you might want to try to burn it out! When I get a new pair of shoes, I put a whole tin of polish on each one and then set them on fire! This softens the leather by allowing the hot wax to sink into the pores. This is a dodge I got from a senior NCO in the Scots Guards when I was learning to be a good matelot. I can let you have full instructions on how to bull a pair of shoes / boots if you;re at all interested but first you have ti try to get the stuff out of the leather, only then you may have a chance. Of course YMMV!

David
 
i would try a wet through rag but squeeze out any excess water and just rub and rub and rub. it will take a long time but just keep going.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-3ed17J3F8
 
My Grandad once told me they had a trough of dubbin in the changing room at the pit he worked at, so the lads could stand and stick their boots into it one at a time then just scrape off the "excess". Not sure if it's apocryphal but there you go.
 
A wet rag isn't going to do anything except ingrain it...you need to dissolve it out.

Try a wiping over with meths, white spirit, thinners, lighter fluid, UPVC cleaner or even petrol one of those should work.
 
If you've already wiped off the excess just keep polishing, the solvent in the polish will dilute the Dubbin and spread it around till you get a good polish again. Just make sure you finish off with a clean polishing cloth. To add loads more solvents into the leather would seem like a bad move and at least the one's in polish have been chosen to work with leather.
Even the waxy leather wax I use for waterproofing causes the first couple of polishes after use to smudge and it's far lighter than dubbin.
 
That wouldn't concern me, most of 'em (lighter fluid, some thinners & petrol) are so volatile they will just evaporate.
 
I wouldn't put dubbing on anything other than football/rugby boots, if you think the leather needs conditioning id go for linseed oil. With regards to burning shoe polish on shoes, unless you have gone through the rigmarole of bees wax and a blow torch first, i wouldn't.
 
Agreed^. Dubins what I put on walking boots. Superchrome, have a look for some Kiwi Parade Gloss. Its a great polish, and easily available. Apply it with a fine cloth, or even better cotton wool pad (stolen from the mrs draw) and use with just a drop of warm water....or spit. :D
 
Kiwi parade gloss is rubbish

Stick with kiwi black

As an ex guardsman I wouldn't let kikw parade gloss anywhere near my boots
 
Al H said:
Kiwi parade gloss is rubbish

Stick with kiwi black

As an ex guardsman I wouldn't let kikw parade gloss anywhere near my boots
Click to expand...

Thats funny you should say that, as a collegue of mines lad has just gone through basic and apparently parade gloss has been banned from use. Personally I like the stuff, but then my job has never really relyed on complete bulling of shoes, apart from a little bit on my basic course. (firefighter)
 
As to all the other stuff above about removing it from your shoes, don't bother to try.
Dubbin is meant for waterproofing, not shining up. Get your wifes hairdryer, heat up the dubbin and the shoe. You will see it start to melt and it will soak into the leather. Once soaked in let them cool and then apply whatever polish you like. It WILL work this way! And this way will also waterproof your shoes completely as well as helping the leather stay supple. I have been doing this on walking boots for years, the easiest and quickest way to get back to being able to polish is by heating the dubbin up and letting it soak into the leather, please give it a try before using lighter fluid, nail varnish remover or petrol etc. They will remove moisture from your leather and they will stink for days!
 
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