Shoe polish

Shoe polish (or boot polish), usually a waxy paste or a cream, is a consumer product used to shine, waterproof, and restore the appearance of leather shoes or boots, thereby extending the footwear's life. In some regions, including New Zealand, "Nugget" is used as a common term for solid waxy shoe polish, as opposed to liquid shoe polishes.

Various substances have been used as shoe polish for hundreds of years, starting with natural substances such as wax and tallow. Modern polish formulae were introduced early in the 20th century and some products from that era are still in use today. Today, shoe polish is usually made from a mix of natural and synthetic materials, including naphtha, turpentine, dyes, and gum arabic, using straightforward chemical engineering processes. Shoe polish can be toxic, and, if misused, can stain skin.

The popularity of shoe polish paralleled a general rise in leather and synthetic shoe production, beginning in the 19th century and continuing into the 20th. The World Wars saw a surge in demand for the product, in order to polish army boots. The most widely used shoe polish brand is Kiwi, founded in Australia in 1904.

Shoe polish is applied to the shoe using a rag, cloth, or brush. Shoe polish is not a cleaning product, and therefore the footwear should be both clean and dry before application. A vigorous rubbing action to apply the polish evenly on the boot, followed by further buffing with a clean dry cloth or brush, usually provides good results. Another technique, known as spit-polishing or bull polishing, involves gently rubbing polish into the leather with a cloth and a drop of water or spit. This achieves the mirror-like, high-gloss finish sometimes known as a spit shine which is especially valued in military organizations. Polishes containing carnauba wax can be used as a protective coating to extend the life and look of a leather shoe.

Shoe polish may be purchased pre-soaked into a hard sponge, which can be used to buff leather without needing to apply any additional polish to either the leather or the sponge. This is usually known as an applicator. A number of companies that manufacture shoe care products also sell a liquid shoe polish in a squeezable plastic bottle, with a small sponge applicator at the end. To decrease its viscosity, bottled polish usually has a very low wax content.

There are many products closely related to shoe polish, but not strictly considered as such. Other chemical products may be used to clean and shine shoes, in particular whiteners for white shoes, and a variety of sprays and aerosols for cleaning and waterproofing suede shoes. A banana peel can also be used to effectively shine shoes.

Although shoe polish is primarily intended for leather shoes, some brands specify that they may be used on non-porous materials, such as vinyl. The polish is generally the same colour as the shoes it will be used upon, or it may be neutral, lacking any intrinsic colour.

While a number of older leather preserving products existed (including the Irish brand Punch, which was first made in 1851, and the German brand, Erdal, which went on sale in 1901), the first shoe polish to resemble the modern varieties (aimed primarily at inducing shine) was Kiwi. Scottish expatriates William Ramsay and Hamilton McKellan began making "boot polish" in a small factory in 1904 in Melbourne, Australia. Their formula was a major improvement on previous brands. It preserved shoe leather, made it shine, and restored colour. By the time Kiwi Dark Tan was released in 1908, it incorporated agents that added suppleness and water resistance. Australian-made boot polish was then considered the world's best. Black and a range of colours became available, and exports to Britain, continental Europe, and New Zealand began.

He named the shoe polish after the kiwi, the national bird of New Zealand; Ramsay's wife, Annie Elizabeth Meek Ramsay, was a native of Oamaru, New Zealand. It has been suggested that, at a time when several symbols were weakly associated with New Zealand, the eventual spread of Kiwi shoe polish around the world enhanced the Kiwi's popular appeal and promoted it at the expense of the others.

A rival brand in the early years was Cobra Boot Polish, based in Sydney. Cobra was noted for a series of cartoon advertisements in The Sydney Bulletin, starting in 1909, using a character called "Chunder Loo of Akim Foo." The word chunder, means "to vomit", and possibly originated through the rhyming slang of Chunder Loo and spew.

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