Polish, polish.
- Shoe polish is also known as boot polish.
- Shoe polish is a substance generally used to protect and restore the colour and shine of leather boots and leather shoes and it also helps to keep them water resistant.
- Before shoe polish, dubbin was used, a product made with wax, tallow (rendered animal fat), oil and soda ash, and it is still sometimes used although it does not make shoes shiny.
- Modern shoe polish is made from a combination of ingredients, sometimes including dyes, naphtha, turpentine, wax, lanolin and gum arabic.
- The popularity of shoe polish increased in the two World Wars because the troops used the polish to keep their army boots shiny and water proof.
- Shoe polish is generally applied with a brush, rag or cloth and then buffed to enhance the shine.
- The ‘Kiwi’ brand shoe polish was the first modern style shoe polish, and was produced in a Melbourne (Australia) factory by two Scotsman, William Ramsay and Hamilton McKellan, who launched the product in 1906.
- The Australian ‘Kiwi’ brand shoe polish was classified as the best shoe polish in the world, and is now sold in over 180 countries, and remains as the most sold shoe polish in the world.
- Shoe polish can be heated up to temperatures of 85°C (185°F) in it’s manufacturing process, which melts the wax and other ingredients so they are more easily combined.
- Shoe polish is traditionally sold in a round flat cylindrical 60 gram (2 ounce) tin, which prevents the polish from drying out.
Bibliography:
Shoe Polish, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_polish>
