Shoe polish (or
boot polish), usually a waxy
pasteIn physics, a paste is a substance that behaves as a solid until a sufficiently large load or stress is applied, at which point it flows like a fluid. In rheological terms, a paste is an example of a Bingham plastic fluid....
or a
cream- Description:A cream is a topical preparation usually for application to the skin. Creams for application to mucus membranes such as those of the rectum or vagina are also used...
, is a consumer product used to polish,
shinePolishing is the process of creating a smooth and shiny surface by rubbing it or using a chemical action, leaving a surface with minimal diffuse reflection and significant specular reflection When the surface is magnified thousands of times, it usually looks like mountains and valleys...
,
waterproofWaterproof or water-resistant describes objects unaffected by water or resisting water passage, or which are covered with a material that resists or does not allow water passage. Such items may be used in wet environments or under water...
, and restore the appearance of
leatherLeather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable and versatile material....
shoeA shoe is an item of footwear evolved at first to protect the human foot and later, additionally, as an item of decoration in itself. The foot contains more bones than any other single part of the body, and has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years in relation to vastly varied terrain and...
s or
bootA boot is a type of footwear that covers the foot and the ankle and extends up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece. Traditionally made of leather or rubber,...
s, thereby extending the
footwearFootwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for protection against the environment, and adornment. Socks and other hosiery are usually worn between the feet and the footwear, less often with sandals and flip flops...
'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
waxWax refers to beeswax or another substance with similar properties. The traditional meaning, beeswax, refers to a substance secreted by bees and used by them in constructing their honeycombs...
and
tallowTallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.Rendered fat...
. 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
syntheticIn chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions to get a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions...
materials, including
naphthaNaphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e. a distillation product from petroleum or coal tar boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons, a broad term encompassing any volatile, flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.Naphtha is...
,
turpentineTurpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
,
dyeA dye can generally be described as a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
s, and
gum arabicGum arabic, also known as gum acacia, chaar gund, char goond or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal...
, using straightforward
chemical engineeringChemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science , and life sciences with mathematics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
processes. Shoe polish can be
toxicToxicity is the degree to which a substance is able to damage an exposed organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...
, 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.
Usage
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 polishingBull polishing, bulling or spit shining refers to a method for polishing leather products in such a way as to give an extremely high shine effect. It is commonly used in the military as a traditional method of presenting leather accessories and boots for inspection...
, involves gently rubbing polish into the leather with a cloth and a drop of water or
spitSaliva is the watery and usually frothy substance produced in the mouths of humans and most other animals. Saliva is produced in and secreted from the salivary glands...
. This achieves the mirror-like, high-gloss finish sometimes known as a
spit shine which is especially valued in military organizations. Polishes containing
carnauba waxCarnauba is a wax of the leaves of the palm, Copernicia prunifera, a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Ceará, and Rio Grande do Norte. It is known as "queen of waxes" and usually comes in the form of hard yellow-brown flakes...
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
aerosolsAerosol spray is a type of dispensing system which creates an aerosol mist of liquid particles. This is used with a can or bottle that contains a liquid under pressure. When the container's valve is opened, the liquid is forced out of a small hole and emerges as an aerosol or mist...
for cleaning and waterproofing
suedeSuede is a type of leather with a napped finish. However, it can also refer to a similar napped or brushed finish on many kinds of fabrics. The term comes from the French "gants de Suède", which literally means "gloves of Sweden"....
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
vinylA vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group , −CH=CH2. These are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
. The polish is generally the same colour as the shoes it will be used upon, or it may be
neutral, lacking any intrinsic colour.
Before the twentieth century
Since medieval times,
dubbinDubbin is a wax product used to soften, condition and waterproof leather. It consists of natural wax, oil and tallow.It is different from shoe polish, which is used to impart shine and colour to leather.Dubbin has been used since medieval times...
, a waxy product, was used to soften and waterproof leather; however, it did not impart shine. It was made from natural
waxWax refers to beeswax or another substance with similar properties. The traditional meaning, beeswax, refers to a substance secreted by bees and used by them in constructing their honeycombs...
,
oilAn oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and is hydrophobic but soluble in organic solvents. Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are nonpolar substances. The general definition above includes compound classes with otherwise unrelated chemical structures,...
, soda ash and
tallowTallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.Rendered fat...
. As leather with a high natural veneer became popular in the eighteenth century, a high glossy finish became important, particularly on shoes and boots. In most cases, a variety of homemade polishes were used to provide this finish, often with
lanolinLanolin [German : from Latin lāna=wool + Latin oleum=oil] also called Adeps Lanae, wool wax, wool fat, anhydrous wool fat or wool grease, is a greasy yellow substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals, with the vast majority of it used by humans coming from domestic sheep...
or
beeswaxBeeswax is a natural wax produced in the bee hive of honey bees of the genus Apis. Worker bees have eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the sternites on abdominal segments 4 to 7...
as a base.
In the nineteenth century, many forms of shoe polish became available, yet were rarely referred to as
shoe polish or
boot polish. Instead, they were often called
blacking (especially when mixed with lampblack), or simply continued to be referred to as dubbin.
TallowTallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.Rendered fat...
, an animal by-product, was used to manufacture a simple form of shoe polish at this time. Chicago,
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
, where 82% of the meat consumed in the United States was processed in the
stock yardsThe Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the name of the meatpacking district in Chicago for over a century starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired swampland to a centralized processing area...
, became a major shoe polish producing area for this reason.
Prior to 1906, shoe polish was not well known as a purchasable product, nor was it particularly sophisticated. While sales were not especially high, a few brands, like
Nugget, were available in the U.K. during the 1800s. The practice of shining people’s shoes gradually caught on and soon many
shoeshine boysShoeshiner or boot polisher is a profession in which a person polishes shoes with shoe polish. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job is traditionally that of a male child. In the leather fetish communities, they are often called bootblacks...
in city streets were offering shoe shines using a basic form of shoe polish along with a polishing cloth.
Modern polish
A number of older leather preserving products existed including the Irish brand
Punch, which was first made in 1851. In 1890 the Kroner Brothers established EOS, a shoe polish factory in Berlin, which serviced the Prussian military. It finally closed in 1934 when the Nazis forbade Jews to operate a business. The German brand, Erdal, went on sale in 1901). The first shoe polish to resemble the modern varieties (aimed primarily at inducing shine) was
KiwiKiwi is the brand name of a shoe polish, first made in Australia in 1906 and sold in almost 180 countries. Owned by the Sara Lee Corporation since 1984, it is the dominant shoe polish in some countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, where it has about two-thirds of the...
. Scottish
expatriateAn expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence...
s William Ramsay and Hamilton McKellan began making "boot polish" in a small factory in 1904 in
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. Their formula was a major improvement on previous brands. It preserved shoe leather, made it shine, and restored color. 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 colors became available, and exports to Britain, continental Europe, and New Zealand began. Kiwi polish is now owned by the Sara Lee conglomerate and imported from China. It is sold at Australian Woolworth supermarkets amongst others.
He named the shoe polish after the
kiwiKiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size...
, the national bird of
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
; Ramsay's wife, Annie Elizabeth Meek Ramsay, was a native of
OamaruAuthority]]| bgcolor="#FFEEDD" | Name || Waitaki District Council|-----| bgcolor="#FFEEDD" | Population || |-----| bgcolor="#FFEEDD" | Extent ||Pacific Ocean to theMackenzie Basin
and theWaitaki River to Flag Swamp,
including Kurow, Omarama,...
, 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
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
. Cobra was noted for a series of cartoon advertisements in
The Sydney BulletinThe Bulletin is a discontinued Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its...
, starting in 1909, using a character called "Chunder Loo of Akim Foo."
Chunder is Australian
slangSlang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. It is often used as a way to say words that are not appropriate, and is not often found in the standard dictionary for the language...
for vomit, and possibly originated through the rhyming slang of
Chunder Loo and
spewSPEW may refer to:*Socialist Party *Spam Prevention Early Warning System*Spew, a short story by Neal Stephenson published in the anthology Hackers...
(another
slangSlang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. It is often used as a way to say words that are not appropriate, and is not often found in the standard dictionary for the language...
word for vomit).
Surge in popularity
At the end of the nineteenth century, leather shoes and boots became affordable to the masses, and with the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the demand for large numbers of polished army boots led to a need in the
marketMarketing is an integrated communications-based process through which individuals and communities are informed or persuaded that existing and newly-identified needs and wants may be satisfied by the products and services of others....
for a product that would allow boots to be polished quickly, efficiently and easily. The polish was also used to shine leather
beltA belt is a flexible band, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing, and it serves for style and decoration.-History:...
s, handgun
holsterA handgun holster is a device used worn to hold, or restrict the undesired movement of a handgun, most commonly in a location where it can be easily withdrawn for immediate use.-Basic functions of a holster:...
s, and
horse tackTack is a term used to describe any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. Saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, harnesses, martingales, and breastplates are all forms of horse tack...
. This demand led to a rapid increase in the sales of shoe and boot polish. The popularity of Kiwi shoe polish spread throughout the
British CommonwealthThe Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...
and the United States. Rival brands began to emerge, including
ShinolaShinola is a brand of wax shoe polish that was available in the early- to mid-20th century. The original trademark was filed in 1929 by 2-in-1 Shinola-Bixby Corporation, New Jersey.- "You don't know shit from Shinola." :...
and
Cavalier (United States),
Cherry Blossom (United Kingdom),
Parwa (India),
Jean Bart (France), and many others. Advertising became more prominent; many shoe polish brands used fictional figures or historical characters to spread awareness of their products. In the German documentary of 1927 Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, a scene focuses on shoe shining with a polish called Nigrin sporting the face of a Negro.
Shoe manufacturing improvements in the mid-1800s allowed for factories to produce large amounts of shoes made of leather, and later synthetic materials. This increase in leather shoe production continued well into the 1900s and led to a surge in the number of retail shoe stores in the industrialized world, and a subsequently a call for shoe polish by footwear consumers.
Shoe polish was to be found just about everywhere Allied troops ventured. American
war correspondentA war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
Walter Graeber wrote for
TIMETime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
magazine from the
TobrukTobruk or Tubruq is a town, seaport, and peninsula in northeastern Libya, near the border with Egypt, in North Africa. It is the capital of Al Butnan District...
trenches in 1942 that "old tins of British-made Kiwi polish lay side by side with empty bottles of Chianti." A story indicative of the rise in global significance of shoe polish is told by Jean (Gertrude) Williams, a New Zealander who lived in Japan during the Allied occupation straight after World War II. American soldiers were then finding the dullness of their boots and shoes to be a handicap when trying to win the affections of Japanese women.
When the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces arrived in Japan—all with boots polished to a degree not known in the U.S. forces—the G.I.G.I. is a term describing members of the U.S. armed forces or items of their equipment. It may be used as an adjective or as a noun. The term is now used as an initialism of "Government Issue" , but originally referred to galvanized iron...
s were more conscious than ever of their feet. The secret was found to rest not only in spit and polish, but in the superior Australian boot polish, a commodity which was soon exchanged with the Americans on a fluctuating basis of so many packets of cigarettes for one can of Kiwi boot polish.
Modern day
Shoe polish products are low-value items that are infrequently purchased. Consumer demand is
inelasticIn economics, elasticity is the ratio of the percent change in one variable to the percent change in another variable. It is a tool for measuring the responsiveness of a function to changes in parameters in a relative way. Commonly analyzed are elasticity of substitution, price and wealth...
and largely insensitive to price change, while sales volumes are generally low. In the shoe polish market as a whole, some 26% of turnover is accounted for by pastes, 24% by creams, 23% by aerosols, and 13% by liquids. In recent years, the demand for shoe polish products has either been static or declined; one reason is the gradual replacement of formal footwear with sneakers for everyday use.
There are numerous branded products available, as well as generic
store brandStore brands or Private label brands in the United States, own brands in the UK, and home brands in Australia) are specific to retail stores or store chains...
s. There are two chief areas of shoe polish sales: to the general public, and to specialists and trade, such as shoe repairers, and
cobblerShoemaking is a traditional handicraft profession, which has now been largely superseded by industrial manufacture of footwear.Shoemakers or cordwainers may produce a range of footwear items, including shoes, boots, sandals, clogs and moccasins...
s. The sales percentages between the two outlets are roughly comparable.
KiwiKiwi is the brand name of a shoe polish, first made in Australia in 1906 and sold in almost 180 countries. Owned by the Sara Lee Corporation since 1984, it is the dominant shoe polish in some countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, where it has about two-thirds of the...
remains the predominant shoe polish
brandA brand is a name or trademark connected with a product or producer. Brands have become increasingly important components of culture and the economy, now being described as "cultural accessories and personal philosophies".-Concepts:...
in most of the world, being sold in over 180 countries and holding a 53% market share worldwide. Today, it is manufactured in Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Other leading brands include
Kelly's,
Shinola,
Lincoln Shoe Polish,
Meltonian,
Angelus, and
Cherry Blossom.
Kiwi was acquired by the American company Sara Lee following its purchase of Reckitt and Colman in 1991 and Knomark with its brand
Esquire Shoe PolishEsquire Shoe Polish of Williamsburg by the company Knomark was the best selling shoe polish brand in America from the 1940s to 1960's. It was owned by Revlon....
in 1987. The
Federal Trade CommissionThe Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
ruled that Sara Lee had to divest its ownership of these companies in 1994 to prevent it from becoming a
monopolyIn economics, a monopoly exists when a specific individual or an enterprise has sufficient control over a particular product or service to determine significantly the terms on which other individuals shall have access to it...
. Since this ruling, Sara Lee has been prevented from acquiring any further assets or firms associated with chemical shoe care products in the United States without prior commission approval. The
Competition CommissionThe Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other inquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
in the United Kingdom investigated the potential monopoly of Sara Lee in the shoe care industry.
Empty shoe polish bottles can be used to create graffiti, by dumping out the polish inside and filling it full of ink or paint. They are used as a cheap alternative to markers designed for graffiti, and are much more widely available.
According to the Farmer's Almanac, shoe polish can be digitized as well. A gig of shoe polish is enough to take out a Koo.
Composition and toxicology
Shoe polish consists of a waxy
colloidA colloid is a type of chemical mixture in which one substance is dispersed evenly throughout another.The particles of the dispersed substance are only suspended in the mixture, unlike in a solution, in which they are completely dissolved...
al
emulsionAn emulsion is a mixture of two or more immiscible liquids. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids...
, a substance composed of a number of partially immiscible liquids and solids mixed together. It is usually made from ingredients including some or all of
naphthaNaphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e. a distillation product from petroleum or coal tar boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons, a broad term encompassing any volatile, flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.Naphtha is...
,
lanolinLanolin [German : from Latin lāna=wool + Latin oleum=oil] also called Adeps Lanae, wool wax, wool fat, anhydrous wool fat or wool grease, is a greasy yellow substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals, with the vast majority of it used by humans coming from domestic sheep...
,
turpentineTurpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
,
waxWax refers to beeswax or another substance with similar properties. The traditional meaning, beeswax, refers to a substance secreted by bees and used by them in constructing their honeycombs...
(often
Carnauba waxCarnauba is a wax of the leaves of the palm, Copernicia prunifera, a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Ceará, and Rio Grande do Norte. It is known as "queen of waxes" and usually comes in the form of hard yellow-brown flakes...
),
gum arabicGum arabic, also known as gum acacia, chaar gund, char goond or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal...
,
ethylene glycolEthylene glycol is an organic compound widely used as an automotive antifreeze and a precursor to polymers. In its pure form, it is an odorless, colorless, syrupy, sweet tasting liquid....
, and if required a colourant, such as
carbon blackCarbon black is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products such as FCC tar, coal tar, ethylene cracking tar, and a small amount from vegetable oil. Carbon black is a form of amorphous carbon that has a high surface area to volume ratio, although its surface area to...
or an azo dye (such as
aniline yellowAniline Yellow is a yellow azo dye and an aromatic amine. It is a derivate of azobenzene. It has the appearance of an orange powder. It is a carcinogen....
). It typically has a specific gravity of 0.8, is negligibly soluble in water, and is made of between 65 and 77%
volatileVolatility in the context of chemistry, physics and thermodynamics is a measure of the tendency of a substance to vaporize. It has also been defined as a measure of how readily a substance vaporizes...
substances—usually naphtha. The high amount of volatile substances means that the shoe polish will dry out and harden after application, while retaining its shine.
LanolinLanolin [German : from Latin lāna=wool + Latin oleum=oil] also called Adeps Lanae, wool wax, wool fat, anhydrous wool fat or wool grease, is a greasy yellow substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals, with the vast majority of it used by humans coming from domestic sheep...
, a
hydrophilicHydrophile, from the Greek "water" and φιλια "friendship," refers to a physical property of a molecule that can transiently bond with water through hydrogen bonding. This is thermodynamically favorable, and makes these molecules soluble not only in water, but also in other polar solvents...
greaseThe term grease is used to describe a number of semisolid lubricants possessing a higher initial viscosity than oil. Although the word grease is also used to describe rendered fat of animals, in the context of lubricants, it typically applies to a material consisting of a calcium, sodium or...
from
woolWool is a fibrous protein derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles. The wool is taken from animals in the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals including: goats, llamas, and rabbits may also be called wool...
-bearing animals such as sheep or goats, acts as both a waterproofing wax and a bonding agent, giving the shoe polish its greasy feel and texture. It prevents the naphtha from
evaporatingEvaporation is the vaporization of a liquid and the reverse, of condensation. A type of phase transition, it is the process by which molecules in a liquid state spontaneously become gaseous . Generally, evaporation can be seen by the gradual disappearance of a liquid from a substance when exposed...
until the polish has been spread and buffed into a thin film on the leather surface. An essential ingredient in shoe polish is a thickener; without this, the polish would be too runny, making it difficult to use.
Gum arabicGum arabic, also known as gum acacia, chaar gund, char goond or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal...
, a substance from two
sub-SaharanSub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
species of the
acaciaAcacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in 1773. The plants tend to be thorny and pod-bearing, with sap and leaves typically bearing large amounts of tannins...
tree, is commonly used to increase the
viscosityViscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear stress or extensional stress. In everyday terms , viscosity is "thickness." Thus, water is "thin," having a lower viscosity, while honey is "thick," having a higher viscosity...
of the product.
Shoe polish contains
chemical substanceA chemical substance is a material with a specific chemical composition.A common example of a chemical substance is pure water; it has the same properties and the same ratio of hydrogen to oxygen whether it is isolated from a river or made in a laboratory. Some typical chemical substances are...
s which can be absorbed through the skin, or inhaled. When handling shoe polish, one should ideally wear gloves, and stay in a
well-ventilatedVentilation is the intentional movement of air from outside a building to the inside. It is the V in HVAC. With clothes dryers, and combustion equipment such as water heaters, boilers, fireplaces, and wood stoves, their exhausts are often called vents or flues — this should not be confused...
area. Shoe polish should be kept out of reach of children and animals. It can stain the skin for a protracted period of time, and will cause irritation to the eye if there is direct contact.
Manufacture
Shoe polish can be manufactured using large
vatVat or VAT may refer to:* Value added tax, a consumption tax levied on value added* Vát, a village in Hungary* Vodka tonic, a mixed drink* Virtual Allocation Table, a component of the Universal Disk Format...
s, reasonably powerful heaters and air conditioners. There is no set method of manufacture, although most methods use pressures of two
atmospheresThe standard atmosphere is an international reference pressure defined as 101,325 Pa and formerly used as unit of pressure . For practical purposes it has been replaced by the bar which is 100,000 Pa...
to ensure the
naphthaNaphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e. a distillation product from petroleum or coal tar boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons, a broad term encompassing any volatile, flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.Naphtha is...
does not boil off, and temperatures of up to 85 °C.
The first step in the manufacture of a typical shoe polish is the melting of the wax with the highest
melting pointThe melting point of a solid is the temperature range at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. When considered as the temperature of the reverse change from liquid to solid, it is referred to as the freezing point...
in an electric
heaterA heater is any object that emits heat or causes another body to achieve a higher temperature. In a household or domestic setting, heaters are commonly used to generate heating...
. Following this, all other waxes are added, usually by descending order of melting point. Whilst this wax is held at a constant temperature, the
emulsionAn emulsion is a mixture of two or more immiscible liquids. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids...
—a mixture of the various oils and, if used,
fatFats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are generally triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at normal room temperature, depending on their structure and composition...
s, is then heated separately, at around 85 °C. The heated emulsion is then added to the waxes, along with
distilled waterDistilled water is water that has virtually all of its impurities removed through distillation. Distillation involves boiling the water and then condensing the steam into a clean container, leaving most if not all solid contaminants behind. Applications=...
. When the mixture reaches around 80 °C, turpentine oil is added. This mixture is then mixed and continually stirred for half an hour. Dyes are added and mixed in turpentine oil if it is not a neutral polish. The mixed mass is reduced slowly to 50 °C, and as its viscosity increases, it is poured through a closed
funnelA funnel is a pipe with a wide, often conical mouth and a narrow stem. It is used to channel liquid or fine-grained substances into containers with a small opening. Without a funnel,spillage would occur....
into a cooling chamber. The poured mass is allowed to settle slowly, providing uniform distribution. The process is considered straightforward and the required equipment is relatively easy to acquire. The cost of establishing shoe polish manufacturing facilities has been estimated at around $600,000 (as of 2005).
Shoe polish is traditionally packaged in flat, round, 60-gram (2-ounce)
tinA tin can, tin , steel can, or a can, is an air-tight container for the distribution or storage of goods, composed of thin metal, and requiring cutting or tearing of the metal as the means of opening...
s, usually with an easy-open facility. Because the amount of shoe polish that needs to be applied is small, and the shoe polish will desiccate due to volatile ingredients, such as
naphthaNaphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e. a distillation product from petroleum or coal tar boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons, a broad term encompassing any volatile, flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.Naphtha is...
, a large container would dry out before being fully used. The traditional flat, round tins have since become synonymous with shoe polishes.
External links