Red Wing Gentleman's Traveler - Page 103

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarioImpemba 

 

Kiwi.

Really? You got that shine with Kiwi! How about the other RW boots that you linked -all Kiwi?

Quote:

Originally Posted by seer 

Really? You got that shine with Kiwi! How about the other RW boots that you linked -all Kiwi?

Yessir - that's all I use. This is the glossiest I could get my 1K's:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarioImpemba 

 

Yessir - that's all I use. This is the glossiest I could get my 1K's:

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

http://cdn.styleforum.net/7/77/77b88390_Clean1Ks.jpeg

As a former Marine, I am impressed. And Kiwi does not get a lot of respect around here - Saphir is king, but your shines equal anything Saphir could produce! And my cobbler, who is an old timer, swears by Kiwi.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by seer 

As a former Marine, I am impressed. And Kiwi does not get a lot of respect around here - Saphir is king, but your shines equal anything Saphir could produce! And my cobbler, who is an old timer, swears by Kiwi.  

Thanks! Appreciate the kind words.

From what I've gathered on here, some have alluded to the fact you can get equal shine to Saphir out of lesser products like Kiwi, only it will require a lot more effort and/or technique. I've been meaning to buy some Saphir to see for myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarioImpemba 

 

Thanks! Appreciate the kind words.

 

From what I've gathered on here, some have alluded to the fact you can get equal shine to Saphir out of lesser products like Kiwi, only it will require a lot more effort and/or technique. I've been meaning to buy some Saphir to see for myself.

Do you mind sharing your technique?

Quote:

Originally Posted by seer 

Do you mind sharing your technique?

Certainly.

I followed this technique picked up in the Shoe Care thread, and it worked great:

Quote:

Originally Posted by JapanAlex01 

I discovered, that all this 'one drop of water' thing, when trying to create a mirror shine, is rubbish! I soak the cloth under water, ring it out completely, then apply a small amount of polish (as usual). It'll start, to make those rings--**it'll look like those brushed metal tables you get at restaurants. Just do this a couple to a few times with new parts of the cloth each time. Repeat the whole process--soaking and all--with the other shoe.

1. Use cloth/tshirt/rag, soak it in a bowl/cup of water, ring it out so it's only damp, not dripping

2. Make sure you add some water to the tin of Kiwi so the wax is moist and the cloth glides around it easily to pick up wax

3. Apply wax generously and with a circular motion (I usually wrap one or two fingers with the cloth)

4. Continue to do the circular motion until most of the wax is on the shoe and the rag begins to dry! I used to just swirl it on, let it dry, then buff. Instead, you skip the drying portion and go straight from apply into buffing. This is another tip I learned in the Shoe thread that helped.

5. Do this about 1-3 more times, using less wax and less pressure as you build layers. It takes some practice and touch to get it down. Keep trying until you get it. If your shine goes backwards, just add another layer with less wax and more moisture so that you are gliding the cloth over the waxy layer. The wax will sort of "cure" and harden and it should start to feel like a freshly waxed car.

Hopefully this helps somewhat! Just practice until you find a technique that works best for you.

I was very surprised how nicely the Copper R&T leather shined up with some elbow grease. The Featherstone takes a shine very easily and beautifully. Both shine up better than CXL, at least with my technique/used products, which made me appreciate Red Wing more.

Worn pics:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarioImpemba 

 

Certainly.

 

I followed this technique picked up in the Shoe Care thread, and it worked great:

 

 

 

1. Use cloth/tshirt/rag, soak it in a bowl/cup of water, ring it out so it's only damp, not dripping

2. Make sure you add some water to the tin of Kiwi so the wax is moist and the cloth glides around it easily to pick up wax

3. Apply wax generously and with a circular motion (I usually wrap one or two fingers with the cloth)

4. Continue to do the circular motion until most of the wax is on the shoe and the rag begins to dry! I used to just swirl it on, let it dry, then buff. Instead, you skip the drying portion and go straight from apply into buffing. This is another tip I learned in the Shoe thread that helped.

5. Do this about 1-3 more times, using less wax and less pressure as you build layers. It takes some practice and touch to get it down. Keep trying until you get it. If your shine goes backwards, just add another layer with less wax and more moisture so that you are gliding the cloth over the waxy layer. The wax will sort of "cure" and harden and it should start to feel like a freshly waxed car.

 

Hopefully this helps somewhat! Just practice until you find a technique that works best for you.

 

I was very surprised how nicely the Copper R&T leather shined up with some elbow grease. The Featherstone takes a shine very easily and beautifully. Both shine up better than CXL, at least with my technique/used products, which made me appreciate Red Wing more.

 

 

Thanks so much, this reminds me of how we used to spit shine our shoes/boots in the Corps - but that was 40 years ago. I will give this a try!

Quote:

Originally Posted by milw50717 


The techniques tend to be pretty much the same for the standard spit and polish
There's pretty good guides on this page - http://a-butler-for-all-occasions.co.uk/The_Butlers_Tips.php
The guide to 'shiny footwear' is what you want unless you have stiff leather and want to go OTT and do the 'beeswax' guardsman ammo boot

Thanks, I will check it out...

Yes, one was the name used in the US, one the name used in Europe. Something like that.