Discovering the virtues of an electric shoe polisher ...

[SplurgeFrugal]

I recently purchased an electric shoe polisher after acknowledging to myself that I don't have the patience to do a true mirror shine ... on 20 pairs of shoes ... Two light coats of neutral Saphir Mirror Gloss Wax on the toe cap and a quick buffing and I'm good to go. I get better results, faster, and use less wax. All the old-timers who were using electric shoe polishers back in the 1960s when they were really a thing were on to something!

 

[An Acute Style]

Looks good.

 

[thomas199023]

Could you post a picture of the polisher? Where did you buy it?

 

[SplurgeFrugal]

Could you post a picture of the polisher? Where did you buy it?

I purchased an ultra-cheap battery-powered shoe polisher kit set from Amazon (Made in China) just to test the concept. I would not recommend it. It does a great job of polishing toe caps quickly but is so cheaply made that it may not last a month. I am now bidding on a couple of vintage units on eBay made by Black & Decker and GE which are much more robust. I find it more efficient to first do a full polish by hand using shoe cream and a horsehair brush (the electric polisher is rather clunky for polishing the entire shoe) and use the electric polisher just for the toe cap mirror shine. The other thing I like is that you do not require a buildup of waxes on the toe cap to get a high gloss shine. One coat or two of Saphir Mirror Gloss is all you need. The rotating buffer brush is the key to a great shine.