Polishing Shoes ! Is it a Dying Art ?


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As the title says, I like to polish my & Mrs Catfan's shoes, to me nothing looks better. A nice shiny pair of shoes I believe last longer & feel more comfortable too.

Out & about on my travels I have started to notice fewer & fewer people wearing nice polished shoes. They might have smart clean clothes on but to me seem to be let down by poorly kept shoes.

Am I in the minority ? I know what benjamin1945 will say !

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As the title says, I like to polish my & Mrs Catfan's shoes, to me nothing looks better. A nice shiny pair of shoes I believe last longer & feel more comfortable too. Out & about on m

What a good new topic Catfan! I always keep my leather shoes well polished and my hubby always polishes his shoes before we go out, without fail. But it annoys me when he cleans them on the kitchen

Right off for a stroll, looks like rain?  

My mum used to polish my shoes every morning while I was eating my breakfast, before going to school. (I know - I should be ashamed of myself!) I don't polish my shoes every day, but I do make a point of doing them in preparation for Sunday. I had an uncle who was in the RAF during the war. He followed military standards in shoe cleaning - removing the laces before polishing them, and also cleaned the soles prior to polishing across the instep (but not the rest of the sole, as it made them too slippery on smooth surfaces).

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I tend to wear trainers/ casual shoes during the week but I do posses three pairs of leather shoes and I wouldn't dream of going out without polishing them .

Nothing looks better than a pair of newly polished shoes and as Catfan says you certainly do feel better in yourself wearing nicely polished shoes.

We were brought up in an age where polishing shoes was just an everyday job like having a wash or cleaning your teeth. When at school I always cleaned my shoes the night before to save time in the morning .

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As about 99% of the population seem to wear trainers nowadays I don't think their owners know what shoe polish is!

My brother was in the RAF and used to remove laces first, but I can't remember if he polished the soles.

We always had to have shoes polished for inspection when I was in the Brownies and the Girl Guides, and I used to polish my school shoes with Cherry Blossom. We had tins of different colours, and spread out some newspaper on the table first before using a rag to put the polish on and buff, and a brush to bring up the shine.

And once I used black polish to cover a stain on some trousers I wanted to wear to go out. Unfortunately half way through the evening I forgot and caught my hand on the material and was covered in it!!

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I must admit I don't clean mine too often,when I was at school we were shown how to clean them properly.My dad used to have his shoes cleaned by people you used to see doing shoe cleaning with their own little stands,mostly seaside places.

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Ah good stout polished shoes,can't beat em,alot of people forget to polish the backs though,i went for an interview when i was about 19 at the Welbeck Hotel on Milton st,and the Interviewer complemented me on my 'Smart' appearance,.............then added,'but remember to Polish the backs of your shoes'...ive never forgot that,............and 'NO' I did'nt get the job,........

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What a good new topic Catfan!

I always keep my leather shoes well polished and my hubby always polishes his shoes before we go out, without fail. But it annoys me when he cleans them on the kitchen worktop.

When I was at school my Dad polished all our shoes every evening and when my boys were at school I polished theirs. They used to go to school in Doc Martin shoes (not boots!) and I could always get a good shine on them.

What makes me cringe is when the TV news shows an item about 'foot fall' in city centre shops or something about schools. The cameras always focus on FEET. Generally the shoes are really scruffy, particularly those worn by kids.

It seems that there is no pride in appearance these days.

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I must admit that I do not clean them every time. Don't do much walking in the wet. Usually they walk from the kitchen to the car and wherever I am going at th other end. Never into mud or anything like that. Tend to just give them a quick brush over. (Shame!)

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When I was little I was fascinated by an uncle who used to spit and polish his black boots, they looked like mirrors, a throw-back from his National Service. When I met my wife's grandma for the first time, she looked me up and down and said,' he'll do, you can always tell the quality of a man by his shoes '.

I've always been fastidious about keeping my shoes well polished and it takes me quite a bit of time, I've got about fifteen pairs at the last count. I use cream to feed the leather and wax to build up the shine on the fronts. I always do the in-steps too. Very therapeutic.

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Re #5. Women don't like dirty fingernails too. Mine are immaculate even after a day's gardening.

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Yes, it's me, scruffy FLY. Would you believe it, I went for suade shoes or desert boots as a teenager.However, I do have some good shoes which I rub up and down on the backs of my jeans. No, really, for the right occasion, I can be properly attired believe me.

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I always use Brashers dubbin on my workboots and a weekly polish with Cherry Blossom, it protects them and keeps them waterproof, much needed in the quarrying industry,Health and Safety at work Act says

By law employers have to provide PPE and by law employees have to look after it, always stuck to that rule

Rog

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#19. Fynger.

In that case then lets agree to disagree.

This thread was started in "Owt Abaaht Nowt" directory, which this thread is.

If it really bothers you that much Fynger then move or delete the posts / thread like you usually do.

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Boot/shoe polish,just come to mind Dad always refered to it as 'Blacknin' and he used to Polish his shoes and Boots in the Kitchen useing a 'Cobblers' iron that he fit the shoe/boot on,...........i used to use it to Hammer me football 'Nogs' in,..............i remember when 'Continental football boots first came in with Rubber nogs' along with Continental shorts high on the thigh,...............had muscular legs in them days,...gone skinny now,..in't old age cruel.

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I remember going to the Palais in the late sixties and there was a shoe shine boy in the Gents toilets.

Oh yes Dave,i remember that,.. great days,.shiny shoes,squirt of 'Old spice' Billy Fury hair style,....watch-out girls,...lets jump the 'Broomstick' :biggrin:

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