Talk:Shoe polish

message: Shouldn't there be a little more on modern day usage?  Like it's controversial usage in uniforms nowadays because of snipers, satalites etc, etc and also the new move of the forces to non-shine boots. -Moocats 13:57, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm intrigued - shoe polish is controversial because of satellites?  Please expand on this. Proto t c 11:05, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Modern day usage? 

message: In french, "cirage" is the generic word for "shoe polish" and I'm pretty sure it never has been a brand name.
Obviously, the advertisement is about the brand "Jean Bart" and claim it is "impermeable cirage" (waterproof shoe polish)
And by the way, Jean Bart was a corsair, not a pirate (whatever English may think about it ;-)  )
:Merci beaucoup, mon ami - cette information est tres interessant. Proto t c 11:04, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Cirage" in french 

message: I created a spoken version of this article this morning (Melbourne time) when it was the featured article of the day. I have realised that recording a spoken version at this time was not a good idea as the article would attract a large number of edits (apart from vandalism), hence changing the article a fair bit. I will re-record a new spoken version of the article within a week, when the number of edits reduces.
--Peter McGinley 17:23, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: You are the king.  I hereby name you Peter 'Awesome' McGinley. Proto t c 11:03, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Spoken version of this article 

message: The references throughout the article are messed up, 13 in the reference list, but there are 29 recorded in the article.  Hichris 18:31, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  References 

message: what is the difference between a "consumer product" and a mere "product"? Also, isn't a consumer somebody who consumes, well, products? In a nutshell, I think the apposition is pointless. dab (ᛏ) 00:03, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Not really, there are also chemical reaction products, mathematical products, industrial products etc. See Product for more details GeeJo (t) (c) 02:14, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: consumer product

message: what makes a shoe polish "modern"? If you're the Kiwi PR department and sufficiently vague in your definition of the word "modern" I'm sure you can get a nice procrustean rationale for calling your product the first "modern" one. But this is the shoe polish page — not the Kiwi (shoe polish) one. Doops |  talk 04:57, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: It was the first one that chemically (and appearance-wise) resembles the shoe polishes manufactured today.  Other brands, such as Erdel and Punch were manfuactured before this, but were more akin to dubbin. Proto t c 10:19, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, I'll take your word for it. But the article does seem heavily Kiwi-centric and perhaps some attention should be given to reducing any danger of a "Kiwi PR machine" perception in the readers' minds. (For example, the anecdotes about the founders of Kiwi don't really belong here but on Kiwi (shoe polish).) Doops |  talk 10:41, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

text: Bloody nonsense, Proto. Are /you/ a Kiwi per chance? If you follow to the link at the bottom of the article, you'll find that it says Im Gegensatz zu der damals gebräuchlichen "Perleberger Wichse", auch "Spuckwichse" genannt, löste sich die neue Schuhcreme von Werner & Mertz nicht im Regen auf, schützte somit wirklich vor Nässe und enthielt zusätzlich noch lederpflegende Bestandteile, wie z.B. Terpentinöl., meaning ...unlike then-traditional shoe polish, the new shoe polish by Werner & Mertz did not dissolve in rain, thus protected from moisture and also contained ingredients to preserve the leather, like turpentine oil. The company's history page doesn't say when exactly the product was invented, but the "modern shoe polish" Erdal was trade-marked in 1901, and it was not "more akin to dubbin" Kar98 13:17, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I think your response is down to a little bit of nationalist pride, and moreso down to your definition of a shoe polish.  Dubbin preserves and waterproofs leather.  That is what Erdal did, which is why I said it was more akin to dubbin.  Yes, it was different in that it did not dissolve in water (not being able to speak German, I can't figure out what it did contain, presumably it used waxes rather than tallow).  The first modern shoe polishes contained high concentrations of napthalene and other volatiles, which allow fast evapouration of residue, producing a lasting shine.   I think maybe because the Werner & Mertz website (taking your word for it here, as ich nicht sprechen zie Deutsche wehr gut) describes shoe polishes that came before it as 'then-traditional', there is some crossed wires here.  What I termed modern shoe polishes contain high concentrations of volatiles, as nearly all of them have done so since 1906.  Kiwi was the first to do so.  Incidentally, a product that did the same thing as Erdel, Punch, was first manufactured in Ireland in 1851. Proto t c 14:41, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Incidentally, not even the Kiwi shoe polish website supports the claim that Kiwi "was the the first modern shoe polish". Read on Kar98 18:13, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  "modern" 

message: Actually, on visiting Kiwi (shoe polish), I find that it's quite a short stub. It strikes me as odd that, for example,
*anecdotes about the founding of kiwi
*speculation on the role of kiwi shoe polish in the formation of New Zealand national identity
are located here and not there, since they're not really about shoe polish but about one specific company. Surely this content should be sent thither? (This page would retain only technical description of what made kiwi different from other shoe polishes of the time.) Doops |  talk 10:49, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Wikipedia is not paper - be bold and copy any information you think would be useful over to there also. As Kiwi was the first modern polish, the invention of this shoe polish is a valid topic for the article on shoe polish and so it is pertinent. Proto t c 11:03, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I've moved the text across; but I've also edited this article in a gentle attempt to reduce the kiwi anecdotage. Doops |  talk 21:03, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  what belongs here and what doesn't? 

message: Banana skins(as shown here in this GIF) are very good shoe polishers. This GIF has been featured on the banana page and i wanted to reccomend to put it on this page.
The animated gif looks terrible.  It is very dark, almost impossible to make anything out on it.  I recomend it be removed, but since I can't log on on this computer, I'm hesitant to do it myself.  199.224.17.21 (talk) 16:04, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Banana shoe shine 

message: A banana peel can be used to effectively shine shoes. Dfrg.msc  1 . 2 . 3 07:43, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Other practical uses 

message: Consider removing this image. It is not clear enough
It is very heavy, makes the loading of page arduous
Jon Ascton (talk) 15:40, 7 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Remove this Image

message: Bhadani, you reverted an edit I made, and I'd like to understand why.
The article originally said:
:Shoe polish is also used in applying graffiti tags too. It makes a wonder ink that flows well for fast and sharp looking tags.
I changed it to:
:Shoe polish can also be used to create graffiti, as its flow characteristics are well suited for the task.
I have multiple issues with the original phrasing.  The first sentence is grammatically incorrect ("polish is also used... too"), and contains a slang term ("tags").  The second sentence contains overly informal terminology ("wonder ink", as well as another use of "tags"), and a subjective value judgment ("fast and sharp looking tags").
I acknowledge that my rewording is a bit clumsy, but how can you justify the original sentence being remotely encyclopedia-appropriate?
Stephen Hui 21:49, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Graffiti reference 

message: While this article is interesting and informative it almost comes across as an advertisement of Kiwi Polish, which is after all only one of a number of brands of shoe polish.
I do not know enough about shoe polish or the brands available to edit the page, but I definitely feel that it needs editting to remove the bias. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by J R van Zijl (talk • contribs) 10:06, 14 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Shoe Polish. 

message: I heard that in the former Soviet Union, when vodka was rationed, shoe polish factory workers used to drink their product...by pouring the liquid in a cup and putting salt in it. When the ball of rubber from the toxic chemicals came floating up, they'd drink it...
Disgusting and definitely not good for the brain, but what are you going to do? This is a fairly reliable source too, my father, who lived there for 5 years. His co-workers used to drink shoe polish in the bathrooms all the time. -Uagehry456|TalkJordanhillVote 07:39, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Can you provide any kind of reference (in print or on the web) for this, rather than your father? Neil ╦ 08:39, 11 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alcohol replacement 

message: Dear All, Could you please sent to me the ingredients% For self-shining liquid shoe polish to my Email ahmedgamal1980@hotmail.com  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.53.167.14 (talk) 04:25, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  self-shining liquid shoe polish ingredients 

message: ash and container need disambig 90.55.145.208 (talk) 14:14, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  disambig 

message: Seems to me that there are some unnecessary comments about the Nugget brand of shoe polish here. Anyone think that they shouldn't be deleted? user:jimjamjak (talk) 10:42, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Advertising of 'Nugget' 

message: I propose that Boot polish holder be merged into Shoe polish. I think that the content in the Boot polish holder article can easily be explained in the context of Shoe polish, and the Shoe polish article is of a reasonable size in which the merging of Boot polish holder will not cause any problems as far as article size or undue weight is concerned. Gsingh (talk) 19:16, 20 November 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: In its current condition I would not merge boot polish holder with anything; it's nothing better than a dictionary stub (see Wikipedia is not a dictionary), has no referencing (see Wikpedia:Reliable sources), no formatting (see the Manual of Style), and should probably be deleted. fish&karate 16:46, 21 November 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree with that, that was my first choice but I decided to err on the side of caution, would this qualify as a speedy delete? Gsingh (talk) 06:06, 22 November 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd go with Proposed deletion. fish&karate 17:35, 23 November 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Merger proposal 

message: Under the heading "Usage", it reads "It must be mentioned that those in the military do not use actual 'spit' to spit shine their boots and shoes.  Spit contains enzymes that break down the polish so that it does not shine, but remains dull."  No sources are given for these claims.  Furthermore, I can state from personal experience that they are not widely accepted to be true.  I am a member of the military here in the US and not only do I spit-shine my uniform footwear but many of my fellow soldiers do theirs as well.  Furthermore, it seems to be a commonly-held notion amongst those who spit-shine that saliva lubricates the polish better for the upper-layer shining that goes into a spit-shine than does water.  While both of these are anecdotal points, they put lie to the claimed uniformity of thought suggested in the passage.  Unless both claims can be supported with proper sources, I propose that the two sentences be stricken. Bricology (talk) 07:49, 18 June 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: Richard Harvey -- your personal anecdotal experiences are irrelevant here.  The article states "It must be mentioned that those in the military do not use actual 'spit' to spit shine their boots and shoes."  "...Do not use..." is categorical and incorrect.  The subject at hand isn't what the British military or its members do, nor is it about whether or not saliva is "good for shoes"; the subject is simply whether or not the use of saliva is practiced.  Of that, there is no dispute, so the statement in the article is incorrect.   As I said, I'm in the US military (which, it should be mentioned, is more than 4 times the size of the British military and likely far more heterodox) and I know many soldiers who use saliva to spit-shine. Bricology (talk) 05:21, 13 August 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  claims regarding spit-shining 

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*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20051227214830/http://www.kiwiphile.org/sep2000.html to http://www.kiwiphile.org/sep2000.html
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thread_title:  External links modified 

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message: Hello,
I have noticed a mistake ( perhaps from the translation) in the composition of the shoe cream. One of its components is written to be a 'liquid vehicle'. Please review this element which I have replaced by 'liquid detergent'. --Anastasiyakurylo (talk) 21:13, 20 October 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Section 'shoe creams' 

message: There is a lot of uncited text in this article, which violates the FA criteria. The lead is also too short for an article this long. If this is not addressed, a featured article review may be opened. Hanif Al Husaini (talk) 17:02, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  FA status