at shoe polish It is a mixture, which serves the care of leather. As a rule, these are shoe stocks that are made of smooth leather. The treatment of the shoes is carried out with a mixture which has a gel, paste and ointment-like and a waxy character. From a chemical point of view, the shoe polish a dispersion or a suspension. At the same time this has Shoe care productsthe function of a surface-active shoe care product.

General thoughts

At first, shoe polish was used until the beginning of the last century. But then Philipp Adam Schneider took over the direction. It came to the production of a first shoe polish whose result was received by the Wachswarenfabrik Werner & Mertz in Mainz. With the beginning of the year 1901 it came in Germany for the shoe polish to grant a patent. However, it comes with the shoe creams to distinctions, since it is a collective term for the various care products. This is due to the fact that the raw materials were once scarce after the First World War and some water was used.

The basic types

A distinction is made between the hard wax cream and the emulsion cream. In the emulsions there is a further distinction. On the one hand there is a water emulsion cream with the solvent water. On the other side is the mixed emulsion cream that contains both organic solvents and water. Another distinguishing feature is the consistency, which is harder with hard wax creams than with emulsion creams. If it came to the use of leather cream in the production of these creams, the consistency can be liquid. In addition, due to the consistency of different packaging used, as is evident on flat tin cans for hard wax creams. The packaging for the emulsion product includes tubes, flat plastic containers and crucibles.

The functioning and the effect

With the application of a shoe polish the following processes get started. First, the scale-like adhesion of the wax particles to the surface occurs. This creates a dull appearance. The use of the waxes results in a water-repellent effect, which is known as the impregnation effect. At the same time creates a protective effect. Furthermore, apart from water emulsion creams, the solvents are an additional guarantee for cleaning. First, a pre-cleaning should be done. Due to the solvents contained in the creams it comes to the removal of the remaining dirt particles. When cleaning, the fats and oils get into the leather layer due to the solvents. This also applies to the emulsion creams whose oil-soluble dyes also penetrate a few millimeters deep into the leather. From the applications of shoe creams with their different versions creates a protective film that is imperceptible to the eyes.

The ingredients of shoe polish

The main active constituents are hard and soft waxes, which combine in the means of wax compositions. This results in a cream, the water repellent effect. If a cream contains hard waxes, the result is a protective effect. In addition, the creams contain fats and oils as well as pigments and dyes. Included in the emulsion creams are emulsifiers.

Shoe creams and the different results

How moisturizing a shoe polish is depends crucially on the protective film. The better it adheres to the leather and has an elastic effect, the better the protection of the shoes. The surface hardness also plays a major role, since the protective film forms a mechanical and a chemical barrier. In this way the washing out of tannins and fats is prevented. While the hard wax creams achieve a reflective gloss effect, when using emulsion creams a silky gloss effect is achieved. The pigmentary colors present in the emulsion creams have a supporting effect.