How to Fix Cracked Shoe Polish - Double Boiler method

This video shows you my preferred way to re-solidify carcked paste wax shoe polish while changing the composition the least. Applying too much heat, such as heating the tin directly with flame while un-covered can drive out the more volatile solvents within the wax, thus altering it's performance afterwards.
My personal preferred brand of shoe polishes and conditioners are Pure Polish Products, available at www.PurePolishProducts.com.
Saphir products can be purchased at Kirby Allison's website:
www.KirbyAllison.com
Link to The Elegant Oxford's website:
www.TheElegantOxford.com
Here's the video I referred to in the video (it was released August 2018 before I was introduced to Pure Polish Products):
"Kiwi vs Saphir: Spit Shine Head to Head!":
• Kiwi vs Saphir: Spit S...
Music Credit: KZbin Audio Library:
"Tiptoe Out the Back" by Dan Lebowitz

[@silentroar8264]

we are living in an amazing world, a gentleman named Bob has solved the problem of shahzad located thousands of miles away in Lahore- Pakistan. Thanks a lot.

[@hasanjamalkhan689]

Haha i am from Karachi!

[@PeterBrownPianist]

Great video Bob and I LOVE the judicious use of background music….just fades in when there's no dialogue and fades out when you're talking. Oh that all videos did that! Thanks a million!

[@CobblerBob]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stephenabm7779]

While serving in the US Army, we used Kiwi Polish as we did not know of any other available Polish. We used to take the cover off, light it until it melted, and then put out the flame when the cover was placed on it. I used this procedure until the past year, when I stopped using Kiwi. I think Bob's procedure is probably a better way.

[@jamiehanson5567]

So happy to see your site, Bob. No fumes, no mess...almost, and it worked out fine. I did mine in a stainless pot as I think a spill on my beloved cast iron would forever flavor the Everything I use my cast iron for. By the way, what a gorgeous collection of footwear you have. My dad, a lawyer, was into shoes 70 years ago and all similar to yours. As a farmer I tend to the Timberland brand, and keep them polished

[@ianmedium]

Must admit I fell for the Sapphire story, spent a small fortune on the stuff and then realised that my old meltonian shoe creams and kiwi hard polish did exactly the same thing for my shoes at a huge fraction of the cost. My leather looks no better or worse since giving up the expensive french stuff. The leather is supple and if I want a high shine the Kiwi which I also used when in the RAF still gives me a mirror finish no worse than the Sapphire! thirty bucks for a tin of shoe polish is frankly ridiculous but hey, if you have money to burn go for it!

[@Liquidrodents]

Just say you're broke

[@glasslantern5439]

@@Liquidrodentsjust save money, sapphire is a scam nigga

[@halfnorfolk5310]

I use a candle warming plate that I bought at Walmart to melt mine back. No flames, just warming to melt the wax to a melted state without excess heat or vapors.

[@CobblerBob]

Great idea!

[@asadb1990]

I have seen a cup warmer or wax melter pad. Its commonly used to melting wax for hair removal

[@MrAnarchris]

i used to always set the polish on fire to spit shine in the army circa 1978 .... thanks for good ideas

[@greggboone3158]

This is an awesome way to fix all of those broken pieces. I had two cans to fix. I bought the second can cause I got tired of dealing with the broken pieces in the first can. However, it wasn't long before the second can started developing cracks as well. Nevertheless, when I melted the wax, it turned out perfect, almost resembling two brand-new cans of wax. Thank you for the great tip.

[@johnalterio372]

2:31 yeah, we are all in the same boat! God bless you, Robert.

[@CobblerBob]

LOL, I'm glad you caught the comment. And thank you!

[@howardebenstein3204]

Great idea. However, to control the heat better, perhaps bring the water to a boil, turn off the flame, THEN place the tins in the hot water. Could leave the covers on as you did to help keep the volatiles in the container, or experiment with the lid off to make it easier to monitor the melting progress (and less chance of spilling molten wax). Not sure if the water would hold enough heat to get the job done, but seems like it would be worth a try wirh basically nothing to lose. Might even be able to do multiple tins at the same time.

[@zefdin101]

Great video Robert. I have remelted my Saphir in toaster oven on very low temp, but it did not occur to me that I’d be flashing off the solvents it requires. That is a very, very good point, especially at $33 a tin.. Thanks again and keep up the good work my friend!!

[@CobblerBob]

You are very welcome! Sorry for taking so long to comment, I get behind sometimes!

[@philschiavone101]

Bob, carnuba wax melts at 187 to 190 degrees and beeswax around 150. Once you get the water boiling, you can turn off the gas and just leave the tin in the water till it cools. I started a tin of wax on fire using the direct heat method and ruined it.

[@CobblerBob]

Thanks for the info! I didn't realize carnuba wax has such a high melting point.

[@theodoregreen687]

Cute video. Fun change of pace. I like the mittens.

[@LaurenceTanLuciusFlux]

Great video! I used the same method when I melted my darts grip waxes into small metal travel containers.

[@janeeni]

Thankyou much for this Intel.🙏❤️

[@thomash.9930]

Thanks, Bob. I am in this exact situation with black wax too. I shall use your methods soon. Regards.

[@arvindsahai552]

In India I have been using Kiwi or Cherry Wax polish costing less than a US dollar, i.e, Rs. 54/- approx. Here One US Dollar is equal to Rs. 82/- . I also use Woods gel polish costing Rs. 445/- or about 5 USD for 100 ml. I just bought Saphir black wax online, which costed me in India Rs. 2000/- which is 38 times costlier than my regular wax polish, but after using Saphir wax I concluded that Saphir only saves time in getting spitshine. I agree with your previous video about Saphir and Pure polish. Thanks for sharing and teaching.

[@CobblerBob]

WOW, that's quite a difference in cost! There probably is some difference in the longevity of the leather too. From my perspective, for shoes that I own, that I paid a significant amount for, it's well worth it to spend more for better quality polish, seeing that one tin of it will last a year or two.

[@thomaskraincuk9815]

Great content as always, Bob. Thx 4 your very useful hints. Please think of eliminating that „I‘m not a professional, tho“. Kind regards from Vienna.

[@CobblerBob]

Thank you! LOL

[@thomaskraincuk9815]

@@CobblerBob I'm serious, Bob! Enough of this exagerated modesty, please!

[@Michel.Alvarado]

Great video Bob! Will use this soon. I imagine it’ll make waxing easier in not having to fish around for the wax. Cheers!

[@CobblerBob]

One more tip: if the polish is shallow like this, tip it to the side to get it to all run over to one side so it's not so shallow. This will help prevent it from just cracking again.

[@gle_Goo_Japan]

Thanks your movie, I will try to same method for my totally dried shoe cream can of Crockett&Jones which I bought Northampton UK.

[@CobblerBob]

No guarantees, but you’ve probably got everything to gain and nothing to loose.

[@ajhoward8888]

Have you never tried adding a bit of turpentine gum spirits while you've got the whole tin melted down? It does refresh the softness a bit after everything solidifies.

[@CobblerBob]

Hmm... no I haven't!

[@davidp7442]

Thank you!!! 🎉

[@avisitorhere]

Put the shoe in a disposable pie or similar tin, which has a larger surface area. That way it won't really matter how much water you use, the tin will float.

[@leq7137]

Saphirs pate de Luxe is way better simply for the fact that it lasts way longer before any signs of cracking. Layering a neutral with a colored pat de luxe produces high gloss shine.

[@CobblerBob]

That makes sense.

[@alanmooney]

Good job there Bob great method

[@wisdom458]

Great technique. Thank You!!!

[@glynhannaford7332]

Good video. 👏 I came up with the same solution some years ago and it works a dream everytime. That is until my latest 'tin' of polish, as the container is plastic! I'm worried the base will melt. Do you think it would be safe in the saucepan of shallow water? Alternatively, could this be microwaved briefly? Your guidance would be appreciated, please.

[@CobblerBob]

Hmm... that may be an issue, I think you'll need to keep the plastic container off of the bottom of the saucepan some how?

[@divyachoudhary1854]

in India cheery shoe polish is quite popular. 😅i find shoe polish smell quite fascinating 😝😝

[@D07891]

Me too , I like the smell of shoe polish

[@divyachoudhary1854]

@@D07891 🤪😁

[@markyoung6284]

@Robert Powers Video idea: Try several different "cheap" solvents (mineral oil, turpentine, linseed oil, etc.) to see which helps re-constitute the shoe polish the best. Would just be one tin of dried shoe polish divided into multiple test samples, so the polish is a controlled variable.

[@CobblerBob]

GREAT idea! The other challenge is that even if it WORKS, that doesn't mean it's "good for" the leather. I know Saphir makes a product specifically for this purpose, but it's fairly expensive if I recall. I'm guesing turpentine may be the ticket because I believe the solvent in Saphir polish is pine turpentine?

[@STEVE_C_1369]

Hey Bob... I heard you say orange oil can be used in the wax. Is what is called essential oil from orange the same thing? Essential oils are used in ultrasonic room misters to freshen the scent of a room.

[@CobblerBob]

I’m honestly not sure. What I meant is that Pure Polish specifically has orange oil as the solvent. I learned that from interviewing Andy, the owner of Pure Polish Products.

[@rmagdos]

I do the same thing with my electric heat gun. That way I can melt it on my work bench without having to worry about spills or splatters. I put the can of wax on its lid while melting it, and let it sit until it hardens again. no muss, no fuss, it's easy and safe.

[@JunoShoeshineArt]

The fact is heating with heat, wax will be hardened and very difficult to take.. Use Saphir's softening solution or ignore it

[@CobblerBob]

Yes, that's the bes solution, but the problem is that stuff is pretty expensive. That's why I am a proponent of the double burner method because it minimizes the outgassing of the more volatile components. At the point my tin was, I felt like I had everything to gain by doing this and not much to loose. P.S. I've been using Pure Polish Products high shine wax for a couple years now, and I recently used it all up. I got to the bottom of the Pure Polish high shine without it cracking. It seems to be less prone to cracking.

[@ooooooooo8853]

Do I do this method for kiwi polish?

[@RADCOMJ1]

top man; I have thatr polish too its amazing :-)

[@adamoneale4396]

Do you think it would work to just buy a bottle of pine turpentine and add a dash to the tins? I have about five tins that I can't bring myself to throw out and one is like a hockey puck

[@CobblerBob]

I can't say for sure... but there's only one way to find out! I would only use the polish on cheap shoes I'm not afraid to ruin at first though. I know Saphir makes a product specifically for this reason, but if I recall, it costs as much as or more than a new tin of polish.

[@adamoneale4396]

@Robert Powers thanks for your reply. I'll give it a go and if it works I'll leave another comment. Good idea on using it on cheap shoes. I'll try it on my old "rough use" pair of dr martins

[@gijsbo2000]

I always put a little turpentine in the tin before heating the wax or polish. A little to begin with, so not too much! (If more is needed, better to repeat the procedure, then putting too much turpentine in initially.) So far this has not given any problems. As these mirror shine waxes are mixtures, adding a bit of turpentine will not at all change the chemical structure, only replenish the turpentine that has evaporated over time. Actually I do the same with the shoe polish creams I use, these can become hard and cracked over time too. However, instead of turpentine I will then use a little orange oil.

[@OjaioFansub]

I guess mine was not that high quality because it turned to a plastic like harness, or heat it way too much.

[@douglasn.3111]

File this under 'news you can use.'

[@johnniebeck727]

I like this methodology but I suggest crumbling shoe wax to small particles first

[@CobblerBob]

That’s a great idea! 👊🏼

[@BigFatTonys]

I know allot more about cooking than shoe care. The method you used is called, "double boiler"

[@CobblerBob]

Thank you, I’ll correct it!

[@vladyslav4]

Why not just adding solvent, lol.

[@CobblerBob]

I've never tried adding solvent. If you've had good success with it, I'm happy to listen though! I think the main challenge with solvent is: 1. If you add enough solvent to reconstitue the wax, will it then be too soft to use as before? 2. If you add solvent, which kind? Just because it softens the wax doesn't mean it will perform well on the shoe 3. If you DO get a solvent that lets you reconstitute it AND has similar shining performance as before, what is the effect of the solvent on the leather? I'd hate to recomend that and then find out 5 years from now my recommended solvent ruined hundreds of pairs of shoes. One thing I learned working in engineering and building engines for weekend hot rods is that small changes in any formula can and usually will have other unintended consequences.

[@vladyslav4]

@@CobblerBob wow, Robert, didn't expect such deep answer 👍. Thanks