Meltonian - is it "Kiwi Select"?

[matei]

Hi All,

When I was in LA over the weekend I picked up a jar of neutral Meltonian creme for my my brown shoes. It is the best shoe creme/paste that I've ever used. However, it isn't available, as far as I've ascertained, here in London.

The word on the street is that it is marked here as "Kiwi Select". Is there any truth to that? The jars appear to be similar, and on the Meltonian label it says "Kiwi" in small print...

 

["Doc" Devereux]

I used to get Meltonian from a cobbler near the ancestral pile. Haven't seen it anywhere else, though, so I'd be curious to know the answer as well.

I agree, Matei. That stuff is excellent.

 

[matei]

I had a problem with the neutral polish - the hard stuff in the tin. It would flake off into a white powder where the leather flexed, and it looked awful. If I melted the polish into the leather with me wife's blowdryer it was OK... just OK...

One go with the Meltonian and me shoes look like they're made out of burnished walnut! Excellent stuff indeed. I'd like to try the black as well, save the wear and tear on me elbow/wrist in getting that killer shine.

 

["Doc" Devereux]

The black was my weapon of choice: the only way to beat it was a full-on bulling. You should have seen what it did to my riding boots!

 

[Alan Eardley]

Meltonian

Meltonian shoe cream is freely available in the UK but they don't seem to like selling through the high street 'Mr Minute' type shops. Good cobblers usually have a reasonable range. I find that hard polishes are OK for an everyday shine, but shoe cream is better for 'sweating' or 'spit polishing' to a very high shine. Remember that Kiwi was invented for use on military boots, by two Australians, paradoxically.

Alan

 

[matei]

I found as well that the black Kiwi is fine for everyday shining. To get a mirror-like shine I'd have to sit around and do the spit shining routine, which isn't exactly practical for me.

The other Kiwi colours are OK, but I find their neutral or gloss (something like parade gloss - I can't recall the name) are flaky.

I'll do some research and see if I can't track down the elusive Meltonian...

 

["Doc" Devereux]

It might be worth looking in that place on the City Road that does bespoke work. Do report back!

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

While you chaps are having a discussion on this shoe polish, might I ask a quick, semi fftopic: question?

I haven't polished a shoe since I was about 10 years old, but I recently got a pair of leather heeled shoes. I foolishly drove in them a couple of times and some quite bad scuff marks have appeared on the backs and the heels. What can I do about this? Can they be polished out with normal polish? They are two tone black and white and I don't want to get black on the white so I am scared of even trying, but if I knew what to do I'm sure I could be careful.

I presume I would need to buy all the kit for polishing too, brushes and the like.

 

[Kt Templar]

This is the question I was asking a little while ago on COW. They are great fans of Meltonian over normal "tin" Kiwi. It is a brand name I've come across in th UK so you can buy it here, maybe in some of the older style department stores.

Matei, they might sell it in Johnson shoes in Wallington, but I suspect it's not that hard to find if you look in the right places.

 

["Doc" Devereux]

While you chaps are having a discussion on this shoe polish, might I ask a quick, semi fftopic: question?

I haven't polished a shoe since I was about 10 years old, but I recently got a pair of leather heeled shoes. I foolishly drove in them a couple of times and some quite bad scuff marks have appeared on the backs and the heels. What can I do about this? Can they be polished out with normal polish? They are two tone black and white and I don't want to get black on the white so I am scared of even trying, but if I knew what to do I'm sure I could be careful.

I presume I would need to buy all the kit for polishing too, brushes and the like.

It's certainly worth a try: I'd suggest Kiwi Parade Gloss and a soft cloth - much more precise than brushes - or some of that lovely Meltonian.

 

[manton]

I believe they are made by the same company. Meltonian is cream, Kiwi is wax. Cream does a better job of nourishing and remoisturizing the leather. Wax polishes up to a higher shine and offers more protection against scuffs.

 

[jml90]

I believe they are made by the same company. Meltonian is cream, Kiwi is wax. Cream does a better job of nourishing and remoisturizing the leather. Wax polishes up to a higher shine and offers more protection against scuffs.

They are indeed both made by Sara Lee

 

[Percy Trimmer]

Meltonian = Kiwi Select

Meltonian shoe cream is now marketed in the UK as Kiwi Select. You can get it from http://www.pediwear.co.uk/stock.php?range_ID=90 if you cannot find a local supplier.

Trimmer

 

[matei]

Thanks for the helpful advice gents! :eusa_clap

 

["Doc" Devereux]

Meltonian shoe cream is now marketed in the UK as Kiwi Select. You can get it from http://www.pediwear.co.uk/stock.php?range_ID=90 if you cannot find a local supplier.

Trimmer

Thank you very much Percy, and welcome!

 

[John in Covina]

Penetrating!

I had a problem with the neutral polish - the hard stuff in the tin. It would flake off into a white powder where the leather flexed, and it looked awful. If I melted the polish into the leather with me wife's blowdryer it was OK... just OK...

*****
A friend of mine told me:
one problem is that many shoes when shipped new have a lacquer like coating on the outside that prevents polishes and cremes from penetrating into the leather.

That friend of mine used to use some stuff to wipe down new shoes to get the "lacquer" off before polishing them.

Otherwise the creme or polish did not penetrate and would sit above the lacquer and dry as its own layer of gunk.

 

[carebear]

http://www.valpo.edu/afrotc/Shoe_shining.htm#Strip off

Here's a good link to "how to" start a new pair of shoes. I kind of assume the higher grade of shoe is less likely to come with a protective lacquer but stripping what's on there shouldn't hurt in any event.

Fleur,

It is weird to me that many women buy so many shoes but put little to no effort into maintenance. I guess most aren't ever taught how and (if many of my friends are typical) just buy a new pair as older ones get worn.

One thing my ex (well, all of them) really appreciated was my love of polishing shoes (US citizens, that's your tax dollars at work ).

A little time and effort and they could wear the boots they loved but that just looked too bad now. I think Nordie's is the only store up here that does it but there are stores that have shoe shines in them who can do your shoes while you wait and might take in drop-off work. A real shine man can do magic things to shoes.

 

[John in Covina]

Shine, lady?

I have done the shoe shine boy routine for a old girl friend of mine, and it is true many women don't seem to equate a good clean and polish with the long life of a shoe or boot.

Lincoln makes a good shoe polish too and their black seems to be one of the best going.

A top notch well stocked shoe shine kit is a thing of joy!

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

Thanks for the replies guys. I will give the polishing a whirl, and if the scuffs still look bad I may take them into a cobblers. They need resoling anyway, so perhaps if I go to a proper place they can sort the two things out for me together!

 

[matei]

I do the shoe-shining (and dishwasing) in the house, for me & my wife.

When I was in the Army we actually were instructed to strip the "laquer" off of our class A shoes and put the polish on ourselves. That filled up a few good hours...

I did the same with my brown Tricker's brogues, but no matter what the clear polish I got (and I tried several brands) would always flake unless I melted it. No bother, switched to the Meltonian now and I'm very happy!