As a person who has many expensive leather dress shoes, I have been doing my own shoe shining and doing shoe care for quite a while now. An have spent a lot of money on shoe care products, but I know not everyone can afford the expensive brands that I use. So, I also want to spotlight on products aside from the major French brand I typically use and give other brands try!
For me, I tend to use the process of cleaner/conditioner, shoe polish (of that same color) and then the wax/mirror gloss. And in addition to that, making sure you have a brush (I uses multiple brushes for different colors of shoes) and a microfiber cloth/towel. Now that is why it tends to cost more, especially for those of us who have shoes of different colors but if you have invested hundreds (or even over a thousand) on a dress shoe, you want to have the best cleaning products available.
For my review today, I am taking a look at the SALTY FISH 12-piece Travel Shoe Polish Kit. While the Amazon description says its for men, women can use this as well.
In this kit, you get the luxury case, a 100% horsehair large, medium and small shoe brush, a shoe edge brush, two buffing cloths, 1 suede shoe cleaner kit, one neutral polish, one black polish, 1 shoe shine sponge and 1 shoe horn.
I have to say this is probably one of the coolest, affordable shoe shine kits I have come across. For under $30, just the contents in this kit would cost over a $100.
For one, it’s important to have many brushes. Because you can use one to remove dirt for pre-shoe shining, another that you can use after shoe polishing, and you can use the other to separate brushes you use for browns or black shoes (utilizing different polishes).
I always feel it’s good to do numerous shoes at once, because there are times where you have to wait for the conditioner to work on the shoe, so might as well do other shoes while you wait.
So make sure your shoes are not muddy, at least clean it off before you start.
So, first step is with the cleaner. I notice this kit does not come with a cleaner for leather shoes, only for suede shoes, which was a major bummer. Salty Fish does sell Mink Oil leather conditioner and cleaner for under $10. Inexpensive considering the one I use is nearly $30. So, you will need to buy a leather cleaner first. As this first step is important! So, clean your shoe thoroughly from the toe box, the heel cap/counter, the camp, tongue, the quarter, slot, strap/saddle, etc.
After using a cleaner, second step is to brush your shoe to remove any excess dirt and then step three is to begin to condition it. Also use a shoe edge brush to clean the edges
This is probably the important part of keeping the longevity of your shoes. This kit does not come with a shoe conditioner but if you got the Salty Fish Mink Oil conditioner and cleaner, then step one and two are taken care of if you get their product. So, do that and some like to use their fingers, I use another cloth (or use one of the provided buffing cloths) or something I can wrap around my finger and wipe around the shoe and then leave it on for ten minutes. Brush it again to remove any excess product.
When you wait about 10-20 minutes then you can add waterproofing spray (this is an optional step).
And then after the cleaning, you can start polishing. As you can see on the kit, they offer a neutral and a black polish.
This would make sense as browns can be troublesome as there are different types of brown shoes (brown orange, brown, dark brown, brownish/red, etc.), I usually have to buy several types of polish for that certain color of shoe and they are expensive at $25 each. So, there are people who prefer to use neutral. There are people who feel “neutral” ruins the finish, there are some who don’t. I believe if you invest in expensive shoes, get a shoe polish that matches your shoe color.
So, the third step is to apply the shoe polish. Use the other towel or your other towel or even the shine sponge to apply the shoe polish to introduce the pigment back to your shoe and it will cover the scratch, scuffs on your shoe. And buff it again to remove any excess polish.
And for a final steps, which are optional, additional wax polishing (then use your brush to remove excess wax) and also edge dressing to cover up the scuffs and scratches on the edges of your shoe. Again, this is all optional and this kit does not come with those products.
For the most part, the SALTY FISH 12-piece Travel Shoe Polish Kit is good for cleaning shoes. You do get a lot for $30! And it’s targeted for those who want to start jumping into cleaning their shoes, and they are no doubt very generous with this kit of what it comes with.
This is for those who want their shoes cleaned and shined but keeping it within their budget, not needing mirror gloss or specific-color shoe polishes. This is a very good set for the price.
The truth is that shoe shining is becoming a competitive market, and there are numerous brands who compete and try to keep their kits around the $24-$60 range. The best I can say is read reviews, look online at videos and see what they come with and what they don’t come with.
Nevertheless, considering I spend nearly $30 alone just for a single conditioner, another $30 for the specific color of shoe polish, and more so for the waxes and other brushes, it all comes down to what you are willing to spend.
For those who just want the cleaning and polishing part of it, it’s better than the usual basic shoe shine kit which comes with little, this SALTY FISH shoe kit, comes with a lot. But if they wanted this to be an ultimate kit, they should have added their SALTY FISH Mink Oil Cleaner/Conditioner and charged an extra $10.
Again the SALTY FISH 12-piece Travel Shoe Polish Kit is great for those getting into shoeshining and shoe care, but if you do intend to get this kit, make sure you buy a cleaner and conditioner to go along with it.
