SHOE DRESSINGS

(See also Leather.)

Acid-free Blacking.—

Lampblack27–36 parts
Bone black 3 parts
Syrup60–70 parts

Put in a kettle and under gentle heat stir together until a smooth, homogeneous mass has been attained. In another kettle put 3 parts of finely shredded gutta percha and warm over an open fire until it begins to run, then add, with constant stirring, 5 parts of olive oil, continuing the heat until the gum is completely dissolved. When this occurs dissolve in 1 part of stearine, and add the whole while still hot in a slow stream, and under diligent and constant stirring, to the mixture of syrup and blacks. Continue the agitation of the mass until it is completely homogeneous. Now dissolve 4 parts of Senegal gum in 12 parts of water, and add the solution to the foregoing mass. Stir well in and finally add sufficient mirbane (about 1/5 part) to perfume.

Blacking Pastes.

I.—Marseilles soap  122 parts
Potassium carbonate   61 parts
Beeswax  500 parts
Water2,000 parts

Mix and boil together with occasional stirring until a smooth, homogeneous paste is obtained, then add, a little at a time, and under constant stirring, the following: {632}

Rock candy, powdered  153 parts
Gum arabic, powdered   61 parts
Ivory black1,000 parts

Stir until homogeneous, then pour, while still hot, into boxes.

The following makes a very brilliant and durable black polish for shoes:

II.—Bone black40 parts
Sulphuric acid10 parts
Fish oil10 parts
Sodium carbonate crystal18 parts
Sugar, common brown, or molasses20 parts
Liquid glue, prepared as below20 parts
Water, sufficient.

Soak 10 parts of good white glue in 40 parts of cold water for 4 hours, then dissolve by the application of gentle heat, and add 1.8 parts of glycerine (commercial). Set aside. Dissolve the sodium carbonate in sufficient water to make a cold saturated solution (about 3 parts of water at 60° F.), and set aside. In an earthenware vessel moisten the bone black with a very little water, and stirring it about with a stick, add the sulphuric acid, slowly. Agitate until a thick dough-like mass is obtained, then add and incorporate the fish oil. Any sort of animal oil, or even colza will answer, but it is best to avoid high-smelling oils. Add a little at a time, and under vigorous stirring, sufficient of the saturated sodium carbonate solution to cause effervescence. Be careful not to add so freely as to liquefy the mass. Stir until effervescence ceases, then add the molasses or sugar, the first, if a soft, damp paste is desired, and the latter if a dryer one is wanted. Finally, add, a little at a time, and under constant stirring, sufficient of the solution of glue to make a paste of the desired consistency. The exact amount of this last ingredient that is necessary must be learned by experience. It is a very important factor, as it gives the finished product a depth and brilliancy that it could not otherwise have, as well as a certain durability, in which most of the blackings now on the market are deficient.

III.—Soap  122 parts
Potassium carbonate   61 parts
Beeswax  500 parts
Water2,000 parts

Mix and boil together until a smooth, homogeneous paste is obtained, then add

Bone black1,000 parts
Powdered sugar  153 parts
Powdered gum arabic   61 parts

Mix thoroughly, remove from the fire, and pour while still hot into boxes.

Boot-top Liquid.—

Solution of muriate of tin3 drachms
French chalk (in powder)1 ounce
Salt of sorrel  1/2 ounce
Flake white1 ounce
Burnt alum  1/2 ounce
Cuttle-fish bones (powdered)1 ounce
White arsenic1 ounce
Boiling water1 quart

Brown Dressing For Untanned Shoes.—

Yellow wax 30 parts
Soap 12 parts
Nankin yellow 15 parts
Oil of turpentine100 parts
Alcohol 12 parts
Water100 parts

Dissolve in the water bath the wax in the oil of turpentine; dissolve, also by the aid of heat, the soap in the water, and the Nankin yellow (or in place of that any of the yellow coal-tar colors) in the alcohol. Mix the solutions while hot, and stir constantly until cold. The preparation is smeared over the shoes in the usual way, rubbed with a brush until evenly distributed, and finally polished with an old silk or linen cloth.

Heel Polish.—

I.—Carnauba wax 5 parts
Japanese wax 5 parts
Paraffine 5 parts
Oil of turpentine50 parts
Lampblack 1 part
Wine black 2 parts

Melt the wax and the paraffine, and when this has become lukewarm, add the turpentine oil, and finally the lampblack and the wine black. When the black color has become evenly distributed, pour, while still lukewarm, into tin cans.

II.—Melt together Japanese wax, 100 parts; carnauba wax, 100 parts; paraffine, 100 parts; and mix with turpentine oil, 500 parts, as well as a trituration of lampblack, 10 parts; wine black, 20 parts; turpentine oil, 70 parts. {633}

Liquid Blackings.

The following formulas make a product of excellent quality:

I.—Ivory black120 parts
Brown sugar 90 parts
Olive oil 15 parts
Stale beer500 parts

Mix the black, sugar and olive oil into a smooth paste, adding the beer, a little at a time, under constant stirring. Let stand for 24 hours, then put into flasks, lightly stoppered.

II.—Ivory black200 parts
Molasses200 parts
Gallnuts, bruised 12 parts
Iron sulphate 12 parts
Sulphuric acid 40 parts
Boiling water700 parts

Mix the molasses and ivory black in an earthen vessel. In an iron vessel let the gallnuts infuse in 100 parts of boiling water for 1 hour, then strain and set aside. In another vessel dissolve the iron sulphate; in another, 100 parts of the boiling water. One-half of this solution is added at once to the molasses mixture. To the remaining half add the sulphuric acid, and pour the mixture, a little at a time, under constant stirring, into the earthen vessel containing the molasses mixture. The mass will swell up and thicken, but as soon as it commences to subside, add the infusion of gallnuts, also under vigorous stirring. If a paste blacking is desired the preparation is now complete. For a liquid black add the remaining portion of the boiling water (500 parts), stir thoroughly and bottle.

Patent-leather Polish.—
Yellow wax or ceresine  3 ounces
Spermaceti  1 ounce
Oil of turpentine 11 ounces
Asphaltum varnish  1 ounce
Borax 80 grains
Frankfort black  1 ounce
Prussian blue150 grains

Melt the wax, add the borax, and stir until an emulsion has been formed. In another pan melt the spermaceti; add the varnish, previously mixed with the turpentine; stir well and add to the wax; lastly add the colors.

Preservatives For Shoe Soles.

II.—Dissolve ordinary household soap in water; on the other hand, dissolve an aluminum salt—the cheapest is the commercial aluminum sulphate—in water and allow both solutions to cool. Now pour the aluminum salt solution, with constant stirring, into the soap solution, thereby obtaining a very fine precipitate of aluminum oleate. The washed-out residue is dried with moderate heat. By adding 10 to 30 per cent to petroleum with slight heating, a solid petroleum of vaseline-like consistency is received, which may be still further solidified by additional admixture. A 10 per cent solution of aluminum oleate in petroleum is a very excellent agent for preserving the soles, a single saturation of the soles sufficing forever. The sole will last about 1 year.

III.—The following mixture is prepared by melting together over the fire in an enameled iron vessel: Vaseline, 400 parts; ceresine, 100 parts. The melted mass, which is used as a grease, is filled in wooden boxes or tin cans.

IV.—The oleic acid of the stearine factories is heated with strong alcohol and sulphuric acid. Take 16 parts of oleic acid, 2 parts of alcohol (90 per cent), and 1 part of concentrated sulphuric acid. The oleic-acid ether formed separates as a thin brownish oil. It is liberated from free sulphuric acid and the alcohol in excess by agitation with warm water and allowing to settle. This oleic-acid ether is mixed with the same weight of fish oil, and 4 to 8 parts of nitro-benzol are added per 1,000 parts to disguise the odor.

Tan And Russet Shoe Polishes:

To Renovate And Brighten Russet And Yellow Shoes.

The liquid application consists usually of a solution of yellow wax and soap in oil of turpentine, and it should be a matter of no difficulty whatever to compound a mixture of this character at least equal {634} to the preparations on the market. As a type of the mixture occasionally recommended we may quote the following:

I.—Yellow wax4 ounces
Pearl ash4 drachms
Yellow soap1 drachm
Spirit of turpentine7 ounces
Phosphine (aniline)4 grains
Alcohol4 drachms
Water, a sufficient quantity.

Scrape the wax fine and add it, together with the ash and soap, to 12 ounces of water. Boil all together until a smooth, creamy mass is obtained; remove the heat and add the turpentine and the aniline (previously dissolved in the alcohol). Mix thoroughly, and add sufficient water to bring the finished product up to 1 1/2 pints.

II.—Water18 parts
Rosin oil 4 1/2 parts
Spirit of sal ammoniac, concentrated 1 1/5 parts
White grain soap 1.93 parts
Russian glue 1.59 parts
Brown rock candy 0.57 parts
Bismarck brown 0.07 parts

Boil all the ingredients together, excepting the pigment; after all has been dissolved, add the Bismarck brown and filter. The dressing is applied with a sponge.

III.—Beeswax, yellow 2 ounces
Linseed oil 3 ounces
Oil turpentine10 ounces

Dissolve by heat of a water bath, and add 1 1/4 ounces soap shavings, hard yellow. Dissolve this in 14 ounces of hot water.

IV.—A simpler form of liquid mixture consists of equal parts of yellow wax and palm oil dissolved with the aid of heat in 3 parts of oil of turpentine.

V.—Soft or green soap1 ounce
Linseed oil, raw2 ounces
Annatto solution (in oil)7 ounces
Yellow wax2 ounces
Gum turpentine7 ounces
Water7 ounces

Dissolve the soap in the water and add the solution of annatto; melt the wax in the oil of turpentine, and gradually stir in the soap solution, stirring until cold.

The paste to accompany the foregoing mixtures is composed of yellow wax and rosin thinned with petrolatum, say 4 parts of wax, 1 part of rosin, and 12 parts of petrolatum.

Paste Dressings For Russet Shoes.

A simple formula is:

I.—Yellow wax 9 parts
Oil of turpentine20 parts
Soap 1 part
Boiling water20 parts

Dissolve the wax in the turpentine on a water bath and the soap in the water and stir the two liquids together until the mixture becomes sufficiently cold to remain homogeneous.

Another formula in which stearine is used is appended:

II.—Wax 1 part
Stearine 2 parts
Linseed oil 1 part
Oil of turpentine 6 parts
Soap 1 part
Water10 parts

Proceed as above.

Carnauba wax is often used by manufacturers of such dressings instead of beeswax, as it is harder and takes a higher polish. These dressings are sometimes colored with finely ground yellow ocher or burnt umber. If the leather be badly worn, however, it is best to apply a stain first, and afterwards the waxy dressing.

Suitable stains are made by boiling safflower in water, and annatto is also used in the same way, the two being sometimes mixed together. Oxalic acid darkens the color of the safflower. Aniline colors would also doubtless yield good results with less trouble and expense. By adding finely ground lampblack to the waxy mixture instead of ocher, it would answer as a dressing for black leather.

Waterproof Shoe Dressings.

I.—Caoutchouc 10 parts
Petroleum 10 parts
Carbon disulphide 10 parts
Shellac 40 parts
Lampblack 20 parts
Oil lavender  1 part
Alcohol200 parts

Upon the caoutchouc in a bottle pour the carbon disulphide, cork well, and let stand a few days, or until the caoutchouc has become thoroughly gelatinized or partly dissolved. Then add the petroleum, oil of lavender, and alcohol, next the shellac in fine powder, and heat it to about 120° F., taking care that as little as possible is lost by evaporation. When the substances are all dissolved and the liquid is tolerably clear, add the {635} lampblack, mix thoroughly, and fill at once into small bottles.

II.—A waterproof blacking which will give a fine polish without rubbing, and will not injure the leather:

Beeswax18 parts
Spermaceti 6 parts
Turpentine oil66 parts
Asphalt varnish 5 parts
Powdered borax 1 part
Frankfort black 5 parts
Prussian blue 2 parts
Nitro-benzol 1 part

Melt the wax, add the powdered borax and stir till a kind of jelly has formed. In another pan melt the spermaceti, add the asphalt varnish, previously mixed with the oil of turpentine, stir well, and add to the wax. Lastly add the color previously rubbed smooth with a little of the mass. The nitro-benzol gives fragrance.

Waterproof Varnish For Beach Shoes.—

Yellow.—

Water150 parts
Borax  5 parts
Glycerine  3 parts
Spirit of ammonia  1 part
White shellac 25 parts
Yellow pigment, water soluble  1 part
Formalin, a few drops.

Orange.—

Water150 parts
Borax  5 parts
Glycerine  2 parts
Spirit of ammonia  1 part
Ruby shellac 22 parts
Orange, water soluble  1 part
Brown  0.3 parts
Formalin  0.1 part

Pale Brown.—

Water150 parts
Borax  5 parts
Glycerine  2 parts
Spirit of ammonia  0.25 parts
White shellac 25 parts
Yellow, water soluble  8 parts
Orange  0.3 parts
Formalin  0.1 part

Stir the glycerine and the spirit of ammonia together in a special vessel before putting both into the kettle. It is also advisable, before the water boils, to pour a little of the nearly boiling water into a clean vessel and to dissolve the colors therein with good stirring, adding this solution to the kettle after the shellac has been dissolved.

White Shoe Dressing.—

I.—Cream of tartar3 ounces
Oxalic acid1 ounce
Alum1 ounce
Milk3 pints

Mix and rub on the shoes. When they are thoroughly dry, rub them with a mixture of prepared chalk and magnesium carbonate.

II.—Water136 parts
Fine pipe clay454 parts
Shellac, bleached136 parts
Borax, powdered 68 parts
Soft soap  8 parts
Ultramarine blue  5 parts

Boil the shellac in the water, adding the borax, and keeping up the boiling until a perfect solution is obtained, then stir in the soap (5 or 6 parts of “ivory” soap, shaved up, and melted with 2 or 3 parts of water, is better than common soft soap), pipe clay, and ultramarine. Finally strain through a hair-cloth sieve. This preparation, it is said, leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. A good deal of stiffness may be imparted to the leather by it. The addition of a little glycerine would remedy this. The old application should be wiped away before a new one is put on. This preparation is suitable for military shoes, gloves, belts, and uniforms requiring a white dressing.

SHOES, WATERPROOFING: See Waterproofing.

SHIO LIAO: See Adhesives, under Cements.

SHIP COMPOSITIONS AND PAINTS: See Paints.

SHOW BOTTLES FOR DRUGGISTS: See Bottles.