Brush Up Your Shoecare

One of the main consituents of any shoe cleaning kit is of course the brushes. You will be using them to apply to the upper, welt and for removal. So it is worth taking some time to find out which brushes are most suited to you and your budget. When I say budget you may think to yourself, ‘how much could I possibly spend on a couple of brushes?’ well you would be surprised. We at Goodall’s use sets of bespoke brushes that retail at over £100

FANCY COMING BACK TO MINE AND LOOK AT MY BRUSHES?

A good brush will not only enhance the shine, but also means it will take you much less time to remove the application. The finest brushes will be natural and probably made from horse hair or boar bristle. One of the major stumbling blocks with the cheaper applicator brushes is that, you need to create quite a bit of downforce on the brush so as to thoroughly work the polish into the leather, the net effect of this is that if the brush is not constructed well you will find either;

a) The bristles will tangle up and look like rosettes.
b) They will fall out altogether.
c) You can not impress members of the opposite sex with your
expensive brushes!

To make your choice a little easier I have taken 3 of the most popular brushes and reviewed them for you,

Kiwi/Timpsons
RRP: £3.29 +

Utter rubbish. Expect them to fall apart pretty quickly, very weak bristle setting. Above all that the biggest design flaw is that the is a massive overhang around the edge of the brush which prevents you from getting the brush into the tin properly, you end up dipping the handle into the polish rather than the bristle. Pathetic. I can’t even believe these made it to the shop floor.

Dasco
RRP £3.25 small £4.25 large

This is a nice brush and would come out top on the value for money range. Prices can range considerably, so look to the internet.

Kent Brushes
RRP: £31

Only coming as part of a complete set, these are probably the best of the bunch, however you are paying for the name and you have to be a real aficianado to part with £31 for these.

If your trying out a brush in the shop and you are unsure about the quality rub it vigorously on your hand see if any bristles come off if so avoid, nothing more annoying than bristles all over you shiny shoe. Secondly look to the fibre, i.e is it natural.

Hope this helps

Drew