Kiwi Shoe Polish!!

Woodworks by John

Woodworks by John

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
Joined
Jul 4, 2000
Posts
380
Loc
North Las Vegas, NV
Business
Retired, work from home shop
This may rank as one of the craziest questions to put out here but will do it anyway :icon11: . I'm doing a frame using some steamed Beech left from a furniture project. The wood is very "blotchy" and doesn't stain very well. Some improvement when pre-sealed with diluted seal coat shellac but still not great. I thought, why not try shoe polish and sure enough Kiwi Black gives a very nice, even grey coloration I'm after. Concerned about the durability though, my spit shined shoes in the Corps were great but needed constant touchups. I'm thinking a protective coat of Liberon furniture wax (which I use often on frames) would help,
I know this is an off the wall question but I'd appreciate any thoughts or experience anyone may have had, thanks -- John
 
If the Kiwi looks right, there’s nothing wrong with using it. I’d try:
  1. Seal coat shellac (already done)
  2. Kiwi black polish buffed lightly
  3. Liberon furniture wax
That will give you a stable wax-over-wax finish -and since most frames rarely see abrasion, durability is not a super-big deal.
 
Thought I'd share the results of the Kiwi on the frame. Experimented with pre-sealing but it didn't penetrate enough so sanded to 220. Still have the shoe brush the Corps gave me in 1968 so used that for the initial wax buffing followed with cotton rags. Didn't have an applicator so cut a chip brush down so it had 1/2" bristles and that did the trick. After the first coat was buffed off, applied another real thin layer, let it sit for an hour and buffed it again. I like those results and so does my wife/client. Again, thanks!
Application.webp
Black Kiwi on Beech.webp
 
:thumbsup:
 
I received an email from Fine Woodworking showing how to use hair dye to dye wood. That may give you a wider range of colors to choose from. It's pretty simple. You just apply the dye at its regular strength, but that dyes the wood pretty dark. I suppose you could experiment with different concentrations to get the effect you're going for.
 
Up the block from my retail shop was a friendly hardware store. I could buy a tin of Trewax (floor wax) and ask the owner to drop in a glop of black or umber pigment from their paint-coloring machine. Then I'd go home and heat it up on a double boiler to mix the color in.
A most handy thing to have around for black or brown frames, buff 'em up to a hundred dollar shine for just a buck or two. Works on furniture and old cabinets, too.
 
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