uniform shoes with pre-polish

Daniel · May 06, 2009, 04:06:12 AM

I recently got a pair of bates with pre-polish.. my brother this week (he's 5) decided to help with my weekly uniform routine (without my knowledge) and guess what.. be used shoe polish and got it blotchy and bubbly all the sides of my shoes.. any tips on a fix?

IceNine · May 06, 2009, 04:08:18 AM

Pre-polish or coroframs/poromeric finish?

If its the latter good luck... if its just some finish they add at the factory they just clean them with saddle soap and start over.

Daniel · May 06, 2009, 04:10:27 AM

its the latter

so i go off to encampment and get promoted with blotchy shoes ?

IceNine · May 06, 2009, 04:14:35 AM

Try Bates Poromeric Cleaner.

Google that for nearest location, or online store of your choice.

Alcohol... Anyone with experience there? I know alcohol will strip the wax but will it hurt the finish?

I have an old pair I'll do some research and get back with you tomorrow or something.

I wouldn't try anything but Windex, and that cleaner until I get back with you.

SarDragon · May 06, 2009, 05:05:58 AM

Rubbing alcohol won't hurt the finish, but it also doesn't do much to remove polish/wax.

BTW, FYI, it's Corfam.

DBlair · May 06, 2009, 06:41:51 AM

Sadly, I think you might be out of luck with this pair of shoes. It actually isn't the first time I've heard of polish mistakenly being put on these, but it is usually people trying to fix scuff marks. I know of many people who keep their patent leather/corfam dress shoes in the original shoe box in order to avoid potential damage- perhaps you should try this with your next pair.

SarDragon · May 06, 2009, 06:57:21 AM

If he used liquid shoe polish, you might try some stuff called GooGone or GooBeGone. It may or may not remove the polish, but it won't hurt to try. It's orange oil based, and doesn't hurt the shoe material.

I just experimented on an olde pair of shoes, and the slight loss in gloss from the solvent/cleaner was quickly renewed by a VERY LIGHT application of Kiwi polish.

AlphaSigOU · May 06, 2009, 11:41:46 AM

Quote from: SarDragon on May 06, 2009, 06:57:21 AM
If he used liquid shoe polish, you might try some stuff called GooGone or GooBeGone...

Goo Gone, boss. Good stuff.

SarDragon · May 07, 2009, 12:25:53 AM

I have a bottle of each here. Same basic stuff, diff company.

[edit] Same folks. One's really olde.

PaulR · May 08, 2009, 11:46:03 PM

If the shoes are corframs, you are out of luck. You cant go wrong with regular leather. Sure, they take a little time to polish and maintain, but they last forever.

Goo-be-gone will damage the original finish on the plastic corframs, as well as take off some of the polish you are trying to remove. No good.

If you ask me, a polished shine on a leather shoe looks a LOT better than any of that fake stuff. It also tells people that you put time into your uniform. I view corframs as a waste of money.

notaNCO forever · May 09, 2009, 12:21:26 AM

Quote from: PaulR on May 08, 2009, 11:46:03 PM
If the shoes are corframs, you are out of luck. You cant go wrong with regular leather. Sure, they take a little time to polish and maintain, but they last forever.

Goo-be-gone will damage the original finish on the plastic corframs, as well as take off some of the polish you are trying to remove. No good.

If you ask me, a polished shine on a leather shoe looks a LOT better than any of that fake stuff. It also tells people that you put time into your uniform. I view corframs as a waste of money.

I think of it as being efficient not lazy.

SarDragon · May 09, 2009, 12:43:20 AM

Quote from: PaulR on May 08, 2009, 11:46:03 PM
If the shoes are corframs, you are out of luck. You cant go wrong with regular leather. Sure, they take a little time to polish and maintain, but they last forever.

Agreed. BTW, it's Corfam.

QuoteGoo-be-gone will damage the original finish on the plastic corframs, as well as take off some of the polish you are trying to remove. No good.

See my post above. There is no "original finish". They come out of the mold shiny, with a little release compound to keep them from sticking. This can usually be wiped off with a dry cloth. As for Goo (Be) Gone damaging the finish, it doesn't. As stated above, I tested it on some olde shoes, and noticed no detrimental effects.

QuoteIf you ask me, a polished shine on a leather shoe looks a LOT better than any of that fake stuff. It also tells people that you put time into your uniform. I view corframs as a waste of money.

Agreed, to a point. WIWOAD, the Corfams were more expensive. The last time I checked the local military uniform shops, leather shoes cost more.

I wore both OAD, each for a specified purpose. Corfams were shiny for inspections; leather was more comfortable, and more forgiving of carelessness, and lasted longer, for most other occasions. I never wore Corfams as a cadet for the latter reasons.

LtCol057 · May 09, 2009, 02:14:58 AM

We wore Corfams when I worked as a paramedic. Hated them. They looked good for about the first 15 minutes. They were hot during the summer, and they scratched too easily. It was a lot better when we switched over to Magnum boots. Plus the boots gave us more support in our ankles.

SJFedor · May 09, 2009, 02:20:04 AM

Quote from: LtCol057 on May 09, 2009, 02:14:58 AM
We wore Corfams when I worked as a paramedic. Hated them. They looked good for about the first 15 minutes. They were hot during the summer, and they scratched too easily. It was a lot better when we switched over to Magnum boots. Plus the boots gave us more support in our ankles.

Forreal? I wear black leather steel toe boots w/ minimal polish on the truck, and i beat the snot out of those. i'd have corfams torn up in under an hour.

SoCalCAPOfficer · May 09, 2009, 03:02:47 PM

Try this at your own risk. However, I use WD40 when my Corofams start looking bad. Spray it on wipe it off and they look good.

AlaskanCFI · May 10, 2009, 09:18:53 PM

Try Lemon Pledge

Grumpy · May 11, 2009, 01:15:17 AM

Quote from: AlaskanCFI on May 10, 2009, 09:18:53 PM
Try Lemon Pledge

Smells a lot better too!

PHall · May 11, 2009, 01:19:14 AM

Quote from: Grumpy on May 11, 2009, 01:15:17 AM
Quote from: AlaskanCFI on May 10, 2009, 09:18:53 PM
Try Lemon Pledge

Smells a lot better too!

Just ignore the bees that keep landing on your shoes!

Short Field · May 11, 2009, 07:57:58 PM

Quote from: AlaskanCFI on May 10, 2009, 09:18:53 PM
Try Lemon Pledge

That is all I ever used and it would even clean up the edge dressing I would touch up the Corfram shoes with. It detracts a bit from the shine when the heels and edges start to get scuffed looking.

I always had two pair of shoes. An older set that I wore to and from work and around the work area and then a new set that I kept in my office and only put on when I needed to look exceptionally sharpe. Once the new set picked up enough marks to not look "perfect out of the box", they went to every day wear, I bought a new set of shoes, and the older set was retired. If I was lucky I could get 18 months out of a pair of shoes. Half the time the old set got retired because the soles were wearing through and it really doesn't pay to have Corframs resoled.

Hoorah · May 11, 2009, 08:33:35 PM

Quote from: Daniel L on May 06, 2009, 04:06:12 AM
I recently got a pair of bates with pre-polish.. my brother this week (he's 5) decided to help with my weekly uniform routine (without my knowledge) and guess what.. be used shoe polish and got it blotchy and bubbly all the sides of my shoes.. any tips on a fix?

Please edit and spell check it. So it dont look like it was in a rush.