Silly Q#3: Why do shoes shine when we polish them?

Question

Ok, when you apply shoe polish, shoes become matt (!) first, and only when you've polished them with a brush, they become all shiny. Is it because of the molecules or what? :)))

Answer 1

It must be the light that makes them shine, cos they dont shine in the dark.

Answer 2

Leather has a rough surface, which casts shadows and light gets lost. The polish fills in these cracks and crevasses. The surface of the leather is evened out so that light reflects directly back from the surface and is not lost in the cracks, shadows, and crevasses.

Basically, Polishing with a brush gets rid of the excess and evens out the surface

Answer 3

you do realize this is a paranormal section?

Answer 4

You are smoothing the surface of the shoe.  Smooth surfaces are more reflective than rough surfaces.  So when you polish a reflective material you get more of a reflection.  It works the same way when you clean a mirror.

Answer 5

I don't know...What Peter said sounds right. You might like that site "How Stuff Works"...in case you don't know about it. Just google it.

EDIT...probably the same principle as when you wax a car...or polish silver.

Answer 6

it containes wax, mink oil and dyes..the mixture of these materials makes the shoe shine :)