This section is from the book "Cassell's Cyclopaedia Of Mechanics", by Paul N. Hasluck. Also available from Amazon: Cassell's Cyclopaedia Of Mechanics.
To renovate the enamel of patent leather shoes, tree them up tight, and with a sharp knife skive off all the ragged parts of the enamel. Now rub over the whole with very tine sandpaper. This will make the shoes look dull, hut they can be revived with leaf her varnish, patent varnish, ordinary black cream, Nubian, ebonite, or even a thin coat of black polish as used by French polishers.
 
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