Q. Can use black shoe polish on brown shoes?

Answer

A user can safely use black shoe polish on dark brown shoes. Shoe polish dyes aren't very potent, so they'll just produce a subtle, see-through darkening. However, even if a user is not antiquing the shoes, he/she should still avoid applying heavy coatings of paste polish. Black shoes can be antiqued, but the process requires highlighting the heel, toe, and facing—basically the opposite areas from when antiquing brown shoes. To "antique" a pair of shoes, a user needs only polish them in progressively deeper shades of polish, or lighter shades in the case of black, to simulate the effects of wear and tear.