I whole heartedly agree with the sentiments about polishing shoes being cathartic (might have something to do with that military indoctrination...). Anyway, in my search for some ghillie brogues to wear with my kilt on semi-formal occasions, all the ones I’ve come across are made if corrected grain leather - i.e., leather that has the top layer of hide sanded down to remove blemishes and then is treated with a lacquer or acrylic varnish. These don’t take polish as the pores have been sealed over and moreover, the varnish will crack with use.

Unless anyone is able to point me to a source of full-grain leather ghillie brogues, my plan is to use acetone to remove the varnish after which I will dye the brogues and then polish as usual. I don’t know how this will turn out, but I’ll report on the results. I’ve read about others doing this with mixed results on other forums in regards to generic dress shoes.