We wore 1950s British battledress (BD) in the 1970s as army cadets; those of us who were NCOs routinely whitened our sleeve chevrons with what I guess you'd call gym-shoe whitener.
Webbing belts and gaiters were 'dressed' with what we called "Blanco", a thick gel-like paste in a tin, applied (with not a little skill) using a wetted brush similar to a shoe brush. I mention this because most regiments applied a blanco which dried quickly to one of various pale greenish colours, yet bandsmen (and Regimental Police) used a white blanco.
Just thought you might find that interesting; I know the US Army would've smartened up their uniforms in a similar way.
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