[[Archivo:Patent_leather_shoes.jpg|thumb|400x400px|Zapatos de cuero charolado]]
El '''El charol''' es un tipo de [[cuero]] recubierto que tiene un acabado muy lustroso y brillante.<ref>{{Plantilla:Cita libro|title = The progressive dictionary of the English language: a supplementary wordbook to all leading dictionaries of the United States and Great Britain|last = Fallows|first = Samuel|authorlink = Samuel Fallows|year = 1885|publisher = Progressive Publishing Company|oclc = 17609997|page = 352|url = http://www.google.com/search?q=Patent-leather%2C+a+kind+of+leather+to+which+a+permanent+polish+la+given+by+a+process+of+japanning.+&tbm=bks&tbo=1#sclient=psy&hl=en&tbo=1&tbm=bks&source=hp&q=%22Patent-leather%2C+a+kind+of+leather+to+which+a+permanent+polish+la+given+by+a+process+of+japanning.%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=5915f5820557ebd8&biw=1920&bih=850|accessdate = August 4, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Gilman">{{Plantilla:Cita libro|title = The New international encyclopaedia|last = Gilman|first = Daniel Coit|authorlink = Daniel Coit Gilman|year = 1906|publisher = [[Dodd, Mead and Company]]|oclc = 4802145|page = 55|volume = 12|url = http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Japanned+leather%2C+varieties+of+which+are+known+as+patent+and+enamel+leather%2C%22&btnG=Search+Books&tbm=bks&tbo=1|accessdate = August 4, 2011}}</ref> El proceso de recubrimiento fue traído a los Estados Unidos y mejorado por el inventor Seth Boyden de Newark, New Jersey en 1818, comenzando el proceso de fabricación comercial el 20 de septiembre de 1819. El proceso de Boyden, el cual no patentó, utilizaba un recubrimiento de laca con base en [[aceite de linaza]].<ref name="Tuttle">{{Plantilla:Cita libro|title = How Newark became Newark: the rise, fall, and rebirth of an American city|last = Tuttle|first = Brad R.|year = 2009|publisher = [[Rutgers University Press]]|isbn = 0-8135-4490-4|page = 27|url = http://www.google.com/search?q=Boyden+never+patented+it+or+many+of+his+other+inventions.&btnG=Search+Books&tbm=bks&tbo=1#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=1&tbm=bks&source=hp&q=%22Boyden+never+patented+it+or+many+of+his+other+inventions.%22&pbx=1&oq=%22Boyden+never+patented+it+or+many+of+his+other+inventions.%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=312l312l1l577l1l1l0l0l0l0l203l203l2-1l1l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=94bd8c462774b94e&biw=1920&bih=850|accessdate = September 21, 2011}}</ref> El charol moderno normalmente tiene un recubrimiento plástico.
