Art of Manliness - Latest Comments in Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

John Smith — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 19:41:03 -0000

One thing I learned in the Air Force is to use pantyhose as your shine cloth. It does an amazing job.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Joe Garrett — Tue, 13 May 2014 18:28:34 -0000

My dad taught me how to spit shine my shoes (and shine them up generally) when I was growing up. So when I joined the Navy in 1974 I had no problem. My son went through boot camp last year and when we went to his graduation, I saw that he was wearing corfams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wik.... And his combat boots are rough cut leather. I guess spit shining is becoming a lost skill.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

John — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 00:08:17 -0000

Ying, I would use a damp rag to get rid of the heavy dirt and solely use the brush to remove lighter dirt/dust.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Ying — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 04:02:40 -0000

I'm quite new to all this so I apologize if this is a dumb question, but is the brush used to get the dirt and crud off the shoe the same one used to remove excess polish? Is there a chance that the dirt might become embedded in the polish? Would I need two brushes (three including the applicator)? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Ed Harris — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 14:39:24 -0000

Shine your shoes anyway you want. Then use one 5-Day Deodorant Pad to lightly coat the leather of each shoe. The shoes will shine like glass. The only way to get this product any more is to order it on line. (I do not recommend using it on your body.)

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Flavio — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 16:50:16 -0000

I have some other tips, in high school we were required to have a neat clean uniform and black shoes, what I do is rub water all over the shoe and before it drays out light up the shoe polish, with a match or a lighter, once it melted you put the cap on and the fire faints, then use a brush exclusive for putting the polish on, let it get absorbed for a couple of hours, works good to let in under the sun (our tropical shining sun works just great in these regards), then....water again, more polish and a cloth and a brush (other than the one you used for the polish or wax) but don't be shine when brushing, watch your favorite TV sitcom while brushing; the tip, the sided, the heel, the static it creates makes the wax to stick harder and increases impermeability of your kicks, that is what makes them shine. One last tip, use an old sock for rubbing your shoe using it as a glove, old fashion 80's soccer socks are the best for this.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Srinivas Kari — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 11:56:57 -0000

There's an awesome brand called ROBIN....its in Delhi in India...it makes amazing quality polish...I've been using it....if I dont find time, I go to a cobbler and get them shined

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Eddie — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 12:46:13 -0000

Awesome article! If its alright, I would like to give more insight to the mentioned "burn with lighter" method. When done correctly you must NOT burn or "cook" the polish at all. Using the lighter simply melts the polish and allows it to lay out smoothly over the leather and into any pores or nicks easier. Let the new base sit and dry, then begin polishing. Its a quicker way to lay a smooth polish surface base without the extra work, but you still must use cotton balls or a cotton t-shirt with cold water on top of this base to get the boot super shiny! In contrast, if the polish burns, you need to strip it and start all over again.

Edward

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Joe W — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 15:18:56 -0000

Find yourself a Sailor or Marine that served prior to the 70s. He'll tell you how to get those shoes shining so you can see your face in them. Some of what i read in here is good advice but if you really are hard core you need a bit of sticktoitiveness. It will take you a few hours to get it right but once it's done the time to bring it back will be no longer than 5 mins a shoe.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Dr Sheetal Marwaha — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 17:53:46 -0000

Really works well, time consuming but gets easier with time. Many thanks for the tip and I get compliments from everybody. Well done, good article.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Christopher — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 04:32:15 -0000

Being a military man, a Canadian Infantryman at that I thought I would share some tips. I never use a brush on my parade boots, or water. Just a new tin of black and a new kiwi cloth. I don't re-use them because the 5-8 hours of work before a parade I spend on my boots isn't worth scraping them with a grain of sand or a hair. left in them from the previous polishing. I use my pinkie finger to apply and to work in the polish. The smaller the circles the better. I like to finish them off with a buffing from a soft type of pantie-hose it may sound funny but it works very well. nothing special about it just time. When you think they are done spend another half hour on them and be sure to check them under sun light.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Roe Gammon — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:20:55 -0000

I just bought a pair of Aldo Andreano boots and applied a nice polish to it but it almost immediately started to come off. I was able to rub the entire boot right back to its original color. The polish was kiwi and has worked wonderfully on other shoes. The boots are pretreated but I am afraid that this may prevent me from maintaining them as carefully as I prefer to. Any advice?

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Vicky — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:30:42 -0000

Hey Bro....
Thank you with the idea of polishing my new pair of Boot.

since am a new recruit of the Firefighter Service..... it works

Thank you again

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Dustin Dresner — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:08:48 -0000

Old pantyhose will get shoes to shine like a dime in a goat's ass. If your wife/girlfriend doesn't have any old ones available, you can always grab a handful of the disposable ones that are at shoe stores for trying on shoes.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Alex Mote — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:19:26 -0000

I am a freshman, in JROTC.

I have found a great way to shine shoes, although I am looking for a way to bake shine them.

A good way to shine shoes though, is put 7 coats of regular polish (fire shine the last two) and then put three layers of parade gloss on (fire shine all coats). I have one of if not the shiniest shoes in my Corps. (Not counting chloraframs). Over time they will get better, but don't leave the lighter on too long, or anything like that.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Robert Anderson — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 02:01:02 -0000

Hi All,

Great tutorial! I've been polishing my dress shoes since I was 12. I had my whole routine down to an art. I wanted to add a few things though and ask a few questions.

Has anyone tried baking polishes on to make them last longer - i.e. using a hair dryer and such?

What's the best polishes for dress shoes that people have used? I've used all the ordinary stuff like Kiwi, Lincoln, etc., but none of them seem to last very long.

Does anyone know a way to prevent polished shoes from getting scuffed and the polish from wearing off quick?

Thanks!

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

LC — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 03:28:09 -0000

My father, a USAF veteran, taught me how to shine my shoes when I was about 10, and I got lots of practice when I was in the USAF. I didn't get into exotic shine methods, but I did keep my footwear shined. I'm sorry to hear that the military's tradition of well-shined boots has fallen by the wayside.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

JC — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:41:14 -0000

A little panty hose (yeah, I know) after using the cotton ball REALLY puts on a good shine and takes the polish dust off.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

John — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:33:40 -0000

This is very useful indeed.

For the record, and with the possible exception of the Navy; I don't think any branch of the service issues boots that need to be shined anymore as they are all suede-like material.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

David Scott — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:30:04 -0000

Okay, I'm going to add my two cents to this post because I just got done with my military training.

This is all I use:
kiwi parade gloss
cut up t shirt
water

You don't need the rest of it, and I guarantee my shoes are shinier than yours (You can read text messages in it)

1. Wrap the rag around 2 of your fingers and get it wet.
2. Rub it in circles on the parade gloss
3. Start rubbing it in in small circles on your shoes
4. Spit on your shoes to make it more wet
5. Every so often exhale on your shoes as if you were trying to fog up glass. You will see that you fogged up your shoes.
6. Keep polishing and keep it wet.
7. Add another layer or two, pretty much as much as you need. You will see the results.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

RSmith — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:27:44 -0000

Soft cloth, kiwi regular and parade gloss for inspections. I burn shine as well. The key is to keep the flame moving. It builds up the base very quickly and the results are amazing. If you can find the blue paste wax polish, it works! The problem is finding it. The average schmoe can't see the difference in a blue or regular black shine. It was always a matter of pride for me. As a cop, they will get dirty and look like crap, but that's no excuse not to take care of your LPCs(leather personel carriers).

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Geoff — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:22:43 -0000

I have found that the best thing to use for a nice shiny finish is the Kiwi Parade Gloss. Use that with an old (but still soft) t-shirt wrapped around two fingers. If you intend to use spit, make sure to rinse your mouth out beforehand. As stated above, applying a lighter to the polish beforehand can really make those shoes look good. If I do a good job on mine, you can see your face in them.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

doug — Wed, 26 May 2010 23:49:09 -0000

Among police/fire/EMS, spit shining shoes has become a lost art, and its a shame. Nothing looks worse than a pressed and squared away uniform, with grungy shoes or boots. When I started my career in the 80's, shining your boots to the highest gloss was mandatory. Now, you never see it,

I agree with the hot water spit shine. Use a 100% Cotton Cloth- any polyester or rayon will destroy the shine.

For those uniform boots that have the fuller grain leather, making it difficult to spit shine, I recommend sanding the area to be shined (like the toe) with a fine grade sandpaper. This will even out the leather and open the pores. Then a spit shine will take nicely.

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Liam Thompson — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:06:32 -0000

I'm 14 years old and I'm a part of Civil Air Patrol (the civilian branch of the Air Force). For months, I have been trying to get my boots shiny, nothing ever worked. And then I found this site, and within 1 hour, I did better then I have done in 2-3 days of straight work.
Thanks for the tips!

Re: Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier

Steve — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:28:54 -0000

My first tech school was in a Joint Service Environment. Our Army instructor stressed to all of us young bucks that there are THREE PARTS OF A BOOT TO SHINE.

1) The heel
2) The toe
3) And the rest of the damned boot!!!!

Now we have suede boots...