Shine Your Shoes Like A Soldier
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There I was, staring down at my lackluster boots with a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was day two of basic training and we had just been informed that we had one hour to get our boots as shiny as our cadre’s (each looked as if they were covered in glass)…or we weren’t going to like the repercussions. Never in my life had I shined a pair of shoes and now I was under the gun, trying to inconspicuously imitate my roommate who grew up a military brat and had apparently been doing it since he was 5. I learned very quickly how to shine shoes that day…not quickly enough, but that’s another story for another time.
Chances are, unless you join the military, you will never have to face punishment for not having shiny shoes. Nonetheless, it is a great skill to have in your man arsenal. Whether it’s an upcoming wedding, graduation or simply another day at the office, a pair of shiny shoes can set you apart as a man that knows how to take care of himself.
Not only does shining your shoes look good, it is a necessary part of properly caring for and maintaining a nice pair of leather shoes or boots. The polish itself helps moisturize and waterproof the leather, lengthening a shoes lifespan.
How To Shine Your Shoes Like a Soldier
There are a lot of opinions when it comes to the best way to shine a shoe. Everyone has their own unique twist from using spit to using a lighter to burn the top coat of polish (cool, although potentially dangerous). The process below is a simple one that I have used for many years and it has worked fine for me and many of my military peers.
Step 1: Find an old towel or newspaper to spread over the area you will be working on. Shoe polish has an uncanny ability to get smeared everywhere even when you’re being extremely careful…and it’s really hard to get out of carpet.
Step 2: Clean the dust and dirt off your boots with a horsehair shine brush or damp rag. If you must get your boots a little wet to clean them off, allow them time to dry before applying the polish.
Step 3: Cover the entire shoe with a generous amount of polish, using your shoe polish brush. The polish I’m using is black Kiwi Shoe Polish, but be sure to match the color of the polish to your shoe as closely as possible. Make sure you get down in the seams of the shoe and attempt to cover evenly with polish. Allow 15 minutes for the polish to dry.
Step 4: Brush the entire shoe vigorously using the horsehair shine brush. The point of this is to basically brush off all the excess polish, leaving only a small film on the outside of the shoe.
Step 5: Once you feel comfortable that the entire shoe has been covered and brushed it is time to focus on the toe and heel for extra shine. Dip a cotton ball or pad into some water and squeeze out any excess moisture so it is damp, not dripping. Then get a little polish on the damp cotton. Next apply the polish on the toe and heel of the shoe using small circular motions. Sit back, this is going to take a while.
Step 6: Repeat Step 5 until you are satisfied with the level of shine. Remember to use a new piece of cotton each time and to remove all excess polish before applying a new coating. Also, the initial shine is the hardest, it should get a bit easier each time you do it. These boots were fairly new and this was my first time giving them a good shine. From start to finish, it took me approximately 45 minutes to get them to the state shown below. Most of this was spent with the cotton pads shining the toe and heel. If I were to come back in a couple weeks it would take me half the time to do the same job.
Building a Shoe Shine Kit:
Before you try to build one, if you have black shoes you can always just buy the one sold on military bases worldwide…and the one I use. It is basic, cheap and has worked for me for 6 years. Here is the link. If, however, you want a nicer kit, different colors of polish, or just like being independent, here are the items you need:
- tin of wax polish
- horsehair shine brush
- shoe polish brush (applicator)
- cotton balls
- shine cloth
Extra Thoughts:
For those of you who are really hardcore, you can clean up the edges of the sole by purchasing edge dressing. It’s basically black goop that goes around the edge of the sole and makes it look shiny. I’m not a fan of it, but you may feel the urge at some point.
See more of Cameron’s work at Schaefer’s Blog.
Those are some shiny ass shoes.
In the military, do they make you shine the entire thing, on the tongue, in between the laces, etc?
Excellent! I’ve been dissatisfied with the polishing method I was taught. This is just what I needed!
We don’t even shine our shoes in the Army any more. With the switch from BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform) to ACUs (Army Combat Uniform) we no longer have black leather boots - but rather the tan “sand” boots. They needed the occasional brush off after a particularly muddy day of obstacle courses at Basic, but otherwise they are practically no-maintenence (just like the ACUs which are no-iron). So while the new boots are practical, they don’t have nearly the character building effect of the spit-shined black boots.
I never used a brush to shine my shoes when I was in the Navy. I only used cotton balls or a used t-shirt that had been relegated to shoe shine duty. But, hey, if it works.
Great write up–Rickey’s personal habit always involved applying the polish with a soft cloth then buffing his shoes to a shine with the brush. Apparently Rickey had been doing it wrong…. Quite informative.
There are some shoe shining hacks that I learned over the twelve years in the Army. The whole high polish the toe and heel was and is a bit over-rated except for the old Airborne boots. I would even polish the whole boot, removing the laces and polishing the tongue and around the grommets. Then I would blacken the grommets with that nail polish type stuff and a black sharpie.
A bit of mop and glo on a cotton ball will give you a quick and real glossy shine. Shine the boots or shoes as best as you can, then dip a cotton ball in a bit of mop and glo, get it a bit damp and don’t oversaturate and go over your boots, making little circles and they the boots will glow in the dark. Most shoe and boots have a waxy protective coating that will kill your shine.
Use some leather cleaner and rub it in with water. Let the boots totally dry and give your boots a good polish and brush shine. Then apply some waterproofing polish, let them dry and then another good brush shine. A good polish foundation is the key. Then do the water and cottonball method in the article.
A pair of my original issue basic training given boots lasted my whole career and were my “garrison boots.” I remember the nights I would just sit on the floor and shine my boots for hours. It was kind of a zen moment for me when I did it.
I was an ROTC cadet my first two years in university. The cadre and prior-E cadets made it clear that the whole shoe needed to be polished (we were always in Dress “B”) so we wouldn’t look like “boot recruits.”
Just doing the heel and toe got my flightmates and I though the Cadet D/IG’s in-ranks inspection. Leaving the rest of the shoe unpolished invited later talkings-to by wing staff or cadre.
Rubbing alcohol is a good polish stripper, which should be done every so oftern, particualry if the boots haven’t been shined in a long time (dirt gets embedded into the polish.)
I had a Marine Corps room mate in flight school (I was Navy) who claimed that melting the polish with his lighter made for a better shine. I just figured his shine was better than mine because he worked so much harder at it.
Me, I was content with good enough.
I spent 10 years in the military split 6-4 between the Army and the Air force respectively. While in the Army I was a tanker in the Cavalry and boy howdy if we only polished our toes and heels we were doing extra duty cause we failed the inspection…To top it off since we were in the CAV we wore boots (not shoes) with our Class A uniforms (yes sir the pants were bloused!). The saving grace in all of that is that because we were tankers in the CAV we were allowed to wear tanker boots. NO LACES, rather, straps of leather that wrapped around the boot to secure it to your foot. Bar none the absolute best boots I have ever worn (to include jump boots).
Well then I crossed over to the Air Force with my beautiful boots all nice and shiny and stood out like a sore thumb. The last year of my time in the AF I only polished my boots once a month, basically just keeping them clean was enough for an AF inspection.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
While in the Air Force I think I polished my boots once a month.
For a real high-gloss shine, All you need is a soft cloth and a can of Kiwi Shoe polish.
This also assumes you have rinsed off any caked on mud/dirt/salt from the shoe under cold water. hot water will melt your base coat of polish, causing you more trouble than it’s worth. If the thread attaching the sole to the rest of the boot is the same colour (the “catwalk” of the boot), you can take an old toothbrush with polish on it, to scrub clean, and put a dull shine on them.
First, wrap part of the cloth around your index finger. Moisten the cloth at the fingertip a small amount (Do not soak the entire rag). Some people swear by spit, others by lukewarm water, still others by cold. Rub your cloth in the polish to acquire a small amount on the cloth. Do not dig divots in your polish, as it will create more surface area and cause it to dry out quicker thus ruining a good can of polish.
Apply the polish in small circles, in very small amounts. Usually when I shine my shoes, I work one piece at a time - toe, tongue, heel, Inside “Upper” and outside “upper” parts of the boot/shoe.
Continue buffing the boot/shoe by going over the entire shoe in small circles, with a light amount of pressure. breathe “hot air” onto the boot/shoe as if trying to fog a mirror. This adds a slight amount of moisture to the boot, and softens the outer layer of polish ever-so-slightly so that the smallest unseen cracks will be filled in to allow the shoe/boot to become perfectly smooth and shiny.
I never use a brush, because brushes will scratch and damage the base coat, and brushes tend to leave streaks and scratches.
I’ve seen some cock-eyed variants, and everyone I know has a different routine. I’ve seen some people put their boots in the freezer before shining. I’ve seen people doing a coat of alcohol instead of water every 10-20 coats, to lightly strip the outer layer of polish to clear the top layer of dirt (Not fully stripping the boot though). I’ve seen Cotton balls, Buffing with an old nylon free of burrs, Various polish additives such as “Glisten” as sold on US military bases. All methods do something to make the boots look better, but in the end, the most maintainable boots are the ones that are polished very simply, and only with polish.
The above-mentioned “burn shine” (passing a flame over the polish) is a quick way to lay a base coat, but great care is needed. Too much flame on a specific area can melt away too much of the polish making your shoe patchy. As well, this can cause your polish to become dry and brittle, and flake off as you polish. If you decide to burn shine - make sure you polish the boot normally, shortly after, in an attempt to add some moisture back to the polish to keep the cooked layer from flaking off.
I have also seen horror stories of what “quick-shine” tips can do to boots. Mop’n'Glo, or similar products tend to make a real polish less effective - Future layers of polish rub off. I’ve seen people try things to perma-shine their shoes such as placing Saran-wrap on the boot then melting it in an oven at low heat (saran wrap will get “run” in it like a stocking). Melting hard plastic such as plexiglass onto the boot (the polish shattered). Don’t be stupid. Real men do the hard work required.
One thing I used to do was apply a thin coat of neutral polish after the black was nice and shiny. That gave them a good gloss. Oh, and nothing shines better than an old, brown t-shirt.
In the Navy (once we were in the fleet), a shoe shine consisted of rubbing the toes of your shoes on the back of your calf in formation, just before an inspection. It worked.
I learned how to shine shoes from my Dad. When I was growing up I always watch him bring out all of our shoes and he would start cleaning and polishing them all.
His method is basically the same as above but instead of cotton balls he uses toothbrush.
Thanks Dad!
While I don’t recommend this for boots you care about, I needed a quick clean and shine on a pair of old boots one day, so I tried foaming tire cleaner followed by silicone tire dressing, each wiped off with paper towel. It worked so well that I ended up using that method from then on on those boots.
As a bonus, you could clean and shine the sides of the soles at the same time. You just had to be careful not to get the tire dressing on the tread area, because it made it a little too slippery.
Wow, thank you for the flash back!
I was an Army Warrant Officer Candidate back in the ’80s. As a WOC we got to polish the WHOLE boot to a high shine (including the tongue) , this included putting brasso on a Q-tip and shining the little nails on the bottom of our jump boots. Anything else would bring much disapproval from our training officers. Fun days indeed.
We also used to carry a knee-high nylon stocking to touch up if we needed to during the day. Once we got out of the WOC-school and started flight training we were allowed to use LINCOLN WAX (it was illegal in woc school). We would shine our boots the usual black glass look, then put a coat of BLUE Lincoln wax on and buff. The Blue wax would make your boots GLOW.
I still do this 20 years later.
I enjoyed Phil’s comment about the wiping of shoes on the back of the pants.
I remember wearing a pair of cloth ‘Kung-Fu’ shoes that I picked up in Hong Kong for the whole time we were underway. I even wore them for quaterdeck watch inport as long as it was a night watch.
I got a few looks from the zeros, but no more.
Just to share a memory.
Why on earth would you waste a perfectly good cup of water? when I had to polish my boots we used the old tried and true method of a SPIT SHINE! that’s right my friends good ole spit and polish, and damn if those boots were nice and shiny!
those little pantyhose-like foot covers they have at shoe stores? grab a handful of those and stretch one taut and buff with a sawing motion as fast as you can for a few minutes. the friction and pressure combine to make a little heat that really brings the shine out. i never used anything more than an old pair of socks cut up into rags, a can of kiwi, and some old pantyhose, and i rarely find shinier shoes.
Clean the boot(s) thoroughly…throw away any Kiwi polish you have (it flakes) and buy some Lincoln stain wax shoe polish (USMC APPD. SER. NO. 428)…use an old white t-shirt and COLD water, or spit, whichever you prefer….a zippo lighter to burn the polish in (don’t burn the polish in the can, burn it on the boot) and a pair of old black pantyhose to buff with.
13 years Navy, 6 years NG and Army, and I had some dang good looking boots.
And oh, BTW, don’t forget an old tooth brush to do the welts with. Man, I love the smell of Lincoln polish in the morning…..
And oh, BTW, don’t forget an old tooth brush to do the welts with. Man, I love the smell of Lincoln polish in the morning…..
I know a lot of people swear by spit shining, but the enzymes in saliva can damage polish and make it a lot harder to get the desired effect.
Through a lot of trial and error, I’ve found that very hot water tends to give you a better shine as the polish goes on easier.
Cotton wool or a soft cloth, kiwi parade gloss, hot water, very small circles and a lot of time and effort.
Spit shining is 100% the best way in my opinion. I’ve been shining boots in the military for years now, and swear by it.
On the topic of what parts to shine, there has to be a “distinct line between the toe/heel and the rest of the boot” or the entire boot must be shiny. I give the entire boot a light shine with just a brush, then focus on the toe and heal for the spit shine. That keeps the entire boot nice, but saves a lot of time.
For low quarters, I shine the entire thing to keep them looking real nice.
To get a very distinct line for the toe and boot, you can hold a piece of paper down tightly to get a crisp line. Some people use tape but it peels more polish off under it.
My way:
paper towel and Armourall
Works well on the car dash its good enough for my boots!
Zendad
http://www.zendad.net
When I was in air cadets (151 Chadburn) I became a member of the “Royal Order of the Glassy Boot” and also received a certificate to prove. But to get this I didn’t do any of what you just said and I had a better shine then that last image, all over the boot, not just the toe.
I was a drill seargeant for 12 years. Bag the cotton balls and water and use a nylon panty hose footie to buff the wax. This is also good for spot cleaning on the trail, too.
Mark
Spit and polish (or water and polish).
Simplicity is the hallmark of the spit and polish method. Everything else is a waste of time and money.
And trust the Drill Sergeants. Their boots always looked good.
You’ll think I’m yanking your chain but I assure that I’m not when I say that an excellent and easy way to shine your shoes is with a banana peel. It’s an old trick and it works like a charm.
This is a great post, not just for the shoeshine tips, but for the great military stories. As one who didn’t serve, I gotta admire the ones who did, and I love all the great stories. Thanks, y’all.
I agree with FingerSoup. After several years in military school (which from a shoe-shining perspective is a little more rigorous than the regular military), all you need is the can of polish, an old white t-shirt cut into strips and a little water.
I follow FS’s method almost to the letter (including the hot breath) - except that I go through a process of softening the can of polish (using fingers wrapped in t-shirt, I mush the entire can so the whole thing is soft… adding in a few drops of water). I also use shoe-trees during the polishing (and remove them shortly thereafter).
I polish the entire shoe (though these days, I don’t go for the tongue and take out the laces like I used to). Moving from a new pair of shoes to completely “glassed” (100% mirror shine all the way around) takes about 2 hours and about 3-5 layers of polish.
But the results are worth it. People ask me all the time where I get my shoes shined. When I tell them I do it myself, not only does the pride feel good, they’re impressed, too.
Oh, for boots, the trick for the upper part of the boot is an old can of tennis balls. Put the can down into the boot to help it keep its shape during the polishing.
the shiniest shoes i’ve gotten is when i’ve had my shoes shined by someone. when alone, it’s kind of hard to buff out a good shine using the above mentioned “sawing” motion.
Was in the South African army for a while. During basic training we had to polish/wipe our shoes before breakfast, after breakfast, before tea, after tea and so on.. as walking from one end of the base to another would get our shoes dusty etc.
To add to the methods above, we sometimes resorted to a cigarette lighter and deodorant can to “seal” the polish nicely on our boots.
Still polish shoes regularly, though not as extremely, and feel far more ready and professional for a hard day at work with polished shoes.
(and I’ve found that women always notice polished shoes.)
Great comparisons and stories. Especially liked the blowtorch (that is what a cigarette lighter and deodorant can do, right?) for burning the polish.
Since there’s all this expertise here, has anyone got recommendations for repairing damaged/scuffed leather on a dress shoe’s toe? I’ve recently bought what I thought were nice shoes, but they seem to be made out of the crappiest/softest of leather — I’ve damaged ‘em even just sitting at a desk (presumably, tucking my toes under my chair).
I can polish these to a degree, but the damaged leather isn’t quite as smooth as originally, so I’m wondering what tricks or techniques are tried and true. Thanks in advance
I am an ex guards man. I servered in the Household cavalry mounted regiment in London from 1971 to 1980.(The Lifeguards) I did public duties which involved mounting guard at Horseguards whitehall, state occasions and trooping the colour.
After that I went to work for the Adjutant of the regiment looking after all his kit I also worked for Earl Mountbatton when he was alive - for a short time.
The guards have a couple of differant techniques for ‘Bulling boots’ - and shoes. Drill boots ARE waxed with beeswax and loads of polish and ignited! (Dont try this at home!) Blown out and imeadietly smeared in lots of kiwi polish before they could get cold. They would then be given a good brushing - including the welts (important, If you didnt clean your welts you WOULD get charged!) after that the ‘Bulling’ would begin. using either a yellow ‘diddly’ (yellow duster) or a jewelers Sylvet (BEST WAY, Worth buying) IF you use a yellow duster make sure you wash it out completely to get out all yellow die, or it will leave nothign but smears!
Done properly they WILL look like BLACK DIAMONDS!!! - With ordinary shoes - smoother the better, prefer real leather - Start by using a fair amount of polish (NO WAXING!) Use either the yellow diddly or the sylvyte and use water ONLY - spit can leave a lot of smears once again.
Go round in circles but also ‘pad’ up and down the shoe aswell to get as much of a layer of pollish and shine on as possible. The is the way the queens guards prepare their thiegh high ‘jack boots’ for guard. They then start doing small circles polish water polish ALL OVER THE SHOE INC HEELS TO GET THE FINAL SHINE!
My last 3 years was spent at the Guards Depot in Surrey where all the seven regiments of guards are trained.
During the last few days of my service with the regiment before leaving in Sept 1980 The Regimental Drill Sergeant of the Irish Guards came and humbly asked me for my drill boots - one of the best pairs he had ever seen…..
P Edwards
Ex Lifeguards.
Good write up. I was pleased to see no mention of lighting the polish on fire or any other weirdness. The only thing I would add to the article is this:
After giving the shoe/boot the overall brushing (and before doing the toe and heel in the author’s example) use a old t-shirt (or that sock that has a hole in it) and lightly wipe/buff the shoe. This will get the loose polish of the shoe and reduce the amount that will rub-off on clothing and other surfaces. You can also put freshly polished shoes in old socks for transport in duffel bags, luggage, etc.
Make sure you break the boots in first before adding a lot of polish, otherwise, the polish will crack and flake off when you walk. You can do this quickly-ish by getting the boots soaking wet first and wearing them around for a while until they form to your feet and the way your feet flex. This is only important if you polish the whole shoe. Don’t polish them until completely dry.
Use clear nail polish in the seam between the sole and the upper which is difficult to polish. - Permanent be careful.
To get a deep shine you need to get a heavy base of polish on the surface. It takes time to build up properly. - Unless you cheat.(heh heh FIRE!)
Don’t rub to hard when you are buffing. You can rub the polish off. Be gentle.
If you use a t-shirt or cloth for buffing make sure it is 100% cotton for best results. Synthetics leave scratches.
Use water, not spit. Spit smears and gives cloudy results.
…further to my previous post you may be interested to know that all members of the Household Cavalry mounted regiment in London use ladies tights to buff up thier non bulled leather work (horses headkits saddlery ext) works very well on all polishwork - esp to give extra shine to ordinary brush pollished boots and shoes.
- make sure you ask your partner fist though!!!!
P Edwards
(Ex Lifeguards)
It was interesting to compare all of the shoe-shining-method descriptions inspired by this article. I am going to go test them out and see if the ladies notice.
As above, melting the wax/polish really helps - back in my basic training days, we’d use the lid off the polish to melt in with a zippo.
Also well worth a mention is that brown shoe polish gives a VERY deep shine on top of black (believe it or not!)
..Yes, there is no doubt that a good set of well fitting shoe or boot trees really helps, makes the whole shoe into a hard surface to work on.
In the uK at least officers boots and shoes - esp if hand made which most of them are - always come with ‘trees’ You can buy them and the solid wood ones are best - try to avoid the cheepo plastic ones!!!
I am surprised that your instructions on boot and shoe clean-up and polishing do not include the use of oilve oil, a natural which does not leave the odor of shoe wax, while at the same time also nourishes the leather.
i’ve found that mirror-polishing my toecaps is both a useful and calming enterprise the night before job interviews and weddings and so forth, partly because so few people can/would do it.
Thank you so much for this Love you
I’m surprised no cops have commented on their academy experiences yet! Just like being in the military, instructors at my academy held us to the highest standard of shoe shininess. Woe betide if you couldn’t see your own face in your boots.
I’m a Sheriff’s Deputy, and I’m surprised that my department isn’t very strict on shiny boots (except for our academy…even then…not so strict). I think I’m going to go shine my boots.