Boot cleaning / polishing / care of

[Cloud Cover]

No matter what boots, I found I if I brushed vigourously about three coats on before spit polish, the paste seems to adhere better as one thin coat of polish binds to another. Thereafter, brushing and spit polishing seems easier ...but the key seemed to be the adherence of the 3 base coats.  

 

[AlphaCharlie]

Give it time. I've polished my boots maybe... 70-80 times now and they hold a decent shine.

 

[NavyGrunt]

Hey Ex- do you polish our white oxfords the same way? And do I use that shite polish by kiwi? Mine should be here this week and Im trying to figure out how I polish them

 

[condor888000]

The best way to buff parade boots is to take an old piece of pantyhose and use it to buff once you're done applying the polish. It will really bring out the shine. Just don't pull too hard on the toe or it'll scratch the boot.

 

[chrisf]

Matt,
With your technique, you use Cold Water... But Hot Water would heat up the Polish more so it would spread onto the boot more evenly.

What does Cold do differently then Hot?

Hot water would also make the wax softer, and thus it would stick to the cloth, as opposed to staying on the boot.

 

[THEARMYGUY]

Do it yourself.  You didn't join cadets to let someone else do everything for you did you??  If you just work at it your boots will be fine in short order.  To answer your question (misguided though I think it is) no I have never had my shoes/boots sent for shinning.  I do mine myself.  Good luck with your boots.

Cheers!!

The Army Guy

 

[iRon(V)oNKeY]

I dun even use my brush anymore... the best way is to get yourself a microfibre cloth (like felt, but came with my leather sofa cleaner), and use that to spread the polish and shine your boots, by rubbing in side to side like mad. Hold one end of the cloth in each hand, and having your boots over a chai or just wear 'em, move the cloth side to side laterally really fast. In 10 secs you got yourself an easy mirror finish.  ;D

 

[JSY Air Cadet]

just search on google for asiest way to shine parade boots itll tell you every way you want to know so....  :dontpanic:

 

[zerhash]

what does breathing on the boot do?
it clouds the boot i know but there is the already clouded part where i just polished and the clouded part from my reath just goes away

 

[sgt_mandal]

keeps the polish moist while you are polishing your boot without flooding the boot with spit or water, and it works. breath on it by saying "HAAAAAAA". lol

 

[zerhash]

but what is the breathing supposed to do?

 

[Scratch_043]

Fsgt_Mandal just told you that.

it keeps the polish moist.

 

[bossi]

but what is the breathing supposed to do?

The moisture from your warm breath condenses on the cooler boot/polish surface, thus providing some condensation moisture to the mix (as opposed to tap, undistilled or other less pure water).

 

[MCpl Burtoo]

OK, how have to put my 2 cents in........cbt boots don't need to be shined...just blackened and dirt free..now for parade boots, I will tell you my secrete and I have been doing it for years. Use Aqua Velva - - After Shave...use it on the boot, not to drink-lol....seriously...with the friction from rubbing and the alcohol it creates a kind of burn shine and you don't have to work as hard. Just when you start off, cold water buff the boots and then use the Aqua Velva instead of a tin of water. I never use parade gloss, just boot polish, kiwi cloth and aqua velva....I have tried everything...have over 14 yrs of experience polishing boots and this one works....just don't use a lot of polish on the cloth...little goes along way.....

 

[NavyGrunt]

OK, how have to put my 2 cents in........cbt boots don't need to be shined...just blackened and dirt free..now for parade boots, I will tell you my secrete and I have been doing it for years. Use Aqua Velva - - After Shave...use it on the boot, not to drink-lol....seriously...with the friction from rubbing and the alcohol it creates a kind of burn shine and you don't have to work as hard. Just when you start off, cold water buff the boots and then use the Aqua Velva instead of a tin of water. I never use parade gloss, just boot polish, kiwi cloth and aqua velva....I have tried everything...have over 14 yrs of experience polishing boots and this one works....just don't use a lot of polish on the cloth...little goes along way.....

You must smell like a brothel on parade LOL ;D

 

[48Highlander]

Anything with alcohol does the same job.  Aftershave, rubbing alcohol, scotch, whatever.  The reason for using water or alcohol is to prevent the polish from sticking to the cloth and encourage it to bind to the leather.  Alcohol works better than water, so the purer the alcohol source you're using, the better the results will be.  If you're going to go this route, I'd suggest using rubbing alcohol instead of aqua velva.

 

[GGHG_Cadet]

When you use the alcohol on your boots do you soak your cloth in it then put polish on or is it just a light dab then put polish on it?

 

[Scratch_043]

Light dab, you don't want to soak it, just make it harder for the polish to stick to it.

Also, why would you want to, that stuff is expensive

 

[chrisf]

Anything with alcohol does the same job.   Aftershave, rubbing alcohol, scotch, whatever.   The reason for using water or alcohol is to prevent the polish from sticking to the cloth and encourage it to bind to the leather.   Alcohol works better than water, so the purer the alcohol source you're using, the better the results will be.   If you're going to go this route, I'd suggest using rubbing alcohol instead of aqua velva.

I had heard that too, but after trying it with some rubbing alcohol, I found that the alcohol did not help, rather, it actually dissolved polish... any thoughts?

 

[48Highlander]

I had heard that too, but after trying it with some rubbing alcohol, I found that the alcohol did not help, rather, it actually dissolved polish... any thoughts?

Don't use excessive ammounts?  I don't know, I tend to stick to water myself.  I've tried using alcohol before and it didn't dissolve the polish, but it didn't save me much time either.  Some of my friends swear by it, but I'm most comfortable with the simplest methods.