Old-timers/Military types/LEOs: putting the shine on

Warm wax, and lot and LOTS of circular motion with an old t-shirt.

The thirteenth or fourteenth coat will REALLY start to shine!

The trick is to not use too much polish in the early going. Most guys want to throw it on there and get it over with. Won't happen for you the way you want it if you go that route. This is a time-consuming effort, amigo!

Had a couple of good laughs in Navy boot camp from this. My dad is the "former Marine" in our family, so I knew how to do almost everything they threw at me in basic (including drilling, which he taught our entire Boy Scout troop), and was particularly accomplished at shoe-shining. Dad clued me in on that early, too, as he did it for spare change when he was a boy and stayed with it until he joined up out of high school.

Small amounts of warm wax. Tight circles. MANY repetitions. You'll win. :)
 
Only slightly OT, but when I went to college in 1961 ROTC was required for the first two years (try that today!). I only did the required two years, but I did learn the art of spit shining shoes, damp cotton balls and all, and the M1 rifle. Barely got my sorry rear through geology class (hell, they're all just rocks) but an M1 will still save your butt.

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Start with a good pair of U.S. military combat boots. I prefer tropicals. Do not be lured into imitations. You can always wear GoreTex socks, insulated version in winter. Take your Parade Gloss Kiwi and spit onto the wax in the can, enough that you can work it into a paste with a brush dauber. Apply a medium amount if it's the first treatment in a circular motion. Buff with a natural bristle buffing brush, using light "hits" with the brush as opposed to rubbing. Apply two additional (at least) very thin coats, buffing each in the same manner, until all the tiny pores in the leather are filled and you have a glass like surface. Use a totally worn out soft white T shirt and wipe any remaining traces of wax from the boots. Brass buttons can be soaked overnight face down in a pool of Brasso in a small ashtray. Terry cloth loops seem to be the best for getting into the crevices when you buff them. I use old white socks inside out. Have fun.
 
Coronach, I read your procedure - you are on the right track. Perhaps you are using too much Simichrome at one time; a scant amount goes a long way. You might re-clean the badge with the acetone or adhesive remover after you finish up removing the Simichrome. Definitely consider waxing as the final step - very thin coats.

Use a different cloth for each step, and wash the cloths after each session. The auto wax should be just that, not a polish/wax combination.

After all that work, handle the badge with cotton gloves.

You will go through a lot of Dremel bits.

Let me know here or by e-mail if there is anything else I can do to help. I once made pocket money doing this for other LEOs.
 
In the FWIW column; a blow drier will work nicely for softening paste wax and is safer on the shoes/boots than fire. (A side note: buy your own blow drier. For some reason wives go nuts when they see their hair stuff being used on foorwear.)
 
You might want to try steam cleaning that badge at a jewlers or pawn brokers business.....Ive watched them put a great shine on jewlery using rouge and a felt wheel.....fubsy.
 
George Hill is right on the money with his advice to coat them thickly w/Kiwi, then melt the polish with a gas lighter.

After that, use cotton balls dipped in COLD (as in ice) water...then rub them gently into the can of Kiwi...then apply to the boots in small, circular motions. By the time you finish, you'll be able to see the gaps in your teeth reflected in all their glory.

Have fun...

Mike
 
I'm glad to see someone finally mentioning the final stages of the polish uses cold water. (a little water with ice cubes floating in it is the best) As for the badge send me e-mail me your address and I will send you some stuff for cleaning your badge. I put it on vault doors worth $100,000.00 so it must be safe. :) It will float all of that crude out of the small crevises and you just rinse it away. Damn good for cleaning guns too. OkieGentl@aol.com
 
At Damneck VA missile radar school in the mid 60's we had one guy who could NOT pass an inspection. Got so bad that our instructor put us all on notice that he WOULD pass the next or no one would see Virginia Beach again in this lifetime. Day before the next inspection, everyone did something for this poor slob, necktie, hat, ironing, shoes, etc. That uniform was perfect. Next morning said slob WALKS to school in his inspection shoes! On Gravel roads! We didn't know what to do until one guy pulled out Amway Spray Shine and doused the shoes. He was the only sailor to get a "Great Shine!" from the CO in the entire school. Of course, you could never get a shine of any kind on those shoes again after that crap started peeling off the next day.

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Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club
68-70
 
Can't help you with the badge, pard, but here's the deal with the boots:

Dedicate a boot brush to this step, because you WILL get it full of polish :)

Put the Kiwi on THICK with a dauber..you should be able to see the swirls and ridges from the dauber, then, take a lighter and set it on fire, move the boot around until all the polish is melted. Blow it out, then take the boot brush and work hell out of it. This will work the polish into the pores of the boot, which is essential for that parade-ground shine. Then, use an old soft t-shirt for a rag. I dont like the cotton ball treatment, it tends to leave fibers. I DO reccomend a bowl with ice water in it. Apply a bit of polish, until you feel your fingers "slide" a bit across it. You'll see a medium gloss at this point. Then, get a bit more polish on the rag, dip it in the ice water and go over it again in small (1/2") circles. DON'T use a buff rag!! After you've done all this, you'll have a mirror shine, and it takes just a few minutes to keep it up. Keep one of the wife's old knee-highs in your pocket. If you get a scuff, stretch it between your fingers and use it as a buff rag. You have to use enough pressure so that it "squeaks".

Conversely, for George and the other San Antonio natives: Go to the barbershop on the recruit side of Lackland AFB. The shoeshine guys in the barber shop do an oil dye shine that makes even the cruddiest basic issue boots look like Corframs. $5 once a week and you're good to go :)

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Mike
mnealtx@yahoo.com
 
Corfams are for tools, but if you do wear them and they do get scuffed, it's no big deal. Get the missus' nail polish remover and the scuffs come right off.

Can't improve on the tips for spitshining - the wet cotton balls and tons of elbow grease are the key.
 
You want it quick and dirty, or do you want it long and drawn out? We can go either way.

Quick and Dirty - The fastest and easiest way to make any boot mirror shiny is black gloss spray paint. Sure, it ruins the boot for anything else, but as long as the boot was clean to begin with, you wouldn't believe the shine that you get. Just put on the shoe / boot for inspections, then have a moderately shined pair of shoes to wear out and about.

Long and Drawn out - Tshirts and Kiwi. One of the things I learned while polishing all those boots was that it was a pain in the ass that could take days if you didn't make it a bit easier on yourself. The best way to do that is with shoe trees - they cost anywhere from $3-10 but believe me, they will make your life a hell of a lot easier.

Anyhow, put the shoe tree in the boot / shoe and make sure it's in there tight. The more solid your leather is, the better a shine you will get - it's near impossible to get great shines with your boot all floppy. The shoe tree makes the entire base a firm surface to polish, and will save you considerable time. Plus, it helps your shoe / boot dry out after washing or after a day in the field.

Before you shine your shoes and start building a great shine on them, you'll want to saddle soap your shoe / boot to clean off all of the old polish. It will also soften the leather to make it more comfortable. Use hot water and use a large outdoor sink, and a toothbrush.

Once the boot is cleaned, you are ready for your base coat - you'll be using either Lincoln or Kiwi, doesn't matter. The key is to slather a bunch of it on and really press it down into the pores of the leather. Once the pores are filled, you'll be able to get a smoother surface.

You'll want to have a nice soft tshirt handy for putting on your wax with, and a spray bottle filled with water - that will be your "spit" for the spit shine. Take the tshirt and wrap it around your index, middle and ring fingers so that they are covered with 2 layers of shirt, then wrap the excess around your wrist / arm to keep it out of the way. This will be your applicator / polisher.

Some people tell you to set the wax on fire - I don't, because when the wax burns up, it melts through / into the pores and takes a hell of a lot longer to put a good coat on. Just apply the wax, spritz it with water, then rub in circles until you've applied it evenly and it's starting to shine.

Once it's moderately shiny, you can either continue to use standard wax until mirrored, or you can use something harder like Parade Gloss. For Parade Gloss, you *will* want to set it on fire, but just ignite the wax in the can itself, then snuff it with the lid. Let it cool slightly, then run it all over the existing wax for a smoother finish.

One thing to keep in mind is that the hard the wax is initially, the easier it will crack and flake off, which is why I stayed away from the Parade Gloss on the flexible parts of my boots - it works great on the heel and the toe box, but if you put it on the sides, you are wasting your time.

You'll learn that as the shoe / boot gets shinier, you'll have to use a lighter touch to get it shinier and to keep from ruining the coats you've already put on. Most of it is trial and error. If you have kids, make them do it - part of the perks of being the grown up! :D

Good luck!

Spark

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com
www.bladeforums.com



[This message has been edited by Spark (edited August 04, 2000).]
 
I dont have any polishing tips, but the idea that in 2000 some cop somewhere still cares enough about the uniform and his overall appearance is damn refreshing. I polished the leather and the boots and the badge for almost 25 years. I dont regret a minute of it now and sometimes wish I was still doing it. Congrats to you,,,,Texaken

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No man is above the law and no man is below it,nor do we ask any mans permission when we require him to obey it.
 
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