USMC Shoe Shine tricks?

[Badger & Bengall]

+1 for Kiwi parade gloss, +1 for using a small amount with flannel wrapped around your index finger and using small circles.

After applying each coat and before buffing the excess polish away, I'd use a hair drier to melt the polish into the pores of the leather. The trick is to use just enough polish each time so it doesn't crack in the creases when you wear the shoes.

 

[Devilpup]

I love this thread. I'm starting NROTC Marine Option on sunday and have been hand polishing my shoes and boots for years. Just before finding this thread I explained why I polish my shoes to my mother. Her response was "wouldn't paten leather be easier"? To which my father and I both replied at the same time that, "no self respecting man wears patent leather shoes, his shoes should always be shined by hand"

 

[Cmaster03]

Great thread, brought back a lot of memories. I have a pair of USMC enlisted men's shoes circa early sixties made of real leather that were my dad's (he got a commission in the Marines after being prior-enlisted, what they called a "Mustang") and I think my dad said the enlisted shoes had an extra eyelet for the laces or some such, IIRC.

I wore those old shoes to my senior prom over twenty years ago--I didn't want to wear the plastic rentals that came with the tuxedo--and the old man put a mirror shine on them with an old cloth and some Kiwi and a lot of time...

 

[SgtRick]

I always lite the Kiwi on fire and then applied it still warm to the shoes or boots. A good brushing followed by more buffing with panty hose. Did just fine.

 

[D.Gray]

My instructions to get a mirror polish on shoes:

1. clean shoes/boots thoroughly
2. Apply liberal amounts of Lincoln shoe polish and let dry
3. go to hardware store and buy buffing wheel to put in drill
4. buff shoes with buffing wheel with so light a pressure that the wheel is barely touching your boots (you can put a couple drops of aftershave or alchohol on your boots just prior to buffing)

touch up when needed with horse hair brush and buffing with nylons or T-shirt strips.

Dave

 

[Natohog]

It has all been said here, can of polish (kiwi or kangaroo from Japan-great stuff), old t-shirt rag, lid full of water and time.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

getting the factory finish off is quite helpful... a can of shaving goo and a stiff brush works.

marines went to patent leather, navy can use the corpframs after basic. NROTC still uses black leather shoes. to clean the patent leather, toothpaste.

I always used kiwi on my midshipman shoes. I only got a year out of them, drill put them through their paces. My utility boots had a ****ty finish and weren't meant to be polished but we did it anyways. I have no idea what they use now for steel toed safety boots for use with poopy suits.

 

[ArizonaFatBoy]

Old roommate of mine used to dump rubbing alcohol over his boots then light it on fire when he was in the Corps. He said the alcohol burned off, protecting the polish and the boot itself, and congealed the polish perfectly, making it ready for a buff.

 

[finnmcool]

I have better luck with old bandanas (large handkerchiefs) than old t-shirts. I think the texture of woven cloth works better than knitted. I never went through boot camp but still like the look of well polished black shoes.

To all of you that got your polishing chops in the service: Thank you so very much for serving.

Finn

 

[lister]

I was always told not to light the polish (Kiwi parade gloss only thankyou ) as it kills the wax and can burn off some of the oils in the polish. The method however is much the same as mentioned here.

1. Brush the shoes/boots down first
2. Apply a reasonable amount of polish using a brush and bring to a reasonable buff using a cloth
3. Alternating between a cloth that you've applied polish to and a cloth that is simply dipped in water, apply the polish in small circles and buff with the water soaked cloth in small circles
4. Keep working on the polish/water soaked cloth until you achieve the finish you are after.

I find that cotton wool buds work very well when soaked in water. You can't add too much without the bud becoming useless so its a good check against using the right amount of water.

The method takes quite a while to get a real shine out of your shoes/boots but it works really well. My best result was mirror polishing a pair of synthetic motorcycle boots. They were finished in a matte polish when I purchased them and they were parade ground ready in the end. And yes, I copped quite a bit of flack from the club members about how shiny my boots were

 

[CraigarTA]

Bulling boots with the back of a spoon and molten polish, with patience you'll get a Patent look to your toe caps

.

Man back when I was in AIT they wanted the whole boot to shine like that not just the toes and heels

 

[radiowave79]

I am enjoying this thread as to what works for shoe polishing. I spent four years in the Army honor guard; of that two years as a guard at the Tomb Of the Uknown Soldier so spent ALOT of time spit shining leather low quarters including the leather soles on the edges.

I used both a diaper or a cotton t shirt and the t shirt worked the best for me. What others said about the leather being clean is true. We would take lighter fluid and a green scrubber and strip them down. Then we would apply black leather dye and let that dry, usually two coats. Then I would take a large can of black Kiwi shoe polish and put two or three squirts of lighter fluid on the top and light it. Once the shoe polish was completely melted, I would put the lid on it to douse the flames. I would let it cool off enough that you could put your finger wrapped in an old t shirt in it and put polish on the shoe. I would let that dry and then brush it with a shoe brush. Repeated that process three times.

Then I would start the spit shine process using Kiwi shoe polish with a damp old t shirt and a few drops of lighter fluid on top of the polish. The polish that was melted and applied is the base to which it can now be shined to a high gloss. That takes time; LOTS of time. The edges of the soles wer usually the hardest to get a spit shine on as they were on the porous side. You could get a mirror shine on them just like the shoes. The only thing we put leather dye on was the metal plate on the inside of the heels to keep them subdued.

I did try Lincoln shoe wax; it was good if the shoes started looking towards the gray side as it made them look black again, so I alternated between Lincoln and Kiwi.

I don't have to shine shoes like that any more, but I still keep a good shine on my leather shoes.

Steve H.
Sentinel, 3rd Relief, Tomb Of the Unknown Soldier, 1982-83

 

[KW Driver]

I always preferred Lincoln to any of the Kiwis for a spit shine. assuming you want a spit shine, the only thing not covered above is to break in the shoes and set the creases in the leather below the toe box. if you shine them, then start wearing them, no matter what method you use, you risk chipping/flaking off the shine.

additionally, if you're going to spit shine a shoe/boot, spit shine the whole thing. if it's leather, it gets spitted. otherwise, you look half-assed.

my jump boots spent 14 years on the shelf. they took one shine to be back up to standard, when I had to put them on again. if you spit shine them properly, they often only need a dust off.

my technique to finish was after soft cotton, final pass was with a cottonball, just pressed into the polish lightly, to pick up some. I would then just breathe on the section I was doing, to haze it. that is all the moisture you need. when the cottonball would start to hang up and drag, haze it again til that section is done.

 

[Acmemfg]

The following is from Dehner boots. If anyone knows leather, these guys do. I was told basically the same thing by the people at Dayton Boot, Canada's premier boot maker.

"Now that you know what your boot's leather limits are, it's time to pick a product. Almost all products used for shining purposes have a wax-based formula. This can be a double-edged sword in many respects since wax in general can clog the pores in the leather and keep it from breathing. Because of this, we recommend using a cream polish over a paste. While even the soft creams are wax-based, they are a much lighter blend and still shine up great. They also offer a bit of protection for the leather as well. DO NOT USE A LIQUID POLISH"

 

[justjcez]

I've tried a few things over the past year to work on this but do enjoy that people are still looking at the tread. I've tried the cream but can't seem to get a great shine. I've since bought some cordovan shoes which are easier to shine, though should probably go back to perfecting a mirror gloss on my calf leather shoes. I can't seem to get Lincoln where I'm at but use Kiwi. I've also used some Alden (boot creme and wax polish) with great results.

Perhaps I'll go back to the diaper and bottle trick to see what results I can get now!