Boot Shining

Boot Shining 

Boot shining is a useful skill if you happen to be an air force cadet like myself. There are two reasons for this, the first is that if your boots are the shiniest, then everybody loves you, but more importantly, by polishing your boots you reduce the amount of blisters you get, and when you get blisters, you stop having fun.

There is something extremely satisfying about looking into your boot and seeing your own reflection, especially if you do so happen to be as vain as I am. My method of boot shining does take time though, so you might want to put that into consideration.

For this you will need:

1. A boot (or two if you're special)
2. Some black polish (normal kiwi polish is the best)
3. An applicator brush (small soft bristled brush)
4. Buffing brush (I use kiwi a buffing brush here)
5. Some water
6. Vinegar
7. Rag(s) (preferably cotton)

How Polishing works

When you first get your boot, it doesn't shine. This is simply because when the leather is made into a boot, unless it's patent leather, it's porous. This means that the surface of the leather isn't smooth and upon closer inspection of your boot you might notice small hemispheres on top of the leather. This is why your boot isn't shiny, if you take a look at a mirror, you might notice that it is smooth. Smooth surfaces reflect much better that porous ones. The objective when polishing boots is to change your boot from the non-shiny porous, to the very shiny smooth surface.

What Not To Do:

If you are anything like me, then you would have seen dozens of videos informing you how to polish your boots, and I myself have heard of dozens of ways to polish boots. I have friends who light the entire tin of polish on fire until it all melts, at which stage he takes his rag and polishes with the melted polish, I also have friends who after putting the polish on then proceed to burn it. As general rules never:

• Light anything on fire: Ok, this is just stupid, every polish I know is flammable, lighting it on fire is a safety hazard, as well as the fact that the fumes it gives off are toxic. Also the carbon from combusted material is dull, and will noticeably make your boot duller.
• Do this inside: Again, this should really be a no-brainer, shoe polish stains very easily and is very hard to take out of your bedroom carpet. It gets everywhere very quickly. By the same token, don't wear your Sunday best whilst polishing your boots.
• Lick it: I am aware that this method of polishing is often called "spit polishing", but you should under no circumstances use your own saliva, or anyone else's, in place of water. The reason for this is simply that the salts and minerals in your saliva cause the leather to dry out, and the polish won't last as long before cracking or flaking.  

Instructions:

1. Wash with warm, running water, and use a cloth to lightly remove any debris or dirt
2. Leave to dry
3. Apply some polish to the boot using the applicator brush and leave to dry for  about an hour
4. Buff with the buffing brush
5. Repeat steps 3&4 until the boot doesn't get any shinier
6. Place the rag over your index finger and make sure there are no wrinkles, dip it in water, making sure that its damp but not dripping, before applying some polish
7. As you apply the polish, the boot will become clouded, when this happens, apply some vinegar to the rag and rub until it is gone
8. Repeat steps 6&7 until desired shine is reached

Tips:

• Make sure the rag and boot are free of dust
• Polishing with the brush requires much less polishing time, so ensure that you have got it as shiny as you can like this before moving on to the rag
• I personally use one tin of polish for brushing and another for bulling, this is useful because your bulling tin should be as smooth as possible, so you get even amounts of polish around the boot

Good luck and have fun

-James