Posted: 10/26/2008 11:35:16 AM EDT
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Looking for some suggestions on Boot Shining... I need to get these suckers nice and glossy, however I'm at my witt's end. They are Magnum boots, nothing terribly fancy. I started off with the KIWI saddle soap and cleaned them per the instructions & letting the boots then dry. I went back and used the Parade Gloss KIWI boot polish. Got the shine I was after following about 2-3 hours of labor. Waited about an hour, put the boots on and walked around just to make sure everything was good. ....... and Failure. Wherever the boot flexes for toe movement, the polish simply flaked right off. Now the boots look like complete crap.... could really use some suggestions here. |
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parade gloss sucks, use regular kiwi and apply with cotton balls moistened with ice water, apply in a rapid circular motion if they have a rough texture it will be impossible to shine, you need a smooth surface eta: the flaking is probably becaues you're using too much, strip all the old polish off and try again It really shouldn't take longer than a half hour on new shoes |
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It is probably a tough concept here on Arfcom, but moderation is the key to polishing boots IMO. Get an old T-shirt, wrap it so just your index finger is making a point on the shirt. Dip the tip of your finger in water and then a quick swirl in the shoe polish. Not much, just a quick dab. Then apply to the boot in a circular motion. You'll probably have to do this a few times to get the hang of it. |
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IMHO, parade gloss sucks. in my experience, if its hot out after applying, it'll haze up. if its cold, it'll flake. use some regular kiwi and some water. if you can find it, use lincoln wax. its harder to apply but lasts much longer. brush off all that flaky stuff, use your bare fingers and smear some wax on the boots. once all good and worked in, i use a real old soft t-shirt. wrap around finger, put a little bit of wax on it, dip in water, and do some small circles on the boot. do it over again. keep going. putting down a good base coat takes the longest time. once thats down, you'll really only be polishing the wax and maintaining the base coat. |
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Quoted: It is probably a tough concept here on Arfcom, but moderation is the key to polishing boots IMO. Get an old T-shirt, wrap it so just your index finger is making a point on the shirt. Dip the tip of your finger in water and then a quick swirl in the shoe polish. Not much, just a quick dab. Then apply to the boot in a circular motion. You'll probably have to do this a few times to get the hang of it. this is the way to do it. you will get flaking while you break them in. touch up gets easier and easier. but dont go overboard |
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Duty boots or for inspection purposes? I cheat - my dress boots I use Leather Luster. I currently have Magnum Enforcer side zips (LEO, not military). Used Mineral Spirits to clean off any oil or polish on the boots. Smoothed out the leather with the supplied steel wool. Using a cheap foam brush (get a 6 pack of them from the Dollar store) I apply one very thin coat. You can either leave it out in the sun or do what I do, use a heat gun (mine is a Hobbico - I used to make RC planes alot with my Dad) and dry it. Let it cool for about an hour. Using very fine emery paper, sand it a bit. Wipe clean, then reapply another coat. Heat it dry then let it cool. Then I apply a third coat, sometimes sanding with extra fine emery paper before the third coat. Talk about blazing shine. You can do it with duty boots, but it won't last more than am onth, then you will have to strip it all off and start again. |
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This will work.... http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr345/Stealth52650/BomaShine.jpg |
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Quoted: It is probably a tough concept here on Arfcom, but moderation is the key to polishing boots IMO. Get an old T-shirt, wrap it so just your index finger is making a point on the shirt. Dip the tip of your finger in water and then a quick swirl in the shoe polish. Not much, just a quick dab. Then apply to the boot in a circular motion. You'll probably have to do this a few times to get the hang of it. The part in red is absolutely critical - if a shirt is too new, the texture is wrong somehow, and it doesn't work as well. I recommend distilled water. |
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Quoted: parade gloss sucks, use regular kiwi and apply with cotton balls moistened with ice water, apply in a rapid circular motion if they have a rough texture it will be impossible to shine, you need a smooth surface eta: the flaking is probably becaues you're using too much, strip all the old polish off and try again It really shouldn't take longer than a half hour on new shoes Alright, I'll strip it and try again.... I actually have normal KIWI as well.... Maybe I'll give that a shot. Does it come out anywhere near as glossy as the Parade? |
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I use Kiwi. I use a t-shirt wrapped tight around my fore and middle finger, the t-shirt is about 4 years old, the one before that...was about 8. I only push my fingers into the polish, use small and tiny circles, repeat until NASA can use your boots as a mirror for the hubble. I wore my boots for a few days and weeks on the job, to break them in...then I strip them down, dye them with dark blue dye...then packed in the black polish. |
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Quoted: Quoted: parade gloss sucks, use regular kiwi and apply with cotton balls moistened with ice water, apply in a rapid circular motion if they have a rough texture it will be impossible to shine, you need a smooth surface eta: the flaking is probably becaues you're using too much, strip all the old polish off and try again It really shouldn't take longer than a half hour on new shoes Alright, I'll strip it and try again.... I actually have normal KIWI as well.... Maybe I'll give that a shot. Does it come out anywhere near as glossy as the Parade? I've only used parade twice, a long time ago but remember the finish being more grey than black and kind of hazy regular kiwi is awesome, I don't know why the make the parade stuff |
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Here's ThatGuy91k's guide to a shining boots. I guarantee you once you get a good base coat, it will make them look like patten leather. This method also guarantees there will be no flaking when the boots see use, ensuring a complete shine over the entire area.
1. Use something to spread kiwi over all the parts you want shined. I wouldn't recommend a brush because you want it somewhat even. 2. Take a lighter and apply in to the kiwi using smooth motions. You don't want to leave the flame on the kiwi so long it burns, just harden. You will notice the kiwi will take on a hazy appearance. 3. Dip a cotton ball liberally in cool or cold water (tap is fine) and begin to buff out. I always soaked the cotton ball completely. 4. Once you have removed any excess kiwi, then dip your cotton ball gently in the can of kiwi and go over the areas to be shined again. This will smooth out any rough areas you have left. 5. Rinse and repeat. If this is a new pair of boots then you will need to build up a base coat of polish. If you have already applied a good amount of kiwi before you start this process, then it shouldn't take more then a couple of applications before they will have the mirror effect. Using this routine I could have a pair of boots shined in under thirty minutes that you could literally shave in. Another little secret is to get a pair of nylon stocking and buff the boot in between shining. With this I was able to go almost a week between shining if they hadn't seen any hard use. Once you get the routine down and tweak it to what works for you, it will seem as if you spent hours working on them. |
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Quoted: Someone said it above, but getting the base down is the important/most time consuming part. After that, it's fairly easy to make the boots look good. Quoted: parade gloss sucks, use regular kiwi and apply with cotton balls moistened with ice water, apply in a rapid circular motion if they have a rough texture it will be impossible to shine, you need a smooth surface eta: the flaking is probably becaues you're using too much, strip all the old polish off and try again It really shouldn't take longer than a half hour on new shoes Alright, I'll strip it and try again.... I actually have normal KIWI as well.... Maybe I'll give that a shot. Does it come out anywhere near as glossy as the Parade? The texture of the leather also is a factor as well. My combat boots had a rougher surface. That took more work to get a good base/shine as say my low quarters which have a very smooth surface to begin with. With work, you can get a mirror finish out of regular old kiwi. It just takes practice until you find a good method. |
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Check your email. I can swing by tonight. I have a couple of pairs of boots you can practice the polish/lighter/cottonball/ice water method on. My academy boots still hold their original shine from four years ago; now I just use them for dress uniform days. Get a nice solid base on there any then everything else is just upkeep. Call me later if you want. I actually am breaking in a brand new pair of Danner Ft Lewis boots this weekend (goddamn my feet hurt) and you can use those to practice on since the leather is brand new and clean. If you screw them up, it doesn't matter, I'll just wear them on duty tomorrow and run them through some mesquite :) |
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Leather Luster is your friend..much better and more durable than Mop and Glo. BUy a can follow directions If you insist on a wax shine then you must use 100% cotton diaper to swirl on the polish If you have an Aloe Vera cactus plant squeeze in a bit iof the sap into your cool water and mix it up. Instead of dipping I use a spray bottle to mist the water on. If new leather then saddle soap and hot water is the ticket to clean. Allow to dry. Apply a good base coat of polish to fill in the pours of the leather. Follow it up with a blow dryer to help move the polish into the leather. Buff out the boot with nylon panty hose. Use diaper to swirl on polish, mist aloe mix with sprayer rince lather repeat until you achieve the gloss. |
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Quoted: This is how we did it in the Army!! +10000000Quoted: It is probably a tough concept here on Arfcom, but moderation is the key to polishing boots IMO. Get an old T-shirt, wrap it so just your index finger is making a point on the shirt. Dip the tip of your finger in water and then a quick swirl in the shoe polish. Not much, just a quick dab. Then apply to the boot in a circular motion. You'll probably have to do this a few times to get the hang of it. this is the way to do it. you will get flaking while you break them in. touch up gets easier and easier. but dont go overboard |
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Quoted: Looking for some suggestions on Boot Shining... I need to get these suckers nice and glossy, however I'm at my witt's end. They are Magnum boots, nothing terribly fancy. I started off with the KIWI saddle soap and cleaned them per the instructions & letting the boots then dry. I went back and used the Parade Gloss KIWI boot polish. Got the shine I was after following about 2-3 hours of labor. Waited about an hour, put the boots on and walked around just to make sure everything was good. ....... and Failure. Wherever the boot flexes for toe movement, the polish simply flaked right off. Now the boots look like complete crap.... could really use some suggestions here. As mentioned, too much polish. Apply polish with one those small, circular horsehair brushes. I've used regular black Kiwi. The key to a great shine is the RECTANGULAR HORSEHAIR BRUSH not the polish. Get one of those and you're good to go. eta: I wore these as street shoes, more or less, for about a year. They've never been "in the field" so the sole looks new. (ignore the heel and toe as these are patent leather, designed for gloss from the get go)   |
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Quoted:
I use Kiwi.
I use a t-shirt wrapped tight around my fore and middle finger, the t-shirt is about 4 years old, the one before that...was about 8. I only push my fingers into the polish, use small and tiny circles, repeat until NASA can use your boots as a mirror for the hubble. I wore my boots for a few days and weeks on the job, to break them in...then I strip them down, dye them with dark blue dye...then packed in the black polish. Just curious ... Why blue dye instead of black ? I understand that dark blue is pretty close to black anyway, but why not just go with both black dye and black polish if black color is the intended result 
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Quoted:
Aint nothin like a good old honest spitshine. Sounds like you been there and done that. I use Kiwi.
I use a t-shirt wrapped tight around my fore and middle finger, the t-shirt is about 4 years old, the one before that...was about 8. I only push my fingers into the polish, use small and tiny circles, repeat until NASA can use your boots as a mirror for the hubble. I wore my boots for a few days and weeks on the job, to break them in...then I strip them down, dye them with dark blue dye...then packed in the black polish. 
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Aint nothin like a good old honest spitshine. Sounds like you been there and done that. I use Kiwi.
I use a t-shirt wrapped tight around my fore and middle finger, the t-shirt is about 4 years old, the one before that...was about 8. I only push my fingers into the polish, use small and tiny circles, repeat until NASA can use your boots as a mirror for the hubble. I wore my boots for a few days and weeks on the job, to break them in...then I strip them down, dye them with dark blue dye...then packed in the black polish.
Still doing it the way Drill Instructor Sgt. Martin taught me 17 years ago. |