How to Polish Your Shoes - Home Remedy

Here's an old-fashioned remedy to make leather shoes shine with products you probably have at home.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Chamois Cloth
• Lint-free Cloths
• Olive (not Virgin) Oil
• Vegetable Oils

1. 

   Remove any dirt or dust from the shoe with a slightly damp cloth. Clean the sides of the sole and the heels as well.

2. 

   Buff dry with another dry cloth.

3. 

   Pour a little olive oil or vegetable oil onto a dry, white, soft, lint-free cloth.

4. Gently rub cloth over entire top of shoe.

5. 

   Rub the entire shoe until all the oil has been absorbed and the shoe sparkles.

6. 

   Buff the shoe with a chamois cloth to bring out all the shine.

7. 

   Add a dab of petroleum jelly to a clean cloth and lightly buff the entire shoe to keep the leather supple and to prevent cracking.

Tips & Warnings

• Always clean shoes first with a slightly damp cloth to remove any dirt or dust; this prevents scratches.
• Use leather weatherproofer to keep water from leaving spots on shoes.

Who Can Help:

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on 8/17/2006 You may not want to use Kiwi Parade Gloss. This product contains silicone which does not allow the leather to breathe and tends to take out leather's natural oils, causing the leather to crack and dry out.

on 8/8/2006 I've tried many ways of getting boots and shoes to shine, as I have spent many years in the military. There are a lot of old tricks, but these are very limited and not 100% reliable from what I have found.
Tip:
Gently rub the boot/shoe to remove dirt and dust, get a soft cloth and fold it over you finger twice,
dip the cloth in hot/warm water (make sure there is a substantial amount) and add a small amount of Kiwi parade gloss, then gently rub it in very small circles over and over spreading the polish out. Add more water if necessary and when the polish is gone, repeat a few more times for a glass like shine. If you want to remove excess water, use a straw and blow off the water.

on 3/13/2006 I've tried many ways of getting boots and shoes to shine, as I have spent many years in the military. There are a lot of 'old tricks' but these are very limited and not 100% reliable.

Tip:
Gently rub the boot/shoe to remove dirt and dust,
Get a soft cloth and fold it over you finger twice, dip the cloth in hot/warm water (make sure there is a substantial amount) and add a small amount of Kiwi parade gloss.
Gently rub it in very small circles over and over, spreading the polish out. Add more water if necessary.
When the polish is gone, repeat a few more times for a glass-like shine. If you want to remove excess water, use a straw and blow off the water.

on 1/23/2006 I've tried many methods of shining my boots, and the one method I found that really works is this:
Apply a decent layer of basic black Kiwi shoe wax onto the boot. Let the boot sit for about 15 minutes. Get a lighter and glaze the polish slowly, but be careful; do not hold flame too close to the polish or it will run off of the boot. You want to warm it up just enough to seep into the leather's pores. Let it sit for another 15 minutes, then us a shoe brush and brush all of the excess polish off. Buff with a rag or sock. Repeat as many times as necessary to get that high shine.