How to Spit-Shine Your Shoes
You don't need spit to give your shoes a spit shine. Water will work equally well. Follow these steps to find out how. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shoe brush
- Water
- Toothbrush
- Can of paste polish
- Newspaper
- Soft cotton cloths
- Knee-high nylon stockings
Instructions
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1
Place the shoes on an old newspaper to keep dirt and polish off the floor or table. Remove the laces. Clean your shoes using a shoe brush.
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2
Using a soft cotton cloth (a shoe polishing cloth, an old T-shirt or a cloth diaper) wrapped around two fingers, take polish from the can and apply a generous coat onto the uppers of the shoes, including the tongues.
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3
Using a toothbrush, apply polish to the sides of the soles and heels of the shoes. In the space where the uppers meet the soles.
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4
Allow the polish to dry on the shoes for about a half hour.
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5
Wet a fresh cloth and wring it so it doesn't drip. Using two fingers as before, take polish from the can. This time, apply a thin coat to the shoe using circular motions. As the cloth gets full of polish, move to a new section. Apply a second coat to the toes of the shoes.
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Allow the polish to dry for a few minutes. Then place a woman's knee-high nylon stocking over your hand and buff the shoes to a high shine.
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7
Re-lace the shoes.
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Tips & Warnings
Be extremely careful when polishing women's shoes that will be worn with nylon stockings or pantyhose. If polish gets on the inside of the uppers, it will rub off when the shoes are worn, leaving ugly marks on the woman's feet and ankles.
Don't attempt to polish shoes if the uppers aren't made of leather. Don't attempt to polish suede or nubuck.
Don't try to change the color of a shoe by apply a different color of polish.
Comments
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Ugh --- reminds me of the Navy. Although we were clean and just used water and cotton balls.
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I'll give it a try. I've been polishing shoes for years and never ever waited an hour in the process, so we'll see. Thanks.
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Reid Belton
Oct 24, 2010
I like to use regular Kiwi for my base polish, topped off by a thin coat of parade gloss for extra gloss. I can get a very high polish with regular Kiwi alone, however the top coat of parade does make a noticeable difference. Still, as the above user stated, I would not use parade alone--it does not seem to be as durable as the regular stuff (probably because it contains more wax and less oil.) I haven't tried the above method, it probably works great. Mine is a bit simpler: using the same finger technique described above, dampen the cloth, rub some polish into it, and start making small circles on your boot. Do one small section at a time. The key is keeping a good balance of water and polish. If there are beads of water on the boot, add a bit more polish. If you feel like your cloth is dragging, add a drop or two of water. When you have the right mix, the shine will just "happen."... -
f0ru0l0rd
Jan 16, 2010
Also, be weary of Kiwi Parade. It contains parafin wax which can inhibit a strong polish shell. Many marines will swear by Lincoln Wax, with all under coats of black, one coat of blue, and then topped with a neutral. This will bring out the brightest shine you've ever seen, guaranteed.
