As a former Marine I was shocked at how fast it came up to a shine. I was told to have mirror shine but never told how, We had to find out on our own. I wish I had this video back in the 70s, LOL
I'm a former Royal Marine, wish I could have seen this in 1962. We just used Kiwi and spit to get a mirror gloss finish. I still mirror shine my shoes. I now have Saphir wax polish and get a better shine in a shorter time. So thank you for the tips
I was a reservist in the Canadian Army a long time ago, we shined our parade boots the same way, with some Kiwi black polish, a clean cloth, a bit of water and a thousand or so circles.
I am a highschool student with minimal funds but I love to dress nice, what I started doing was buying second hand suits and oxfords then altering them to fit my size, but I could never get the shoes to match the level of care in the suit, finally this video has allowed me to take those shoes to a whole new level
Shoes are what people notice first. You can be fairly scruffy but smart polished shoes carry it off whereas a beautiful suit will be dragged down by cheap amd scruffy shoes.
Navy veteran here. This video should be required viewing for all new recruits. Just 50 years to late for me to benifit from its obvious success for the perfect shine. The time this would have saved me back then.
Retired Marine here... I had the pleasure of hitting the Med Cruise in 1972,aboard the LPD12 USS SHREVEPORT. The BS DIs handed us about swabbies this,and swabbies that,was just that...BS. I met some damned fine folk that were sailors aboard that ship. It tore me to the quick to hear that she was scuttled not too long ago. You truly can feel a spirit of a ship if you just let it flow. Take care brother.
I learned this in the Army many years ago. Good tutorial. For the ultimate finish, neutral wax applied with a cotton ball usually gave me the best results. The test was to hold a ruler to the toe cap (with the zero end closest to the footwear) and see if you could read the 12 inch marking on the opposite end in the reflection.
British Army for me. A wet Cotton Balls to apply the wax, spit/polish and breath with a damp bulling cloth. There is a few tips that I would love to try out so I am tempted to try this method and also find that wax..
This brings back so many good memories of my father teaching me how to shine his Sunday shoes. He was a very particular man in regards to his shoes and challenged me, his daughter, to match his skill level. The pride I felt when I passed his inspections still chokes me up a bit. Thank you for this video.
Its nice to know. I asked my father to teach me after I joined firefighters because he was in the navy and all he told me was to learn something more useful like electricity. Would have been nice.
Thank you as a police officer for the past two years I still like to put a shine on my boots. Helps with looking professional on the job. So thank you.
Where the hell was this vid when I was in the police academy 20 years ago? Wife just asked me what's so interesting about watching some guy on TH-cam polishing shoes. Some people just don't understand. 😂😂😂
Army vet here, excellent video. Although I was required to shine my boots, I never did. Didn't know how. But, I could draw, and guys in the unit wanted artwork for their girls... they'd ask for a design, I'd hand them my boots. I have since learned to shine my own boots but, until this video, didn't know how to get that mirror shine. Thank you.
45 years ago when I started military career I experimented with all kinds of mirror shine methods using alcohol, setting fire to wax to melt it in, blow dryers, store bought mirror shine dressings, and all the rest. Ultimately I just settled on a piece of t-shirt wrapped around two fingers, Kiwi black boot polish, Kiwi lid half-filled with water, and some intense elbow grease. Pretty quickly got the hang of how much shoe polish is enough and not too little or too much, the same with the water. Once I got the shoes or boots mirror-shined the first time it was usually not hard to bring it back. My office low quarters took only a few minutes to top up, boots took a little longer.
Very similar to how my dad taught me, sans the ice and alcohol. He was Vietnam era Navy, I was Desert Storm era Navy, and now my daughters are in NJROTC. Passing the tradition of a mirror finish spit-shine. Nice shoes, sir.
I don't think I will ever shine my shoes, let alone mirror shine. HOWEVER, I am deeply impressed by your passion for what you do, your love for it, your competence, and your humbleness when teaching. I will for sure use your method if ever decide to polish my shoes. Congratulations, I loved your video and your passion for something so simple, very inspiring.
In the Navy I learned to put a mirror shine on my shoes and boots (completely). At a new command we had an inspection and I pulled out my leathers and they didn't look great from storage but I felt lazy and they still looked darn good. At inspection it came down to me and this other guy and the inspector finally gave it to the other guy saying his shoes looked just a tad better than mine. My LPO pointed out mine were leather and the other guy had corframs. He couldn't believe it. So I got top on the inspection. Just my bragging rights story. 😁
@@JohnSmith-kw9yc Not sure what that means but I had split service. I was in from 1986-91 and we cleaned alot. Also we were "required" to have shiny boots and uniform pressed and with creases that would cut you. If we and our spaces looked good did our jobs, we got good liberty. Our decks (I was on a carrier-USS John F Kennedy) looked like glass. I got out for 11 years and then went back in after 9/11. Alot had changed. Kinder gentler Navy nonsense. But I still kept my standards.
@@reeb9016 My dad was in the Navy during Korea, he didn't quit, he just did his tours. He was a clean guy before the Navy but he brought home the Navy's zeal for cleaning, too. Made us clean at home like that, I used to kid him that he quit the Navy because they didn't clean enough. He taught us the meaning of "Ship Shape".
@@JohnSmith-kw9yc Ha! Yeah, I hear that for sure. I'm married with 3 kids and I'm by far the most tidy. My wife didn't grow up that way so her less enthused attitude influences the kids. But she was like that when I met her and other traits got ne to overlook this.🙂 I pay "attention to detail", doing the super cleaning in the house and I like detailing the cars. The boys are coming around in that department. Funny thing though is I've always been super casual in my civilian dress. Dressing up makes me feel uncomfortable. In uniform, however, I wanted to be the most squared away sailor out there.
Thank you so much for this video. My husband has just started police academy with what we thought were very shiny boots. He found out the truth pretty quickly! We had no idea you could achieve a “mirror finish” shine on leather duty boots. Your patient, methodical explanation of a process you’ve mastered to be shockingly simple in its presentation was just what we needed. We got fantastic results using this method with Kiwi’s parade gloss wax, and have Saphir ordered and on the way.
I was in the Royal Air Force and we were taught this method in training. Never fails. Still use it. Great video. We didn’t have the mirror gloss in the UK though. Thank you for bringing back memories of fun hours of meditation.
As a former Drill Sgt and Infantry, we never use alcohol on leather, eventually it will break down the leather and it will start peeling over time. Saturate the baby diaper, squeeze to medium dry, no dipping. Top off with a natural shoe polish and there you have. A glass shine Ready for inspection 👍🏾
I studied for some time in a military school (wasn't military myself) and we had to shine our shoes. Word among the guys was to not use alcohol either, because it damaged the leather and went against the intended result of waxing and shining the shoes, which is to conserve them through long-term use.
I agree and understand completely with alcohol damaging/drying out leather, but this way of applying is first diluted, then only applied to 7+ layers of wax to melt the wax into the reflective top coat. Personally, we just used friction to heat and melt the wax, but this way works well and quickly with less elbow grease.
I expected you to mention that there are times when the best thing to use *is* time. When you just can't get it any glossier, let the shoes sit overnight, and go back to them the next day. It's the thing to do if you're being presented to the Queen!! Thanks, Preston! You make it look easy. You also make a lot of sense!!
Thank you! I just finished using this technique on my shoes; I wasn't able to achieve this level of high shine until I used this method. I am forever grateful!!!
YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER!!!! ❤️❤️ I used to cry thinking about needing to polish my boots but this video made it so easy! Your demonstration and commentary is amazing and very well done! Now, I’ll have the shiniest boots for Remembrance Day this year as cenetaph guard! God bless to you and your company 🙏🏼🙏🏼
I am impressed, I was taught the military way of spit, polish and heat, when serving, using Kiwi and Parade Gloss . I just may try your method, as I love a shiny pair of Black Oxfords, with mirror finish toe caps. A parade finish,old habits die hard,I guess, even after 30 years.
Yup, Kiwi Polish / Parade Gloss + bowl of hot water & cotton buds to apply a layer of wax + old T-shirt and then finish with an old stocking pulled tight over and buffed over the shoe. Rinse repeat until you can see your eye colour in the reflection. Good times.
@@frostypeterson1002 Apply with brush, Brush with brush2, breathe on it and an old stocking for gloss. Used this daily while in the navy (shoe shine doesn't like salt water). As duty-officer, I even made a protocol-chart (normally used for equipment maintenance) to hand to some-one who had dull shoes/boots during roll-call.
Honestly, I always gave my roommate a 6-pack to polish my boots. It was something he enjoyed doing for a few friends and he never had to buy beer on the weekends
Been really into shining my loafers recently. I got a pair of Thursday Lincoln loafers and I don't go for the mirror shine, but I will do 2 coats of wax on top of a cream polish to really bring out a nice all around shine. Thanks to your channel I now enjoy doing more than the bare minimum to keep my shoes in good health.
That's cool. I've been leather conditioning my purses ever since I discovered Preston's channel. I don't worry about mirror shines for my shoes. I don't wear many expensive shoes living in FL as a female, but I enjoy the channel and believe in taking care of my leather products to preserve them for longer. I think we live in such a disposable time and it's refreshing to see people like Preston caring for shoes and items because it's classy, harkens back to a time when people took pride in their work and themselves, and we've lost our reverence for living a more elegant life.
I’m in Rotc and when I did this for my uniform inspection my instructor thought I bought those shiny shoes whatever there called he didn’t believe me so he asked how I found this I said some random person on TH-cam had a very good explanation
My uncle was a Lt Col in the Marines, and he showed me this exact way of shining shoes, and he told me that most people, if not all the people he meet, did not know how to shine shoes correctly. This method is not well known but is the most effect way for a shine. Don't spit shine, its not healthy for he leather. It will cause cracking.
Royal Artillery vet here. Something I could never get right, but eventually managed. The fun we had watching the SMIG throwing and kicking boots that were not to standard up and down the asphalt!
Always interesting to see how people personalise their techniques. I'm an Australian Navy veteran of 16 years, still serving; I have been mirror polishing my boots my whole career but have always used Kiwi, cotton wool balls and it seems I use an excessive amount of water after watching your videos (luckily I've never had an issue with a dry looking spot) I never could manage a decent shine with a cloth for some reason. After watching a few of your videos I was convinced to give Saphir a go, I ordered black polish and mirror gloss today so I'm keen to give them a go for myself. Thanks for the great videos on your channel
@oz_jones I still prefer the cotton wool. After trying Saphir I'd highly recommend the mirror gloss as a base coat, it works great. The polish however, not a fan. I now use the Saphir mirror gloss but use kiwi polish on top and that gets great results.
Honesty I'm off work on a WCB injury with two bad shoulders. I hadn't been able to achieve mirror shine because I can't work on the shoe for that long. Then the rubbing alcohol nugget got dropped and now I'm getting mirror shine with about 5 minutes of work. Because I can only do this for about 5 minutes it's just a minor mirror shine but it's still been a revelation.
I just found out that using cotton balls after buffing up the polish gives a great shine. After following Preston's method and using a cotton ball, it gave me a great shine even when using a cheaper product than Shapir, like Kiwi (I'm on a tight budget so I can't afford Saphir at the moment). It's really up to you guys if you wish to try out this additional step. I'm still thankful to Preston for doing this video. It helped a ton! Keep up the great work, Preston!
As a former young soldier of the 80's & 90's that was often in trouble I got well acquainted lots of methods to 'bull' boots even if they are really battered including using a hot spoon and candle, but a quick low skill way is to use a good amount of cotton wool instead of a cloth dipped in little bit of water with a small amount of shaving cream in it with kiwi polish - the shaving cream cooks the layers off quicker - and I had the best 'bulled' boots in the battalion - which were often in high demand to be loaned out and were always returned with a couple extra layers - dont use spit it takes too long -
If you textually do a spit shine, you must consider that saliva contains enzymes. Up to a point, enzymes will digest the shining paste in a lasting process after you are finished with your shoe care. Now, I must declare that this tutorial was by far the most efficient I've ever watched. I really enjoyed this passage: "It's got to be fun." That is also true for whatever you do to improve your personality. I thank you a whole lot. Bert.
20 years ago I was in a military school in Galveston Texas and we used to Shine our boots, we were all competitive and that made it so interesting. This brings back memories because we all want it to have the mirror shine The way that are sergeant had it.
Opinion? I used to spend hours shining Corcoran Black "Jump Boots" when I was in the army. My (long) technique included using witch hazel instead of water, Brushed on then brushed off a layer of black Kiwi, Then cloth shine in a couple of layers of Parade Gloss, a light layer of blue polish, then finish it off with neutral kiwi. I needed to open my can of neutral and leave it open for a few days to dry out and let a lot of the oils basically evaporate. Wish I knew your technique. And I also wish I knew about better polishes back then too. My boots always looked like glass. it was just never as easy as you make it look.
Saw many concoctions when in the Marines even mop & glo. This video got me researching name brand shoe polishes & I came up with the following recipe that adds a few improvements in my opinion. This recipe I tried today & my cordovans look like glass. Start with an amount overall that you want. Heres my recipe: I wanted 376 grams overall (around 13 oz.) when all done. Just write down the percentages so you have the recipe 1st then do your own math for however much you want. Pure bees wax - 14.4% by weight (54 grams in my case)(I used a kitchen scale with grams for precise measures. Carnauba wax 3% by wt (11.25 grams) Castor oil 25% (94 grams) Turpentine (pure gum spirits) - 43.6% (164 grams) Stearic acid 7% (26 grams) D-Limonene 1% (4grams) For black shoe polish add activated carbon pulverized to a fine fine dust (mortar & pestle/ food processor/coffee bean grinder whatever) so carbon 7% (26.25 grams) I made neutral polish so ommited this today. Procedure double boiler both waxes together till melted. Remove from burner but leave metal bowl in pot of hot water as other ingredients will otherwise chill wax down hindering a smooth mix. Add everything but turpentine & mix till smooth. Add turpentine last slowly carefully away from heat as it is flammable. Mix till smooth. Done! Pour into sm screw top tins (I got 2 oz & 3oz screw top tins dirt cheap on amazon a whole bunch. I used a kitchen tool called a fondant funnel which dispenses liquid into sm containers very neatly but a measuring cup would wk too. Pour mix from bowl into measuring cup or sm pitcher. Dispense into tins just shy of top. Let the polish set for 24 hrs before use. It will sometimes crack as it cools not a problem. Unique little Christmas gift thats handmade. I shined about 12 pairs of dress shoes today & they look fantastic. I got so interested in your video it inspired the recipe. Send me a mailing address & I will send you a can - works as a conditioner as well as a polish. I will be following up on the toes & heels with your method. Thx! Had fun with this. I actually read a thesis I found on the subject while researching MANY different recipes. Notes on ingredients: beeswax pellets easily dispensed easily melted. (got all ingredients online inexpensively btw.) Carnauba wax is a much harder wax yielding a higher shine, Castor oil softens the mix, Turpentine is the solvent for everything, stearic acid comes in a bag in white flakes & has many uses but here it lowers the pH to match that of the leather which is very low after tanning, D- Limonene (pure orange oil- food grade) is also a solvent but additionally it prevents rot contributes to lowering pH & conditions leather. My 1st batch I did without the activated carbon but will use in next batch. With commercial shoe polish being kinda harsh on leather in comparison & running $4-5/can I thought Id make it just to see the result. I also plan to use half of these ingredients for making my own wood polish for wk.
Twenty five years in the "Tin bellies" mirror shine was a religious devotion,not only your kit but horse Tack as well.Wish i'd seen this as a young "trooper. Many thanks.
I'm gonna cry out of how thankful I am I have to go to an important breakfast tomorrow to make connections for a possible military career and I could normally get a "mirror" shine with some kiwi but this is next level. My shoes are reflective in a way I never knew they could be. AHHH Thank you so much!!!
This was of my first attempts at a shine like this, I just wanna say this was a amazing help and i was able to fallow easily and it was simple thank you so much
Ex-Army/Navy retiree here. Excellent vid. Some pointers. 1. Double the cloth layers to create a bit of a pad. Using just a single layer of fabric can strip as much polish as it lays down. Use a light touch. 2. Ultimately, all you need is polish and water. The rag and alcohol are actually optional. I've seen mirror shines laid down with nothing but fingers. 3. I'd recommended taking photos using a reflected light to see your progress -- at say, 20, 50, 100, and 200 layers. 50 layers looks good, but 200+ layers is DEEP mirror. 4. Shine the *whole* shoe, including toe, vamp, tongue (yes, tongue), heelcap. Equals attention-to-detail. Watch old Fred Astaire movies, his entire shoes were shined to the 9s. 5. Spit shining is a skill akin to a fireside craft. Practice your skill while watching movies, etc. You'll be amazed at how fast it comes with practice. To maintain, touch-up weekly. 6. Don't forget the welts. (Start by cleaning the welts; end with buffing the welts. This is the only place you'll actually use that shoe brush. Get the longest bristles you can find.) I need to try that Saphir polish. That's if I ever decide to polish another pair of shoes... 🤣
Man I did my first mirror shine this week and it took my like 2hours or even more, this technique seems crazy fast I'm definitely gonna try it soon ! thanks !
Went to your home page to see if you had a tut on glassing-out an entire high top pair of boots: specifically, a pair of Corcoran Jump Boots. For those of us who were once paratroopers, our wings and our glass black Corcorans were the icons we cherished most. Achieving that mirror shine over the entire boot, including all flexible areas, was the zenith of pride. But it was a huge and exhausting process that would brooke no casual treatment of any surface area. They all had to be glass. For my part, I had barely achieved success when I had to exchange my beautiful Corcorans for jungle boots. I was never again to ply my spit shinning skills. So, I would love to see how a professional achieves those same results, and how best to harden that shine to resist the rigors of the daily drudge. There are millions of us vets who would greatly appreciate a chance to see a pro at work. 1st Bdg, 101st Abn Div '65 - '68
@@TheElegantOxford Thankx for the reply. You are surely a gentleman! In general, I try to forget what happened during those most terrible years in those jungles. Nevertheless, the months before deployment had a few high points, not the least of which was learning to shine my brand new jump boots. The Corcoran boot was not a military issue. However, the army made an exception for the Airborne, allowing only them to wear the iconic boot. The new paratrooper had to purchase them himself. They were expensive, but well worth the outlay. But before they could be donned, they had to be shined to look like glass. Not an easy task for a clumsy, pedestrian seventeen-year-old. Though I felt I had achieved a classic shine, worthy of those brave lads who had worn them before me, in retrospect, I don't believe they were any match for your skilled work. I look forward to seeing you unleash your magic. You are "The Man!" -Thankx 🐴
I concur. The 82nd is it's own beast though, not only did we have to shine our Jump Boots (Cochran's), but also our daily wear boots. So, it was not uncommon to have two or more pairs of jungle boots or standard leather boots, mirror polished for daily wear. So, I learned on standard leather boots, but ended up mirror polishing jungle boots _(which can be done!)_ on a daily basis, mostly because they were more comfortable and had less leather to polish, but as to the holy Jump Boots... Those were reserved for dress inspections and fancy social functions only. In addition, we'd also have to go so far as to blacken every piece of metal on our equipment as well. I'm sure the 101st did much the same. 1st & 2nd BDE, 82nd AIRBORNE DIV '02-'06, 10-12.
WOW! When I was in a military academy that was like a 8 to 10 hours shine for my whole shoe. I wish I knew I didn't need so much wax. I also had no access to rubbing alcohol.
18:37 "Always put your best foot forward. The small details matter most." As soon as you said that, I knew I had to subscribe. What an amazing value and so beautifully stated.
It's amazing how many techniques there are . My dad taught me the Lighter/Fire Method, A good friend of I mine was retired Army, Told be me the best was was Kiwi Polish and Hot sauce. This seems to be the best I have seen so far.
Just placed an order for several Saphir products to polish my EMS boots. Even though they get used hard I still like a clean polished boot as I feel that says a lot about the kind of provider you are. I'll definitely be using this as a guide to get that mirror shine! Also - nice dive watch! I own the same one just with custom hands and dial!
I was a Queens guardsman for almost ten years our drill boots are like black mirrored glass when we do our boots correctly. Our method is to pack the boots with sand then rub all over with Scott's bright pad to key up the leather. Then we melt 100% bees wax and brush it onto the boots using a brush and blowtorch. Then its a cleanup of the lumpy drips of bee's wax to even the wax out all over the boots. We then get a tin of kiwi Polish and rub it into the entire boot. Let it dry then using clean new brushes just brush it off so its all even. I used a selvyt cloth and just bulled the boots using a little water and dab of the Polish then using small circular motion bull until you see the polish disappear repeat over and over until you get the desired deep mirror finish. No need for an ice cube or the alcohol just fresh Polish and a lot of time later and the entire boot was good for our duties. If we got small light scratches a ball of cotton wool and a trickle under the cold tap usually did the trick. As a guardsman we were expected to have a mirrored shine all over the boots so it was a lot of hard work and effort.
I think we all did it like that in the Regemts, when I joined it was yellow Naffi Duster 😂 Thankfully on a course a SG said get a Selvyt, still got that cloth do day now as a vet of many years to the colours.😊
I have been a viewer for a long time and today tried my first mirror shine. This video really gave me understanding and assurance of what I am looking for. Thank you so much for helping me put my best foot forward.
I know this is about shoe shining and as a 21 year Marine, I spent many hours trying to achieve this level of shine. But it’s his watch that caught my eye. I have the same one I purchased at NAS Alameda in 1979….
I've tried my own way for an hour but not success. Then I found your vdo and got mirror shine in one shot. Thank you very much for sharing this method.
As a former Brit and Canadian soldier, I have done this hundreds of times. I’ve always used Kiwi, because that was what was available. Some of that stuff in this video would have come in handy! Plus we also used saliva as the enzymes help to break down the wax. You can’t eat or drink anything (except water) anything within about an hour before, though.
Works lika a charm. At first i did not notice anything, but after touching the Saphire with the cloth the magic happens. The most satisfying shoe shine i have ever done.
As a cadet I am required to have pristine mirror shine parade boots and despite hours of attempting to reach this goal I have never been able to. This has really inspired me and I think I might actually be able to now! Time to go shine! Thank you!
Quality work and technique. Awesome of you to share this out - thank you for helping us all look nicer. I always feel proud walking around with some properly shined shoes. Going to take your instructions, practice, and get good to go with this!
I'm retired Army. This has a couple of unnecessary steps in my opinion. First, you don't need alcohol, gloves, or ice to get a glass shine. You just need a tshirt, wax, and water. Using the damp tshirt to apply your wax in layers and in circular motions is all you need. The key is a damp cloth and wax. If you want your whole shoe or boot to be very similar, do the same thing all over. A secret from a Vietnam veteran I met in basic training is a nylon stocking. Put it over your hand and buff it lightly. Trust me.
I’ve been in the navy for a little over 8 years and I never knew it was this easy. I’d spend hours doing what I thought was correct to not even get near this 😢 Great video, and I’ll definitely be using this technique for all my uniform shoes and boots.
Buenos dias. Un video perfecto. Lo he intentado varias veces pero sin un resultado realmente bueno, brillante como el tuyo. Volveré a intentarlo de nuevo aplicando tus consejos y técnicas. Muchas gracias y un saludo. Good morning. A perfect video. I've tried it several times but without a really good, brilliant result like yours. I will try again using your tips and techniques. Thank you very much and greetings
I've tried to get a mirror shine for many years. I've googled, watched videos, read articles.. I even switched from Kiwi, Kiwi Parade Gloss and then to Lincoln Wax.. nope. Gonna try this now! This is a great video.
I've been playing with different polished recently. I've tried all the Saphir products, but I keep coming back to the good old Kiwi parade gloss as the quickest way to a proper parade shine.
This reminds me of my time in the Swedish armed forces. My platoon was about to go to Stockholm to be royal guards and I achieved my first mirror shine when the leather went from polished to be able to see myself in the boot. It was magical! Spit and polish. Took me hours. This seems more effective
I bought a pair of Johnson and Murphy burgundy Oxfords at Goodwill for $9.99. I then bought the same wax and cream that you used. I cannot believe it. I got a good mirror shine on my first try! The shoes were not worn much so that's nice. I will only wear the shoes on certain occasions. The shoes by the way were a perfect fit. Though I know they are only entry level shoes, they sure look nice.
Wish had this video 22 years ago. Absolutely excellent video. Had to use kiwi polish with spit and it took months to get my boots up. Bought new shoes and had one shoe mirror shined in 10 minutes
As a former Marine I was shocked at how fast it came up to a shine. I was told to have mirror shine but never told how, We had to find out on our own. I wish I had this video back in the 70s, LOL
Thank you for your service.
No doubt, would have saved me hours. these lazy boots today don't even know the struggle.
@@InfantryGeek They still make you shine your boots in the Navy =D
@@T1ddlywinks Guys I know in the Navy all said the secret was to use panty hose.
@@sargentwaag1483 We just use hoes panties, and only if they are 100% cotton =P
Fascinating!! I have learned how to shine shoes, and I am 78 years old!!!
Hahaha. Funnies comment in the internet.
fair play to you man
Same method we used in the Army to get a buff shine aka spit shine
Good on u man!!
U live well now old timer
I'm a former Royal Marine, wish I could have seen this in 1962. We just used Kiwi and spit to get a mirror gloss finish. I still mirror shine my shoes. I now have Saphir wax polish and get a better shine in a shorter time. So thank you for the tips
I was a reservist in the Canadian Army a long time ago, we shined our parade boots the same way, with some Kiwi black polish, a clean cloth, a bit of water and a thousand or so circles.
I used spit too and a little neutral. Isn't hard. But I never used any brushes. Just a shine rag of cotton, my fingers, and time.
@@xenxander I never used any brushes either. Didn't need to.
Shame you wernt a Guardsmen!..we get better results without the above!
WHY . . , does a post Like - This . . Alwayz catch a Marines - 👁 . . ? ? ha ha ha
I am a highschool student with minimal funds but I love to dress nice, what I started doing was buying second hand suits and oxfords then altering them to fit my size, but I could never get the shoes to match the level of care in the suit, finally this video has allowed me to take those shoes to a whole new level
Bravo!
Me too! But I find trouble trying to alter my suits to fit my size, could you link a yt vídeo that teached you?
Shoes are what people notice first. You can be fairly scruffy but smart polished shoes carry it off whereas a beautiful suit will be dragged down by cheap amd scruffy shoes.
What size shoes do you wear ?
i am in high school too and just bought a nice pair of leather shoes, when i wake up tomorrow i will mirror shine as much as i can 😁
Navy veteran here. This video should be required viewing for all new recruits. Just 50 years to late for me to benifit from its obvious success for the perfect shine. The time this would have saved me back then.
Active Duty Navy here. Wish they showed us this in RTC.
Pro tip from a former Snipe:
Do this to a cheap pair for inspection purposes, spend the money on comfortable ones to wear daily.
I will use this for my inspections, glad us younger guys can carry on the tradition 🫡
Retired Marine here...
I had the pleasure of hitting the Med Cruise in 1972,aboard the LPD12 USS SHREVEPORT.
The BS DIs handed us about swabbies this,and swabbies that,was just that...BS.
I met some damned fine folk that were sailors aboard that ship.
It tore me to the quick to hear that she was scuttled not too long ago.
You truly can feel a spirit of a ship if you just let it flow.
Take care brother.
That show got a happy ending~ literally and figuratively 😂
Humans have such a large variety of likes, interests, hobbies and skills. I love watching masters at their craft, doing what they do best. 👍
And I love honing my straight razors for the perfect shave 🪒😬
So, you are the Bob Ross of shoes. Just to let you know.
Thanks! Love this
No problem. :)
That's what I was thinking.
Happy little shoes, happy little shines.
I was totally about to say there is something very Bob Ross-ian about this!
I learned this in the Army many years ago. Good tutorial. For the ultimate finish, neutral wax applied with a cotton ball usually gave me the best results. The test was to hold a ruler to the toe cap (with the zero end closest to the footwear) and see if you could read the 12 inch marking on the opposite end in the reflection.
Wow! Thus awesome. Thank you for your service
Over 60 years ago in the US Army we used cotton balls and spit to get our spit shine. 😎
Love this comment!
British Army for me. A wet Cotton Balls to apply the wax, spit/polish and breath with a damp bulling cloth. There is a few tips that I would love to try out so I am tempted to try this method and also find that wax..
@@TheScubapez376 you knew you were almost there when you got to the point of using just your breath.
This brings back so many good memories of my father teaching me how to shine his Sunday shoes. He was a very particular man in regards to his shoes and challenged me, his daughter, to match his skill level. The pride I felt when I passed his inspections still chokes me up a bit. Thank you for this video.
Its nice to know. I asked my father to teach me after I joined firefighters because he was in the navy and all he told me was to learn something more useful like electricity. Would have been nice.
Thank you as a police officer for the past two years I still like to put a shine on my boots. Helps with looking professional on the job. So thank you.
People say it doesn't matter since no one looks, but fellow shoeshiners always notice
Where the hell was this vid when I was in the police academy 20 years ago?
Wife just asked me what's so interesting about watching some guy on TH-cam polishing shoes. Some people just don't understand. 😂😂😂
I would have been 10 at the time so maybe I wouldn’t have been helpful 😂
Gunny Sgt. Lassiter might not have approved in '69...
"some people" are women 😏
I’m a women
And I like polishing leather 😜
@@escape7557 Oh I'm quite certain you do... but maybe not so much the polishing of leather 😏🤫🤣
Army vet here, excellent video. Although I was required to shine my boots, I never did. Didn't know how. But, I could draw, and guys in the unit wanted artwork for their girls... they'd ask for a design, I'd hand them my boots. I have since learned to shine my own boots but, until this video, didn't know how to get that mirror shine. Thank you.
I really like that comment...”the Bob Ross of shoes”. Fits perfectly
I liked it too
😂YES well fitted
45 years ago when I started military career I experimented with all kinds of mirror shine methods using alcohol, setting fire to wax to melt it in, blow dryers, store bought mirror shine dressings, and all the rest.
Ultimately I just settled on a piece of t-shirt wrapped around two fingers, Kiwi black boot polish, Kiwi lid half-filled with water, and some intense elbow grease. Pretty quickly got the hang of how much shoe polish is enough and not too little or too much, the same with the water.
Once I got the shoes or boots mirror-shined the first time it was usually not hard to bring it back. My office low quarters took only a few minutes to top up, boots took a little longer.
Hey I’m in JROTC and I’m a freshman/ NS1 and this is amazing my senior chief was very impressed and my commander was impressed, thanks you very much👍👍
Very similar to how my dad taught me, sans the ice and alcohol. He was Vietnam era Navy, I was Desert Storm era Navy, and now my daughters are in NJROTC. Passing the tradition of a mirror finish spit-shine. Nice shoes, sir.
Yes, you are the best shoe shiner in the world.
Thanks!
The Elegant Oxford
its a movie scene from goodfellas
Better then Angelo?
Really you are great ❤️
The best shoe shiner in the world is an e nlisted Marine
Preston, you say that you're not the best shoe shiner in the world. Of the many that I've watched on TH-cam, though, you are definitely the best!
I whole heartily appreciate that
I don't think I will ever shine my shoes, let alone mirror shine. HOWEVER, I am deeply impressed by your passion for what you do, your love for it, your competence, and your humbleness when teaching. I will for sure use your method if ever decide to polish my shoes. Congratulations, I loved your video and your passion for something so simple, very inspiring.
I’m so happy that you are there. I’m 61 and I really never knew the proper way of taking care of leather. Thank-you.
In the Navy I learned to put a mirror shine on my shoes and boots (completely). At a new command we had an inspection and I pulled out my leathers and they didn't look great from storage but I felt lazy and they still looked darn good. At inspection it came down to me and this other guy and the inspector finally gave it to the other guy saying his shoes looked just a tad better than mine. My LPO pointed out mine were leather and the other guy had corframs. He couldn't believe it. So I got top on the inspection.
Just my bragging rights story. 😁
i had to spit shine my jump and combat boots everyday .i could do it in five minutes . never needed corframs
My dad quit the Navy because they didn't clean enough.
@@JohnSmith-kw9yc Not sure what that means but I had split service. I was in from 1986-91 and we cleaned alot. Also we were "required" to have shiny boots and uniform pressed and with creases that would cut you. If we and our spaces looked good did our jobs, we got good liberty. Our decks (I was on a carrier-USS John F Kennedy) looked like glass.
I got out for 11 years and then went back in after 9/11. Alot had changed. Kinder gentler Navy nonsense. But I still kept my standards.
@@reeb9016 My dad was in the Navy during Korea, he didn't quit, he just did his tours. He was a clean guy before the Navy but he brought home the Navy's zeal for cleaning, too. Made us clean at home like that, I used to kid him that he quit the Navy because they didn't clean enough. He taught us the meaning of "Ship Shape".
@@JohnSmith-kw9yc Ha! Yeah, I hear that for sure. I'm married with 3 kids and I'm by far the most tidy. My wife didn't grow up that way so her less enthused attitude influences the kids. But she was like that when I met her and other traits got ne to overlook this.🙂 I pay "attention to detail", doing the super cleaning in the house and I like detailing the cars. The boys are coming around in that department.
Funny thing though is I've always been super casual in my civilian dress. Dressing up makes me feel uncomfortable. In uniform, however, I wanted to be the most squared away sailor out there.
Thank you so much for this video. My husband has just started police academy with what we thought were very shiny boots. He found out the truth pretty quickly! We had no idea you could achieve a “mirror finish” shine on leather duty boots. Your patient, methodical explanation of a process you’ve mastered to be shockingly simple in its presentation was just what we needed. We got fantastic results using this method with Kiwi’s parade gloss wax, and have Saphir ordered and on the way.
Thank you! Thank your husband for his service and good luck in the academy.
Just starting the academy myself and need mine shined too lol! I’m glad to hear this worked!!
I was in the Royal Air Force and we were taught this method in training. Never fails. Still use it. Great video. We didn’t have the mirror gloss in the UK though. Thank you for bringing back memories of fun hours of meditation.
British Army does though :)
As a former Marine, I'm thankful to have an old timer who showed me how to shine...... As much as people hated it, I took pride in mine.....
As a former Drill Sgt and Infantry, we never use alcohol on leather, eventually it will break down the leather and it will start peeling over time. Saturate the baby diaper, squeeze to medium dry, no dipping. Top off with a natural shoe polish and there you have. A glass shine Ready for inspection 👍🏾
I studied for some time in a military school (wasn't military myself) and we had to shine our shoes. Word among the guys was to not use alcohol either, because it damaged the leather and went against the intended result of waxing and shining the shoes, which is to conserve them through long-term use.
true it will dry out the shoe. I start with clean leather and apply leather conditioner first to moisturize it.
it shouldnt be a problem if u nourish the leather periodically
Drill Sargent don't lie. He would know more than anyone here!
I agree and understand completely with alcohol damaging/drying out leather, but this way of applying is first diluted, then only applied to 7+ layers of wax to melt the wax into the reflective top coat.
Personally, we just used friction to heat and melt the wax, but this way works well and quickly with less elbow grease.
I expected you to mention that there are times when the best thing to use *is* time. When you just can't get it any glossier, let the shoes sit overnight, and go back to them the next day. It's the thing to do if you're being presented to the Queen!!
Thanks, Preston! You make it look easy. You also make a lot of sense!!
I think he has said it in another shine guide. He probably just forgot to mention it since these took a shine so effortlessly haha
Also, using blue wax on black leather.
In the RAF I used spit and a cloth initially but graduated to using cotton wool and a dripping tap. Clean cold water was more effective than spit.
Thank you! I just finished using this technique on my shoes; I wasn't able to achieve this level of high shine until I used this method. I am forever grateful!!!
Thanks for watching Joe!
Is that BLK or blue wax
I've been shining my shoes and boots since 1980 and still amazed watching other people shining theirs.
YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER!!!! ❤️❤️ I used to cry thinking about needing to polish my boots but this video made it so easy! Your demonstration and commentary is amazing and very well done! Now, I’ll have the shiniest boots for Remembrance Day this year as cenetaph guard! God bless to you and your company 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Cry?
I am impressed, I was taught the military way of spit, polish and heat, when serving, using Kiwi and Parade Gloss . I just may try your method, as I love a shiny pair of Black Oxfords, with mirror finish toe caps. A parade finish,old habits die hard,I guess, even after 30 years.
Thank you for your service
Yup, Kiwi Polish / Parade Gloss + bowl of hot water & cotton buds to apply a layer of wax + old T-shirt and then finish with an old stocking pulled tight over and buffed over the shoe. Rinse repeat until you can see your eye colour in the reflection. Good times.
@@frostypeterson1002 Apply with brush, Brush with brush2, breathe on it and an old stocking for gloss. Used this daily while in the navy (shoe shine doesn't like salt water).
As duty-officer, I even made a protocol-chart (normally used for equipment maintenance) to hand to some-one who had dull shoes/boots during roll-call.
Honestly, I always gave my roommate a 6-pack to polish my boots. It was something he enjoyed doing for a few friends and he never had to buy beer on the weekends
My brother was in the navy and polished his boots endlessly the spit and polish way.
When I was Naval boot camp, I loved shining my boots in my down time. There is something very meditative about it.
Still love shining all of my foot gear.
Been really into shining my loafers recently. I got a pair of Thursday Lincoln loafers and I don't go for the mirror shine, but I will do 2 coats of wax on top of a cream polish to really bring out a nice all around shine. Thanks to your channel I now enjoy doing more than the bare minimum to keep my shoes in good health.
Thanks for watching
That's cool. I've been leather conditioning my purses ever since I discovered Preston's channel. I don't worry about mirror shines for my shoes. I don't wear many expensive shoes living in FL as a female, but I enjoy the channel and believe in taking care of my leather products to preserve them for longer. I think we live in such a disposable time and it's refreshing to see people like Preston caring for shoes and items because it's classy, harkens back to a time when people took pride in their work and themselves, and we've lost our reverence for living a more elegant life.
As someone who’s in the navy, this is helpful for inspections! I was never really taught how to shine but I’m definitely gonna try this out now!
I hated how the CC's would come up, and scuff one of our shoes to see if we had a pair of "inspection only" shoes hidden somewhere. Grrr!
@@michaelrickman3161 omg yes! Luckily the senior chief who did my dress whites inspection was really chill and didn’t check my shoes
15:00 one thing that I REALLY like about this stage is the smooth feeling you have on your fingers as you keep on buffing. It is very satisfying.
The most awesome part about this is how truly passionate you are. I am so happy for you
Preston makes this look easy. Sign of a true artisan.
Thanks! I appreciate it
I've never learned so much about anything so useful, so quickly, as i did with this video---and I love your voice!
So being a marine doing spit shine, I always wondered why my shine would come out better while drinking....
Well i think you you saw it better because you were drunk i mean i have never drunk before but people act crazy when they are drunk
@@felipediaz4284 if it passed inspection it was mirror shine I’ll tell you that. Marines don’t play when it comes to uniform inspection.
@@felipediaz4284 "i've never got drunk, but I've heard stories"
hmm yeah ok
😂😂😂
@@sauzeeee i never Been drunk it's tue
I’m in Rotc and when I did this for my uniform inspection my instructor thought I bought those shiny shoes whatever there called he didn’t believe me so he asked how I found this I said some random person on TH-cam had a very good explanation
Quick, easy to understand, relaxing and concise enough to not lose our attention. Greatest tutorial I've ever seen. Thank you!
My uncle was a Lt Col in the Marines, and he showed me this exact way of shining shoes, and he told me that most people, if not all the people he meet, did not know how to shine shoes correctly. This method is not well known but is the most effect way for a shine. Don't spit shine, its not healthy for he leather. It will cause cracking.
Depends what generation you were brought up in. SAdly, it's a lost art on today's men who just don't care about cleaning their shoes.
@@steviem8466 air cadet here, my parade shoes are my life, since learning this I’ve taken care of all my shoes and polished most of them
Royal Artillery vet here. Something I could never get right, but eventually managed. The fun we had watching the SMIG throwing and kicking boots that were not to standard up and down the asphalt!
Always interesting to see how people personalise their techniques. I'm an Australian Navy veteran of 16 years, still serving; I have been mirror polishing my boots my whole career but have always used Kiwi, cotton wool balls and it seems I use an excessive amount of water after watching your videos (luckily I've never had an issue with a dry looking spot)
I never could manage a decent shine with a cloth for some reason. After watching a few of your videos I was convinced to give Saphir a go, I ordered black polish and mirror gloss today so I'm keen to give them a go for myself. Thanks for the great videos on your channel
How did it go? Still a no go with the cloth?
@oz_jones I still prefer the cotton wool. After trying Saphir I'd highly recommend the mirror gloss as a base coat, it works great. The polish however, not a fan. I now use the Saphir mirror gloss but use kiwi polish on top and that gets great results.
The rubbing alcohol might be the missing ingredient for me... I have been just using straight ice water. Thanks for the tip!!
It helps a lot
It was for me. Although I'm still having trouble with colours that aren't dark I'm at least now getting some true mirror shine now.
Yes, that alcohol thing is new. Gotta try it!
Honesty I'm off work on a WCB injury with two bad shoulders. I hadn't been able to achieve mirror shine because I can't work on the shoe for that long. Then the rubbing alcohol nugget got dropped and now I'm getting mirror shine with about 5 minutes of work. Because I can only do this for about 5 minutes it's just a minor mirror shine but it's still been a revelation.
KD410SE Ice water alone was always enough for me...I used Kiwi Parade Gloss though
I just finished my very first mirror shine dollowing this video. My Shoes looks 1,000% better! Thanks!!!
I like this background music. Much better than the other one. Personal taste
I just found out that using cotton balls after buffing up the polish gives a great shine. After following Preston's method and using a cotton ball, it gave me a great shine even when using a cheaper product than Shapir, like Kiwi (I'm on a tight budget so I can't afford Saphir at the moment). It's really up to you guys if you wish to try out this additional step. I'm still thankful to Preston for doing this video. It helped a ton! Keep up the great work, Preston!
This is still the best tutorial for mirror shining shoes ever. I come back here every time I shine my shoes and boots.
As a former young soldier of the 80's & 90's that was often in trouble I got well acquainted lots of methods to 'bull' boots even if they are really battered including using a hot spoon and candle, but a quick low skill way is to use a good amount of cotton wool instead of a cloth dipped in little bit of water with a small amount of shaving cream in it with kiwi polish - the shaving cream cooks the layers off quicker - and I had the best 'bulled' boots in the battalion - which were often in high demand to be loaned out and were always returned with a couple extra layers - dont use spit it takes too long -
We need your 8 minute video…. :)
Hooah!!!!
Bro, you ARE the best shoe shiner out there!!! My compliments 🥋🍻🍻🍻
Thank you!
If you textually do a spit shine, you must consider that saliva contains enzymes. Up to a point, enzymes will digest the shining paste in a lasting process after you are finished with your shoe care. Now, I must declare that this tutorial was by far the most efficient I've ever watched. I really enjoyed this passage: "It's got to be fun." That is also true for whatever you do to improve your personality. I thank you a whole lot. Bert.
Thank you so much. The best guide among other similar guides. Followed steo by step and achieve the result. Restored my wife's boots
20 years ago I was in a military school in Galveston Texas and we used to Shine our boots, we were all competitive and that made it so interesting. This brings back memories because we all want it to have the mirror shine The way that are sergeant had it.
Opinion? I used to spend hours shining Corcoran Black "Jump Boots" when I was in the army. My (long) technique included using witch hazel instead of water, Brushed on then brushed off a layer of black Kiwi, Then cloth shine in a couple of layers of Parade Gloss, a light layer of blue polish, then finish it off with neutral kiwi. I needed to open my can of neutral and leave it open for a few days to dry out and let a lot of the oils basically evaporate.
Wish I knew your technique. And I also wish I knew about better polishes back then too.
My boots always looked like glass. it was just never as easy as you make it look.
Saw many concoctions when in the Marines even mop & glo. This video got me researching name brand shoe polishes & I came up with the following recipe that adds a few improvements in my opinion. This recipe I tried today & my cordovans look like glass. Start with an amount overall that you want. Heres my recipe:
I wanted 376 grams overall (around 13 oz.) when all done. Just write down the percentages so you have the recipe 1st then do your own math for however much you want.
Pure bees wax - 14.4% by weight (54 grams in my case)(I used a kitchen scale with grams for precise measures.
Carnauba wax 3% by wt (11.25 grams)
Castor oil 25% (94 grams)
Turpentine (pure gum spirits) - 43.6% (164 grams)
Stearic acid 7% (26 grams)
D-Limonene 1% (4grams)
For black shoe polish add activated carbon pulverized to a fine fine dust (mortar & pestle/ food processor/coffee bean grinder whatever) so carbon 7% (26.25 grams) I made neutral polish so ommited this today.
Procedure double boiler both waxes together till melted. Remove from burner but leave metal bowl in pot of hot water as other ingredients will otherwise chill wax down hindering a smooth mix. Add everything but turpentine & mix till smooth. Add turpentine last slowly carefully away from heat as it is flammable. Mix till smooth. Done! Pour into sm screw top tins (I got 2 oz & 3oz screw top tins dirt cheap on amazon a whole bunch. I used a kitchen tool called a fondant funnel which dispenses liquid into sm containers very neatly but a measuring cup would wk too. Pour mix from bowl into measuring cup or sm pitcher. Dispense into tins just shy of top. Let the polish set for 24 hrs before use. It will sometimes crack as it cools not a problem. Unique little Christmas gift thats handmade. I shined about 12 pairs of dress shoes today & they look fantastic. I got so interested in your video it inspired the recipe. Send me a mailing address & I will send you a can - works as a conditioner as well as a polish. I will be following up on the toes & heels with your method. Thx! Had fun with this.
I actually read a thesis I found on the subject while researching MANY different recipes. Notes on ingredients: beeswax pellets easily dispensed easily melted. (got all ingredients online inexpensively btw.) Carnauba wax is a much harder wax yielding a higher shine, Castor oil softens the mix, Turpentine is the solvent for everything, stearic acid comes in a bag in white flakes & has many uses but here it lowers the pH to match that of the leather which is very low after tanning, D- Limonene (pure orange oil- food grade) is also a solvent but additionally it prevents rot contributes to lowering pH & conditions leather. My 1st batch I did without the activated carbon but will use in next batch. With commercial shoe polish being kinda harsh on leather in comparison & running $4-5/can I thought Id make it just to see the result. I also plan to use half of these ingredients for making my own wood polish for wk.
Excellent presentation!!
Well done Preston!
Video saved for further reference..
Twenty five years in the "Tin bellies" mirror shine was a religious devotion,not only your kit but horse Tack as well.Wish i'd seen this as a young "trooper. Many thanks.
I'm gonna cry out of how thankful I am I have to go to an important breakfast tomorrow to make connections for a possible military career and I could normally get a "mirror" shine with some kiwi but this is next level. My shoes are reflective in a way I never knew they could be. AHHH Thank you so much!!!
My nephew has his passing out parade on Friday so it will come useful for him getting that extra glass look, thanks Preston.
If he is passing out he knows how to polish his boots bless him.
@@markknott9786 he certainly does but some tips from Preston would be helpful in getting the glass look faster
This was of my first attempts at a shine like this, I just wanna say this was a amazing help and i was able to fallow easily and it was simple thank you so much
"It's over? Where did the time go?"
I was so absorbed and really enjoyed the video. Learned a lot too. Thank you.
Awesome!
I Know this video brings back lots of memories for Soldiers and others who served in the Military. Fantastic job. thanks for sharing.
Ex-Army/Navy retiree here. Excellent vid. Some pointers.
1. Double the cloth layers to create a bit of a pad. Using just a single layer of fabric can strip as much polish as it lays down. Use a light touch.
2. Ultimately, all you need is polish and water. The rag and alcohol are actually optional. I've seen mirror shines laid down with nothing but fingers.
3. I'd recommended taking photos using a reflected light to see your progress -- at say, 20, 50, 100, and 200 layers. 50 layers looks good, but 200+ layers is DEEP mirror.
4. Shine the *whole* shoe, including toe, vamp, tongue (yes, tongue), heelcap. Equals attention-to-detail. Watch old Fred Astaire movies, his entire shoes were shined to the 9s.
5. Spit shining is a skill akin to a fireside craft. Practice your skill while watching movies, etc. You'll be amazed at how fast it comes with practice. To maintain, touch-up weekly.
6. Don't forget the welts. (Start by cleaning the welts; end with buffing the welts. This is the only place you'll actually use that shoe brush. Get the longest bristles you can find.)
I need to try that Saphir polish. That's if I ever decide to polish another pair of shoes... 🤣
Man I did my first mirror shine this week and it took my like 2hours or even more, this technique seems crazy fast I'm definitely gonna try it soon ! thanks !
Went to your home page to see if you had a tut on glassing-out an entire high top pair of boots: specifically, a pair of Corcoran Jump Boots. For those of us who were once paratroopers, our wings and our glass black Corcorans were the icons we cherished most.
Achieving that mirror shine over the entire boot, including all flexible areas, was the zenith of pride. But it was a huge and exhausting process that would brooke no casual treatment of any surface area. They all had to be glass. For my part, I had barely achieved success when I had to exchange my beautiful Corcorans for jungle boots. I was never again to ply my spit shinning skills.
So, I would love to see how a professional achieves those same results, and how best to harden that shine to resist the rigors of the daily drudge. There are millions of us vets who would greatly appreciate a chance to see a pro at work.
1st Bdg, 101st Abn Div '65 - '68
That’s a great idea! I’ll look for a pair to shine! Thank you for your service.
@@TheElegantOxford
Thankx for the reply. You are surely a gentleman!
In general, I try to forget what happened during those most terrible years in those jungles. Nevertheless, the months before deployment had a few high points, not the least of which was learning to shine my brand new jump boots. The Corcoran boot was not a military issue. However, the army made an exception for the Airborne, allowing only them to wear the iconic boot. The new paratrooper had to purchase them himself. They were expensive, but well worth the outlay. But before they could be donned, they had to be shined to look like glass. Not an easy task for a clumsy, pedestrian seventeen-year-old. Though I felt I had achieved a classic shine, worthy of those brave lads who had worn them before me, in retrospect, I don't believe they were any match for your skilled work. I look forward to seeing you unleash your magic.
You are "The Man!"
-Thankx 🐴
I concur. The 82nd is it's own beast though, not only did we have to shine our Jump Boots (Cochran's), but also our daily wear boots. So, it was not uncommon to have two or more pairs of jungle boots or standard leather boots, mirror polished for daily wear.
So, I learned on standard leather boots, but ended up mirror polishing jungle boots _(which can be done!)_ on a daily basis, mostly because they were more comfortable and had less leather to polish, but as to the holy Jump Boots... Those were reserved for dress inspections and fancy social functions only.
In addition, we'd also have to go so far as to blacken every piece of metal on our equipment as well. I'm sure the 101st did much the same.
1st & 2nd BDE, 82nd AIRBORNE DIV '02-'06, 10-12.
WOW! When I was in a military academy that was like a 8 to 10 hours shine for my whole shoe. I wish I knew I didn't need so much wax. I also had no access to rubbing alcohol.
18:37 "Always put your best foot forward. The small details matter most." As soon as you said that, I knew I had to subscribe. What an amazing value and so beautifully stated.
It's amazing how many techniques there are . My dad taught me the Lighter/Fire Method, A good friend of I mine was retired Army, Told be me the best was was Kiwi Polish and Hot sauce.
This seems to be the best I have seen so far.
Just placed an order for several Saphir products to polish my EMS boots. Even though they get used hard I still like a clean polished boot as I feel that says a lot about the kind of provider you are. I'll definitely be using this as a guide to get that mirror shine! Also - nice dive watch! I own the same one just with custom hands and dial!
I was a Queens guardsman for almost ten years our drill boots are like black mirrored glass when we do our boots correctly. Our method is to pack the boots with sand then rub all over with Scott's bright pad to key up the leather. Then we melt 100% bees wax and brush it onto the boots using a brush and blowtorch. Then its a cleanup of the lumpy drips of bee's wax to even the wax out all over the boots. We then get a tin of kiwi Polish and rub it into the entire boot. Let it dry then using clean new brushes just brush it off so its all even. I used a selvyt cloth and just bulled the boots using a little water and dab of the Polish then using small circular motion bull until you see the polish disappear repeat over and over until you get the desired deep mirror finish. No need for an ice cube or the alcohol just fresh Polish and a lot of time later and the entire boot was good for our duties. If we got small light scratches a ball of cotton wool and a trickle under the cold tap usually did the trick. As a guardsman we were expected to have a mirrored shine all over the boots so it was a lot of hard work and effort.
I think we all did it like that in the Regemts, when I joined it was yellow Naffi Duster 😂 Thankfully on a course a SG said get a Selvyt, still got that cloth do day now as a vet of many years to the colours.😊
We spent hours in the barracks polishing our boots. Lincoln boot polish was the best.
Bees wax and parade gloss in my barracks. Never seen this before.
@@markknott9786 British Army kiwi black polish
Thanks for your service
I'm getting a Bob Ross vibe from your narration. Very soothing but effective. Keep up the good work.
It’s my first time doing this… my boots are over 15 years old and have been on 4 continents. Thank you for your video! I truly appreciate it!-Holly
Fifty plus years and the Navy too..polishing my shoes and “now” a much better way ! Beats spit and a Zippo! Thanks lad.
Hey, Larry! I’m glad the video helped
whoah there. zippo and spit still serves 👍
I remember the zipo/ lighter fluid
I have been a viewer for a long time and today tried my first mirror shine. This video really gave me understanding and assurance of what I am looking for. Thank you so much for helping me put my best foot forward.
I work for Department of Corrections and polishing my boots is a strict uniform requirement, so this video helps a LOT. Thank you!
Preston thank you for the tutorial. Outstanding job on the shine of the shoes.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I know this is about shoe shining and as a 21 year Marine, I spent many hours trying to achieve this level of shine. But it’s his watch that caught my eye. I have the same one I purchased at NAS Alameda in 1979….
I've tried my own way for an hour but not success. Then I found your vdo and got mirror shine in one shot. Thank you very much for sharing this method.
As a former Brit and Canadian soldier, I have done this hundreds of times. I’ve always used Kiwi, because that was what was available. Some of that stuff in this video would have come in handy! Plus we also used saliva as the enzymes help to break down the wax. You can’t eat or drink anything (except water) anything within about an hour before, though.
This brought up some bad memories of sitting up half the night to make sure my cammies were pressed and my boots shined! God bless the Marine Corps
Time flies when youre having fun..
Preston: “this took me about 2 minutes”
Me checks the time: “9minutes”
Works lika a charm. At first i did not notice anything, but after touching the Saphire with the cloth the magic happens.
The most satisfying shoe shine i have ever done.
The reason i watched your videos because its peaceful and also teaches so much about shoe shining
As a cadet I am required to have pristine mirror shine parade boots and despite hours of attempting to reach this goal I have never been able to. This has really inspired me and I think I might actually be able to now! Time to go shine! Thank you!
Quality work and technique. Awesome of you to share this out - thank you for helping us all look nicer. I always feel proud walking around with some properly shined shoes. Going to take your instructions, practice, and get good to go with this!
I'm retired Army. This has a couple of unnecessary steps in my opinion. First, you don't need alcohol, gloves, or ice to get a glass shine. You just need a tshirt, wax, and water. Using the damp tshirt to apply your wax in layers and in circular motions is all you need. The key is a damp cloth and wax. If you want your whole shoe or boot to be very similar, do the same thing all over. A secret from a Vietnam veteran I met in basic training is a nylon stocking. Put it over your hand and buff it lightly. Trust me.
Trying this ASAP
I believe this method is to achieve that same shine in half or quarter of the time.
Let me try it asap
What wax do you use?
Lighten up, Francis.
I’ve been in the navy for a little over 8 years and I never knew it was this easy. I’d spend hours doing what I thought was correct to not even get near this 😢
Great video, and I’ll definitely be using this technique for all my uniform shoes and boots.
Buenos dias. Un video perfecto. Lo he intentado varias veces pero sin un resultado realmente bueno, brillante como el tuyo. Volveré a intentarlo de nuevo aplicando tus consejos y técnicas. Muchas gracias y un saludo. Good morning. A perfect video. I've tried it several times but without a really good, brilliant result like yours. I will try again using your tips and techniques. Thank you very much and greetings
I was just about to record a shoe shining video too. Now I'm gonna incorporate some of these hacks. Good looking, bro!
Awesome man!
The 4 dislikes are from those lazy people who have neither patience nor eye for beauty. Good video.
True ☝🏻
maybe they would just use cotton and normal water.. this looks like the lazy mans method to me tbh
th-cam.com/video/FDUic2HB0rk/w-d-xo.html
112 now
Or they were more picky that he didn't buff into the area of stitching.
Reminds me of Air Force basic training. Thanks for the tips. Personally, I have always been a Kiwi fan.
As a Kiwi, I approve of this message.
I've tried to get a mirror shine for many years. I've googled, watched videos, read articles.. I even switched from Kiwi, Kiwi Parade Gloss and then to Lincoln Wax.. nope. Gonna try this now! This is a great video.
I've been playing with different polished recently. I've tried all the Saphir products, but I keep coming back to the good old Kiwi parade gloss as the quickest way to a proper parade shine.
Him: If you’re watching this video, it’s probably because you’re having trouble achieving a mirror shine.
Me: ...Yes. That’s EXACTLY why I’m here.
me too, that's why I was searching for this and not stumbling on it in my recommended.
It seems much easier in the videos d' oh
Nope nope, I was trying to sleep and found this lol
This reminds me of my time in the Swedish armed forces. My platoon was about to go to Stockholm to be royal guards and I achieved my first mirror shine when the leather went from polished to be able to see myself in the boot. It was magical! Spit and polish. Took me hours. This seems more effective
Just seven layers
After 30 layers : let’s wait 5 to
10 min
I was thinking exactly the same thing after he stopped counting.
I bought a pair of Johnson and Murphy burgundy Oxfords at Goodwill for $9.99. I then bought the same wax and cream that you used. I cannot believe it. I got a good mirror shine on my first try! The shoes were not worn much so that's nice. I will only wear the shoes on certain occasions. The shoes by the way were a perfect fit. Though I know they are only entry level shoes, they sure look nice.
Wish had this video 22 years ago. Absolutely excellent video. Had to use kiwi polish with spit and it took months to get my boots up. Bought new shoes and had one shoe mirror shined in 10 minutes