How to Give Your Parade Shoes That Mirror Finish

Have a formal parade coming up? Or simply a kit inspection? Is your parade shoes not shiny enough? No worries, just follow these simple steps and have the best shoes in you contingent or corp.

Steps

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Make sure that your shoes have nothing on them. If you have polished them before, give them a quick sanding with some fine sandpaper. Make sure they are clean as well.^{[1]XResearch source}
- Polishing your shoes is kind of like waxing a car. Just like you wouldn't wax a dirty car, you also wouldn't polish a pair of dirty shoes.
- Saddle soap works well for cleaning shoes, but you can use baby shampoo and a little bit of water if you're in a pinch—just make sure that the water doesn't soak in.
Not parade gloss, the paraffin will stop you from getting that mirror finish.
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Take cotton wool, wet it, rub it on the nose of the shoe, then rub it in some shoe polish and rub that on the nose of the shoe. Make sure the layer of polish is rather thin. It is best to work in numerous thin layers to build up a permanent shine.^{[2]XResearch source}
Get fresh cotton wool, soak it in water, and start to rub it on the nose of the shoe, moving in small circles about 2 centimeter (0.8 in) wide. If they are too big, you will achieve nothing and if they are too small, you will be there forever!^{[3]XResearch source}
Once there is no sign of the matt polish, you should get your soft cloth, ideally a microfibre cloth used for cleaning glasses, holding the shoe tight, and buff up the nose really hard and quickly, drying it and giving it that mirror shine.^{[4]XResearch source}
Repeat it as many times as necessary, as it will take quite a while in the beginning, needing many layers to build up a substantial base of polish. Once you have achieved that, it only takes a minute before each and every parade/inspection to retouch it to its full glory.^{[5]XResearch source}

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Question
Why do I need to sand the shoe beforehand?
Community Answer
I never used sandpaper on my parade boots, but we would scrape off the existing polish with a spoon to rough it up, giving the new polish something to adhere to. (I only did this when I noticed that shining the boots was not working as well as it used to.)
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Question
I have spent ages on my shoes. Just above the sole is starting to be shine, but I can't get the toe to shine. What do I do?
Community Answer
Try using a different polish. I recommend Kiwi Shoe Polish Paste, Fiebing Yellow Saddle Soap, and Meltonian Boot & Shoe Cream.
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I have been polishing my shoes for about 2 hours with a piece of cloth and KIWI shoe polish. I have only managed to polish one shoe, and that one shoe is still not that shiny. What should I do?
Community Answer
I would try using a different type of shoe polish. If that doesn't change anything, go to a shoe place and ask.
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Tips

For your buffing cloth, you must have a very soft cloth, but it must not be fluffy. A window cloth is ideal.
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Only polish the nose of the shoe numerous times. Gives the body one layer of bulling and then just buff it up each time you use them. The body should be slightly shiny, but there should be a defined difference between the nose and the body of the shoe. (Unless you have female shoes in which case the entirety of the shoe should be bulled to the same standard.)
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Using cotton wool requires a little more effort but it is worth the time, as you get better results then with a cloth.
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Use a different cloth for buffing from the one you use for applying the "spit" and polish. Otherwise the shoes will just get wetter and wetter. Also, a trick that I've been using for years is to put the shoes in the fridge straight after polishing and leave them for 1-2 hours: it will help set the polish more quickly and make them extra shiny!
Some people use a hairdryer to heat the wax and then use a chamois to push the wax into the shoe's pores before buffing. Be careful using a hairdryer or any other melting technique because it may burn the leather, although it may not be readily apparent. It will ruin your shoes over time.
Try waxing your shoes with beeswax before you polish and you'll get a deeper, longer-lasting shine.

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