The boot shining world

[Semper Fi]

My role in the CAP requires me as well as all other cadets to keep our dress well-regulated, including flashy boots. My dad took his shining basket with him to Kuwait, so I had to buy one at the PX. It came with 2 cans of black shoe polish, a cloth, a big brush, and a thing called a "dauber". I'm wondering what the heck a 'dauber' is used for. My dad taught me how to shine my boots, and this involved using a pure cotton ball to buff in the polish to give it its shiny appeal. Does the dauber replace the cotton balls or what? I tried to use it on one of my boots in place of the cotton ball, but nothing really happened, the polish didnt take the reflective look as it does with the cotton ball. The 'dauber' is a circular horse hair brush with an extended wooden handle.

 

[Fmr jarhead]

The dauber is used to apply polish to civilian foot attire. Use it to spread a little polish on your moms dress shoes or other shoes that need a bit of brushing up....then use the larger horsehair brush to brush them to a quci shine....

I have a dauber for each color polish in my kit...and a seperate horsehair shine brush as well for each color....seems I wear my tennis shoes most of the time, anymore, so I don't have to worry about it so much, but on those special occassions, I would venture a guess that there are no Doc Marten's shinier than mine.

 

[Semper Fi]

So then the cloth that came with the kit is used to buff the polish into the leather of the boot itself? Thanks for the information, Jarhead. I think Im just gonna stick to the cloth and cotton ball deal though.

 

[CSM]

So then the cloth that came with the kit is used to buff the polish into the leather of the boot itself? Thanks for the information, Jarhead. I think Im just gonna stick to the cloth and cotton ball deal though.

I generally used the dauber to put on the first coat of polish, then go buff it out with the big horsehair brush. I then apply a small amount of polish in a small area at a time using an old t-shirt (rag) with water (the spit) and shine it up. I repeat the process from area to area until the entire boot is shined.

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

So then the cloth that came with the kit is used to buff the polish into the leather of the boot itself? Thanks for the information, Jarhead. I think Im just gonna stick to the cloth and cotton ball deal though.

Also remember to strip your boots when you first get them, cause they
put this crap on them that keeps your polish from "getting in" the boot.
On inspection days, I would use a lighter or a heatgun to melt the top layer
of polish, let it cool and buff with a cotton ball and a tiny bit of alcohol.
This will bring out the shine in em. NEVER, EVER, EVER put mop and glow
or any other floor wax on your boots. Yes people do this, and it ruins your
leather. They will also turn blue when they get wet.

 

[CSM]

Also remember to strip your boots when you first get them, cause they
put this crap on them that keeps your polish from "getting in" the boot.
On inspection days, I would use a lighter or a heatgun to melt the top layer
of polish, let it cool and buff with a cotton ball and a tiny bit of alcohol.
This will bring out the shine in em. NEVER, EVER, EVER put mop and glow
or any other floor wax on your boots. Yes people do this, and it ruins your
leather. They will also turn blue when they get wet.

YEP
YEP
YEP

I have seen many a boot ruined by floor wax! Stripping the boots initially is critical.

 

[Trinity]

Also remember to strip your boots when you first get them, cause they
put this crap on them that keeps your polish from "getting in" the boot.
On inspection days, I would use a lighter or a heatgun to melt the top layer
of polish, let it cool and buff with a cotton ball and a tiny bit of alcohol.
This will bring out the shine in em. NEVER, EVER, EVER put mop and glow
or any other floor wax on your boots. Yes people do this, and it ruins your
leather. They will also turn blue when they get wet.

:rotflmao: You've got to be kidding.......floor wax on shoes ok, isn't that why the label says floor wax, or did they just miss the floor part.

 

[UsaPride]

I generally used the dauber to put on the first coat of polish, then go buff it out with the big horsehair brush. I then apply a small amount of polish in a small area at a time using an old t-shirt (rag) with water (the spit) and shine it up. I repeat the process from area to area until the entire boot is shined.

I've done this many, many times when hubby was in the Army. I could do a mean polish that could pass any inspection

 

[CSM]

I've done this many, many times when hubby was in the Army. I could do a mean polish that could pass any inspection

I still polish my dress shoes this way and occasionally my boots....

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

That was the most rewarding part in AIT.
We would spend all night before an inspection shining our boots.
The soldiers who wanted to party instead would use mop and glow.
The next day, the drill would come out to inspection with a water bottle
and spray a little on our boots to see who was lazy and who deserved the
rest of the weekend off. Wouldn't you know, they still did it after the first
time getting caught too.

 

[5stringJeff]

If you try the burning method, make sure you use a lot of polish and a little bit of flame - i.e. just enough to melt the polish so it gets into the pores.

And cotton balls are cool, but I'm with CSM on the old-t-shirt. I always used my brown t-shirts, and they worked great.

 

[no1tovote4]

If you try the burning method, make sure you use a lot of polish and a little bit of flame - i.e. just enough to melt the polish so it gets into the pores.

And cotton balls are cool, but I'm with CSM on the old-t-shirt. I always used my brown t-shirts, and they worked great.

I used the stretched-out white shirts from Boot Camp. Of course we didn't get any brown ones.

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

If you try the burning method, make sure you use a lot of polish and a little bit of flame - i.e. just enough to melt the polish so it gets into the pores.

And cotton balls are cool, but I'm with CSM on the old-t-shirt. I always used my brown t-shirts, and they worked great.

Well you do use the brown t shirt, but only for the final buff.
Cotton balls soak up the alcohol better and keep you from
using your shirt up to fast.

 

[dmp]

Remember - it really is key...


You aren't shining the LEATHER, you are shining the WAX.

NEVER STRIP YOUR BOOTS

Use your fingers, gob the wax onto the leather and work it in best you can. Work it in for an hour or so...

Then, spit - no water, actually spit on the boot. Spit is the only substance of liquid which should touch your boots, unless you get caught in the rain.

Using an Army-Issue T-Shirt wrapped around your first two fingers, dab a freshly-spat-upon finger/shirt wrap into the kiwi, and rub in tiny circles. Repeat until like glass. You can use the bottom edge of the shirt, moving around the bottom hem. This way, the shirt is still wearable, when tucked in - like it's supposed to be



My Leg boots were accused of having "leather-luster" on them...I could litterally see near-perfect reflections of the sky - colours and all, in the toes and heels. The rest of the boot was too rough for such reflections.

 

[dmp]

In fact - ya know what? Mail one of your boots to me, I'll shine it up, and mail it back, so you have a 'standard' to measure against.

 

[Semper Fi]

Haha, thanks, but that wont be necessary. I set the standards at CAP. My Sergeant's boots look like crap.

What I do it run water ver them, to get the layer of gunk off that may be there,. Then I wrap my cloth (usually an old t-shirt, like mentioned) around my index finger and rub it into the can of polish. Then I rub it onto the toe and heel of the boot, in small circles. Then I run a 100% cotton ball (never half and half) under freezing cold water, and rub it on the polished parts with my first two fingers, to bring out the shine. That works good enough for me. My initial question was what the dauber is used for; and it is put in the can of polish and then rubbed onto the boot itself in small circles, correct? Then what do you use the cotton balls to rub it in, or does a t-shirt work fine?

 

[no1tovote4]

Haha, thanks, but that wont be necessary. I set the standards at CAP. My Sergeant's boots look like crap.

What I do it run water ver them, to get the layer of gunk off that may be there,. Then I wrap my cloth (usually an old t-shirt, like mentioned) around my index finger and rub it into the can of polish. Then I rub it onto the toe and heel of the boot, in small circles. Then I run a 100% cotton ball (never half and half) under freezing cold water, and rub it on the polished parts with my first two fingers, to bring out the shine. That works good enough for me. My initial question was what the dauber is used for; and it is put in the can of polish and then rubbed onto the boot itself in small circles, correct? Then what do you use the cotton balls to rub it in, or does a t-shirt work fine?

T-Shirt worked fine for me. But heck I was never a Marine.

 

[dmp]

Spit. Nothing works better than spit. Don't spit-shine, though, while eating chocolate. Chocolate doesn't polish very well.

 

[CSM]

Spit. Nothing works better than spit. Don't spit-shine, though, while eating chocolate. Chocolate doesn't polish very well.

or chewing tobacco...that doesn't shine well either...dunno about licqorice though

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

Haha, thanks, but that wont be necessary. I set the standards at CAP. My Sergeant's boots look like crap.

What I do it run water ver them, to get the layer of gunk off that may be there,. Then I wrap my cloth (usually an old t-shirt, like mentioned) around my index finger and rub it into the can of polish. Then I rub it onto the toe and heel of the boot, in small circles. Then I run a 100% cotton ball (never half and half) under freezing cold water, and rub it on the polished parts with my first two fingers, to bring out the shine. That works good enough for me. My initial question was what the dauber is used for; and it is put in the can of polish and then rubbed onto the boot itself in small circles, correct? Then what do you use the cotton balls to rub it in, or does a t-shirt work fine?

The dauber has only one good use...
getting polish from the can to the boot. This keeps the polish from soaking
through the t shirt, which can create a mess.