How to Shine Shoes

Posted on January 1st, 2009 by monsterguide

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There’s nothing like shiny shoes for a smart look. Everyone from military officials to professionals to students take pride in themselves when they wear a shiny pair of leather shoes. You don’t have to go out to town to have your shoes buffed and cleaned by other people to get that smart-looking, professionally polished look. Here are some tips and tricks to help you bring back the smart, new-looking shine on your leather shoes.

Know Your Shoes

The kind of product you use to clean your shoes depends on what the shoes are made of:

Natural leather usually has an understated, smart shine that does not gleam in bright light. Depending on the tanning technique and chemical treatments applied to the leather, however, natural leather can have the gleaming shine of patent leather items. The little bit of dullness found in shoes made with natural leather is caused by the pores that allow the material to breathe.
Imitation leather like patent leather are made from plastics, vinyl, and other synthetic compounds. Imitation leather is shinier and more opaque compared to natural leather, and resists stains and weather better. The problem with imitation leather is that the exterior tends to flake over time, especially if you use the shoes many times over.

Remember that not all shoes can be shined to a smart, gleaming polish; a good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that when the shoes were shiny when they came new, they can be shined to perfection.

Shoe Polishing Products

Many shoe polishing products are available on the market today. The kind of shoe polish you use depends on the kind of shoe you have, and the care specifications recommended by the cobbler or the manufacturer who made your shoes:

Shoe polishing wax is a time-tested product used to shine shoes for generations. Shoe polishing wax is made from natural waxes, lanolin, naphtha, gum arabic, coloring, and turpentine. The wax is usually first applied to a sponge or brush, and applied to the shoe to achieve a shine. Spit-shined shoes are made shiny with a bit of water or a small amount of saliva added to the waxed to make the shoe even shinier.
Shoe polishing liquid is a product that is much more fluid and viscous than solid shoe polishing wax. The polishing liquid does not contain a high percentage of wax, and uses other chemicals to keep the material shiny. Shoe polishing liquid is often applied through a squeeze bottle with an applicator sponge.
Carnauba wax is a very important ingredient in many natural shoe polishes. When used properly, carnauba wax can give your shoes a glossy shine far better than any commercially available shoe care product out there.
Buffing tools like cloths, brushes, and pads help apply the wax or polish evenly all throughout the shoe, and help condition the pores of natural leather. It also helps to keep a few old toothbrushes in your shoe polishing kit to help you clean your shoes.

Steps

To get that smart-looking shine in your shoes, follow these steps:

Remove all the dust, dirt, and grime on the surface of the shoe with a damp cloth. Make sure you dampen the cloth with water; do not use harsh cleansers like kerosene and alcohol, because you’ll risk damaging the leather.
When the shoe has dried, apply a liberal amount of shoe polish to a brush or a cloth. Apply a very thin and even layer of polish all throughout the shoe. Let the shoe dry for about three minutes.
Buff the shoe with a clean brush, and apply another layer of shoe polish on top of the first application. Let this layer dry for about two minutes.
Buff the shoe with a clean cloth, and apply a very thin layer of shoe polish with a damp cloth. Allow this layer of shoe polish to dry for about a minute.
Buff and shine the shoe with a clean brush and a coarse cloth. The rough surface will bring out the shine from the layers of dried polish. Make sure to use even, fast, short strokes when giving the shoes the final polishing job.

From docksiders to cowboy boots, from oxfords to loafers, shiny shoes are almost always certainly within your reach. Shining your shoes yourself can give you a feeling of pride and confidence, knowing that a pair of shiny shoes will last for a long, long time.