Bulling / Polishing Boots

[Sasquatch]

Anyone have some secret sauce they want to share about bulling / polishing leather boots? There's YouTubes out there on it of course, but there's probably a wealth of knowledge here and maybe some information to be had that's not on YouTube or Google. Surely there's better products these days than Kiwi to get a good polish on one's boots when corfams are not an option.

 

[General Zod]

Anyone have some secret sauce they want to share about bulling / polishing leather boots? There's YouTubes out there on it of course, but there's probably a wealth of knowledge here and maybe some information to be had that's not on YouTube or Google. Surely there's better products these days than Kiwi to get a good polish on one's boots when corfams are not an option.

Kiwi is the classic solution. I was taught to melt it in the can - literally light it on fire with a lighter and snuff it with the lid once it's liquid, then spread it as a liquid on the leather with a 100% cotton cotton ball. Once you've got a coating on the leather, use another cotton ball (wet) and begin polishing it in circles. Keep on going with wet cotton balls until it's mirror-polished, and make sure you only polish with 100% cotton.

 

[cycleguy2300]

Anyone have some secret sauce they want to share about bulling / polishing leather boots? There's YouTubes out there on it of course, but there's probably a wealth of knowledge here and maybe some information to be had that's not on YouTube or Google. Surely there's better products these days than Kiwi to get a good polish on one's boots when corfams are not an option.

I prefer "Lincoln stain wax shoe polish"

Thin layers, a few drops of water, clean cloth, time.

I sort of glob it on thick with my finger then use a hairdryer to melt it into the leather. Repeat that a few times, then once cooled off use a clean cotton or microfiber with a few drops of water to build up some layers, filling in pores and get a good shine.


This guy will set you straight.

https://www.instagram.com/mr_bull_and_shine?igsh=ZjJzanQybnRndml0

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

 

[Texasgordo]

 

[Mohawk600]

View attachment 477634

oh yeah..........basic training

 

[Johnny Diamond]

I used to make saddles, tack and other accoutrement, I always used Feibings alcohol based leather dye. Now lots of folks will say that it drys out leather, and yes it will! However after your dye has set, and it doesn't take long! I would always use Skidmore's leather cream. It can be applied like any shoe polish with a rag or really worked in like hand rubbing an oil finish on a beautiful stock. The leval of aggressiveness with application of the Skidmore's will determine the suppleness of final results with boots or other items,
It's the best!
Johnny

~ strength and honor ~

 

[MikePotts]

This, but avoid "Parade Gloss" Kiwi and stick with the regular stuff.

Kiwi is the classic solution. I was taught to melt it in the can - literally light it on fire with a lighter and snuff it with the lid once it's liquid, then spread it as a liquid on the leather with a 100% cotton cotton ball. Once you've got a coating on the leather, use another cotton ball (wet) and begin polishing it in circles. Keep on going with wet cotton balls until it's mirror-polished, and make sure you only polish with 100% cotton.

 

[glenbo]

When I was in the army back a few decades ago, we used Kiwi. There's a good reason why it was called spit polish. Spit makes it work better than water. No, I don't know why. But after polishing boots a few thousand times, I know it works better.

 

[General Zod]

This, but avoid "Parade Gloss" Kiwi and stick with the regular stuff.

Yeah, "Parade Gloss" sucks.

 

[Tnhawk]

Kiwi is the classic solution. I was taught to melt it in the can - literally light it on fire with a lighter and snuff it with the lid once it's liquid, then spread it as a liquid on the leather with a 100% cotton cotton ball. Once you've got a coating on the leather, use another cotton ball (wet) and begin polishing it in circles. Keep on going with wet cotton balls until it's mirror-polished, and make sure you only polish with 100% cotton.

Learned this method in H.S. ROTC, several decades of Active and Reserve Duty haven't changed it.
The newer uniform's boots changed this time honored standard for highly polished footwear.

Many of today's young soldiers have never learned the difference between shit and shinola.

 

[baboon]

The wife came home once from when they were diving up her grandmothers house a box of various leather care products, and Shinola was amongst them. Before that I always thought it was a place in Mexico.