Boot cleaning / polishing / care of

[cathtaylor]

Hi Guys and Gals I'm trying to get my kit ready to bring to BMQ and I'm stuck on an item they put on the list. They ask to bring 2 brushes for boot polishing ...1 soft brush and one hard brush??? I've got the soft brush but I'm having trouble finding a hard brush. I went to a few shoe stores and they sell Kiwi brushes but I did'nt see any (Hard) brushes. If you have already been through this I would appreciate it if you have any input to this. If you have any suggestions please feel free....

Much Thanks
Cath ;D

 

[NavyGrunt]

The way I had it explained to me was they are refering to the smaller circular brush and the other larger rectangular brush.....

 

[Inch]

Ghost was kind enough to take a picture for all the nuggets. Get exactly what's in the picture.   Have fun on Basic.

http://army.ca/forums/threads/19275.0/topicseen.html

Cheers

 

[cathtaylor]

Thanks.. I know about the small circular brush but I found out that was to dab the polish on the boot but I'm thinking that they are talking about a hard brush for cleaning mud and such off the boot?? Not to sure about that that's why I'm asking.

cath ;D

 

[cathtaylor]

Thanks Inch for the reply.... from what the picture shows well I've got all of that stuff. thanks. Still have a question about a stiff brush??? Anyway I'm sure I'll find out when I get there. By the way just want to say "Way to Go Canada and winning the World Cup" YeeeeeeeeeHawwwww!!!!

cath

 

[NavyGrunt]

The other brush is in the picture that Ghost posted.

 

[George Wallace]

Don't throw out that old toothbrush, as someone else has mentioned in Confused recruit, it comes in handy to get into those tiny places that mud will collect and you'll have a hard time getting at.  You may want to find an scrub brush for your nails (small and fits easily into you bag) or a larger one, like you use for scrubbing floors on you hands and knees, to take off heavy mud.

For your shoes and ankle boots you'll need a good quality Kiwi cloth to spit shine with.

GW

 

[cathtaylor]

Thanks George for your suggestion I was thinking about getting maybe one of those hand held brushes that you would use on your nails or even one that you would use cleaning veggies. I just wanted to find out what would be OK in BMQ for inspection. Thanks so much for your replies.

Cath ;D

 

[Jarnhamar]

You know....if you make sure to push who ever is infront of you down when you come across a puddle or mud hole and walk across their back, your boots won't get dirty

 

[cathtaylor]

;DLOL Ghost good one!!!! I'll remember that one! LOl

 

[tree hugger]

Most dollar stores carry the "hard brush".  Another good addition to your shoe shine kit is a pair of panty-hose - sounds funny but for the last step it gives a nice shine!

 

[Fusaki]

My 8 minute method for doing combat boots is as follows:

Rub the small round brush in your boot polish, then rub it on your boot to blacken over the dust and rub off the dirt. Do the same for your other boot. Then get your large soft brush and brush off the polish as if you were using a corn broom to sweep grass clippings off your front porch after you mowed your lawn. The faster you can brush, the better chance of making it back in front of the TV before the end of the commercials. It shouldn't take you more then 3 mintues per boot to get a decent shine. Don't overthink this process.

Thats the basics of it. But there are a few other points to remember:

If they're new boots, soak them in hot water then wear them around the house to break them in faster. Just make sure they're dry before you have to walk any distance in them. Once they've been broken in a bit (and dry!!), take your laces out and put lots of polish on the tongue. While you should still brush the excess off, you don't need to worry about getting as good a shine on the tongue. Put your laces back in, and the first few times you polish your boots you should be using a thicker, but still even coat of polish and lots of brushing to work it in. If you're on course and your boots will be inspected, run the sole of the boot under water and use a hard brush to get the mud off the bottoms. Now, make sure you clean up the sink so you don't fuck up your buddies station job!!! Leave your boots to dry upside down, and when they are dry give the soles a coat of hairspray. Hairspray makes a better alternative to blackening your soles with boot polish because hairspray does not leave marks on your nice clean floor when you walk around.

I don't want to steal Ghost778's thunder, but in my opinion this is all there is to it. 

 

[Spooks]

Yeah, some BMQ secrets we found were:

Get a Potatoe brush (a hard cleaning brush with very stiff bristles) to clean mud off. Before you polish your boots for inspections, srubs them down well.

Aerosol Hair Spray. After you clean the bottoms of your boots -well-, with NO dirt on the bottom, invert the boot so the sole is up on the foot of your bed and level as best as possible. Put a light spray on the bottom and leave them like that until it is dry. If you move them or place them normally on the table before it is dry, the spray will flake, crust and look worse than they do after doing the obstacle course on a rainy day. If done right, the bottom of your boots will not only be clean, but shiney and instructors usualy like that.

Last hint is, depending on what time of year it is you will either have to have your canteen out for inspection either full or empty. If empty, the night before pour a little mouthwash in there and swish around. Leave for 10min and dump then rinse. It'll mask the mildewy/wet smell of an old canteen or get rid of the plastic smell/taste of a new canteen.

-Spooks

 

[Spooks]

Also looked at the pic and I'll compare it to mine:

1 large can of Kiwi Black - Used on combat boots
1 small can of Kiwi Black - Used on Parade boots only - never use you combat boot polish on parade boots
2 kiwi cloths - 1 for parade boots only, the other as a backup or for your combat boots if you are inclined to using it for them. Again, never cross something over to your parade boots once it has even touched your combats.
1 large rectangular brush - brushing off the polish on combats boots
1 Small round brush - Applying the polish to combat boots
1 Toothbrush - cleaning the cracks
1 potatoe brush - Cleaning mud off and your soles
1 dental pick - cleaning the rocks from the bottoms of your outdoor gym shoes esp. if you decide to use the issued Brooks or your own have small grip for small rocks to stick in

Gucci items for polish kit:
1 can of aerosol hair spray - as in previous post
1 small can of Kiwi Brown - See below note
1 small can of Kiwi Neutral - See below note
1 *cough*disposable lighter*cough* - You will find out what it's for

The note below: The brown and neutral I use in conjunction with the black on parade boots and shoes. once you have a good base of black down, alternate between black and brown every layer and throw a neutral in every 10 layers. The brown brings out the depth of black on the boots and the neutral adds a little sheen. Do not overdo the brown or black as your sheen on your boots will become a brown one instead of a black one and instructors question that.

Lastly, only use Kiwi polishes on your boots until you can afford to experiment. We found that the other polish sold at the Canex, though cheaper, leave the boot looking slightly grey. The kiwi keeps a true black which wil get you by without hassles. Unless you get some high-speed boots issued to you for foot problems (don't think it happens in BMQ) just use Kiwi. With other boots, ie Gortex wet weathers, you may be given some other polish to use for it because of the different material and purpose.

My two rubles
-Spooks

 

[andrew123]

Hi, I read the other thread, for boot polishing, and I just have a few questions.
I got myself a can of kiwi polish and a horsehair brush, applicator brush.

This afternoon, I went to work on my new boots. I applied the polish all over, let it sit for about 30 seconds, then I brushed all over using the large brush. I repeated this around 3 times.

I noticed, the toe part of the boot is already becoming smooth and somewhat shiny, but the rest of the boot remains dull, and the original texture is still there (my boots have a sort of bumpy texture).

So I was wondering, do I just have to repeat this many more times? And does the toe party just polish easier than the rest of the boot?

Also, I seem to have gone through about 1/2 of the 70g can, is this normal, or am I using too much.

 

[Inch]

The only parts that really shine up are the toes and the outsides of the heels on mine.  The rest is still shiny, just not smooth, it's not supposted to be, the MkIIIs have a bumpy texture to them so don't worry too much about smoothing them out. If your's are dull, you're probably using too much polish.  Just a dab on the applicator and spread it around on the boot, then buff with the big brush. I used to go through a big tin of polish in about a month, maybe more if we were in the field a lot.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

 

[lfejoel25]

i don't know if this works or not, but i was told to apply with hot water, and brush with cold water.  the guy who told me that said it made them shinier.

 

[D-n-A]

I don't use any water when I polish my boots. Also you don't need to use a lot of polish on the boots(like Inch said). If you want to get more of a shine on them, get a kiwi cloth.

 

[Matt_Fisher]

What boots are you talking about here?  For combat boots, what you're doing sounds fine.  However for your ankle/parade boots, you're going to need to do the "spit shine" approach using a kiwi cloth and polish rather than the brush.

Developing a really good spit shine takes a long long time with a new pair of boots.  

Here's what you need for materials:
Tin of Kiwi Brand black polish
Kiwi brand flannel polishing cloth
Container filled with cold water

Hold out the kiwi cloth in your left hand and take your index finger on your right and wrap a section of the cloth around your finger.

Then dip the cloth around your finger in the water until the cloth is moist.

Then lightly dab the cloth in the tin of polish, but you don't want to end up with a big gob of polish.  Little amounts of polish work better.

Then rub the polish on the cloth onto the boot in small circular motions, not pressing too hard.  Lighter is better.

After the polish seems to have been rubbed into the leather, pick up the boot and bring it to your face and breath onto the leather and continue rubbing the cloudy portion of the leather to further work the polish into the leather.

Repeat this process of wetting the rag, applying polish and breathing onto the boot and continuing rubbing several hundred times on each part of the boot and you'll end up with black leather mirrors.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

I do the same as Matt only I put an ice cube in my water.