How to polish boots to a mirror shine?

Important nuances

When cleaning your boots, pay close attention to the toes and heels of your shoes. The laces are also coated with cream.

If you take too much cream, it is better to remove the excess. This can be done using a stick.

Very large pieces of dirt, mainly on the soles, are removed with special sticks. If you don't do this, the dirt will just fall onto the floor and stay there. There is nothing pleasant about this.

So, cleaning the boots is quite simple. However, for this it is worth stocking up on some funds. The most important thing is fresh and correctly chosen cream.

You can't figure it out without polishing!

After the specified time has passed, take a soft-bristle brush and begin polishing the boot. Hand movements should be exclusively circular, and not triangular or in the shape of the Big Dipper. “The circles, overlapping each other, do not leave streaks,” says Vladimir.

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After brushing, you should go over with a velvet cloth to get shine. But if you want to get truly dazzling boots that you can look in while shaving, then you will need hair conditioner and your girlfriend's old tights, because, of course, you will be sorry to use your new ones for this purpose.

Wrap the tights around the index and middle fingers of the hand in which you usually hold your beer. Squeeze a little conditioner onto the fabric and start polishing. (“Because of their fine structure, tights will not leave streaks on your shoes,” Vladimir clarifies for some reason.) Rub the skin with the same circular movements, but this time much smaller. Instead of conditioner, you can also use olive oil (half a teaspoon per shoe).

When the shoes are shiny, put them back in the closet. Well, don’t go out in such beauty onto a dirty street!

How to properly clean shoes

Bootbleker, machine gun or your own cleaner? The profession of shoe shiner (bootbleaker), widespread in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, has completely disappeared today. In Afghanistan, India, and Latin American countries you can still find teenagers who earn their living by shining shoes.

Thanks to Hollywood films, the image of the bootblack boy, the future "slumdog millionaire", and the image of an elegant gentleman in polished shoes have become a cultural stereotype.

In the ancient cities of Europe you can also find a street shoe shiner; a conservative European enjoys the process itself. A real master at work will have time to talk about city news, tell you how to properly clean shoes, or remain silent if the client is not in the mood for a conversation.

Important

You can freshen your shoes outside the home in shoe shine machines that are installed in shopping centers, hotels, and high-speed trains. Experts do not advise frequently using machine cleaning services: cream from a machine may not be suitable for shoes; synthetic brushes are probably used.

Since there are almost no live cleaners in the city, and automatic cleaning does not take into account the type of shoes, it is better to do this business yourself.

Shoe cosmetics and brush set

For high-quality shoe care at home, it is not necessary to have an arsenal of all kinds of brushes and shoe polish, cooked according to a secret recipe. Modern industry produces all kinds of brushes and shoe cosmetics in a wide range, you just need to choose the right one. In your home kit of tools and shoe care products, it is enough to have:

A set of brushes (to match the color of the shoes), a stiff polishing brush (ideally made from horsehair), a figure-of-eight brush for suede, a toothbrush;
Spreading block
Soft rag, piece of velvet fabric, sponge, sponge;
Mink oil, wax, water-repellent spray;
Emulsion shoe cream (according to the color shade of the shoes);
Soap, shoe shampoo.

Buying leather shoes is half the battle, it’s important to know how to care for them

Shoes made of genuine leather belong to the category of goods in the expensive segment and require careful handling. Only with proper care will expensive leather shoes remain an expensive wardrobe item for a long time.

Careless wear and improper care instantly affect the appearance of the shoes. To avoid deformation, prevent cracks and tarnishing, you need to know how to properly clean leather shoes and strictly adhere to the rules.

How to shine your shoes so they light your way

After these tips, a bright future awaits you!

While the rains are falling, you have a unique opportunity to escape the boring reality and plunge into the amazing and magical world of shoe cleaning.

First, check if you have any cream left from last season. Remained? Then throw it away. “Not a single cream retains its beneficial qualities for more than a year,” assures Vladimir Kotov, a shoe cleaner and receiver.

When buying a new batch of shoe care products, give preference to thick varieties. The thinner the consistency of the cream, the shorter its duration. It is enough to apply thick varieties to the skin only once every 3-6 days (depending on weather conditions), and in between, you can get by with a dry brush.

Remember the main rule, which guarantees you one percent of success in this enterprise: never clean your shoes less than an hour before going outside. “Cleaning organized five minutes before going out can deform the shoes,” explains Vladimir. The cream will not have time to be absorbed, and the pressure of your mighty foot from the inside will turn your shoes into varnished casts of your feet. Ideally, 8-12 hours should pass after you polish your shoe (or better yet, both) and before you go out.

Use a damp cloth to remove any dirt left over from the spring from your shoes. If the pieces are very large and hard, use a dry brush with thick bristles and only then a damp cloth. Now dissolve a tablespoon of liquid soap in a liter of warm water and, using small circular movements, thoroughly wash your shoes with the resulting solution.

After finishing the water procedures, wipe your shoes dry with toilet paper. Do not use newspaper under any circumstances: the ink may bleed and ruin the skin (especially light and thin skin). Let the shoes dry and recover. Do not place damp boots on or near a radiator: they may lose their shape and freeze forever in a bizarre grimace.

When the boots are dry, generously spread the cream over them. Time it for 20 minutes.

What you need for cleaning

Shoe cleaning cream
Two brushes – soft and hard
Polishing cloth (preferably wool)
Water

An old toothbrush will also come in handy to help you get to difficult places.
The cleaning process cannot be called quick and “clean”, so we recommend covering the floor with oilcloth or newspapers. To make it more convenient to work, take a stool or chair. Boots for spring/autumn also need preparation: remove the laces, wash the boots thoroughly with a wet cloth. You should start cleaning only after the shoes are completely dry.

Several recommendations for caring for nubuck boots

If nubuck boots are dirty, water will not help, but will only worsen the situation. You need to remove dirt with a soft brush, using special sprays and shampoos for suede shoes. When there is a lot of dirt, we recommend making a solution of water and alcohol 4:1 - it will dissolve the salt and remove the dirt, but will not spoil the material of the boots. In order for winter boots to “survive” the summer well, they need to be cleaned of dirt and dust, put fabric or special shoe inserts inside, put the shoes in a box or fabric bag and send them to the mezzanine.

Tips and tricks

It will be more convenient to polish ankle boots if the shoes are worn on the foot or on a blank.
If the laces are slightly different in color, they can be tinted with cream at the final stage, but without polishing.
In hard-to-reach places, applying or removing the care product will be easier with an old toothbrush or a cotton swab for the ears.
Never use alcohol to care for shoes: it degreases the leather, making the surface dry and brittle.
Shiny, polished boots don't look good with matte soles; lightly polish these areas with polish.
The thickest layer of cream should be applied to the places where the shoes wear the most: on the toe and heel.

What are ankle boots
What to wear with tractor-soled boots

Cleaning method No. 3

You will need a tin of shoe polish. It needs to be turned over the fire and the contents set on fire.
The cream should burn for a few seconds, then close it with a lid to extinguish the flame.
The cream heated in this way is taken with a damp cloth, applied to the shoes and rubbed to the desired shine.
The last layer of cream should be heated with a stream of warm air from a hairdryer or a candle flame.
After 10-15 minutes you need to do the final polishing with a damp cloth.

Wax gloss

You can achieve not only shine, but also protection from the aggressive effects of moisture on a leather product in different ways.

One of them is waxing.:

Wrapping your index finger in a cloth, apply a small amount of natural wax to the surface of the shoe in a circular motion. It should be taken into account that at first the product seems to resist, interfering with the movement of the finger.
Continuing to rub the wax into the leather, you need to evenly treat the surface of the first boot until a shine appears, and then set it aside. Now it’s time to work on the second boot, performing the same manipulations.
Thus, the master returns to the first boot after 15 minutes, and the second processing cycle begins. Polishing is applied in several layers.
The applied wax can be evenly distributed using either a cloth or a natural horsehair brush. Use circular movements with moderate pressure to process the surface until a mirror-like shine effect is achieved.
The final treatment with a piece of suede consists of the same circular movements.

When working, it is important to pay special attention to the junction of the leather with the sole and the seams. These are the most vulnerable places in shoes, boots or boots. To protect these areas from moisture, it is better to apply polish using a toothbrush.