5 Minte Shoe Shine

April 6, 2005 3:13 AM

Hot on the heels of the 'wet shave' it's the five minute shoe shine.
posted by fixedgear (34 comments total)

This is another apparently 'lost art.' My dad taught me how when I was a kid, and I've been shining dress shoes this way ever since.
posted by fixedgear at 3:14 AM on April 6, 2005

If anyone has any tips on getting ground in solid (as opposed to the liquid stuff) black shoe polish out of a light coloured carpet I would very much welcome them. Lesson 1 is 'Don't rub at it with a dry cloth as that only spreads it around', but where do you go from there?
posted by biffa at 3:32 AM on April 6, 2005

If you've really got time to do a good job, a man can't go wrong with an old spoon and a candle. Red hot melted shoe polish is the way to a real premium shine!

Hint: don't use your significant other's best cutlery.
posted by scaryduck at 4:04 AM on April 6, 2005

A light turps or alcohol would work well on removing shoe polish....test somewhere inconspicuous before going full tilt at the living room, but most carpets will react well to some turps/white spirit.
posted by mattr at 4:34 AM on April 6, 2005

One of the only things I look forward to flying for is the airport shoe shine. They do a nice job with dress shoes, but I'm most impressed at how they can make my Docs look new again. Looking down at my boots I realize that I need to book a flight sometime soon.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 5:05 AM on April 6, 2005

I don't agree with the liquid polish suggestion. There's no quick way to a shine that's any good for decent shoes. The only way to get a good shine and keep one, is to clean and polish them every single time you wear them. Get shoe trees, get a good paste wax, get a decent brushes, and polish by hand. In the long run, you'll be able to shine them much better than the pics show in less than five minutes. If you have crap shoes, then get s quick shine sponge and get on with your life... that's a 30 second shine.
posted by Dean_Paxton at 5:58 AM on April 6, 2005

Although the shaving issue still vexes me, I have something of a ritual that I go through every month or so to take care of my shoes. It's rather involved, but it leaves me with a deep shine over even color, softens the leather, and keeps it waterproof. With practice, you can get this down to about ten minutes per pair. (Note: this process is extreme overkill for synthetic shoes, and will probably destroy patent leather or suede. Use it only on smooth or 'raw' finished leathers.)
The process:

1. Remove all visible dirt from the leather parts, pull out the laces if there are any. If the dirt is really stuck on, use some saddle soap to get it all out.
2. Using a stiff bristled-brush, gently scuff the surface of the leather. When you are done with this step, the whole surface should be dull and somewhat lighter colored. This helps the leather conditioning agents to soak in.
3. Apply a thin, even layer of Leather Lotion to the shoes. Work it in well with a rag. An clean shop towel is good for this. If the shoe feels damp afterwards, work it in more, and let it dry before moving on to the next step. Don't use as much lotion next time.
4. Using a foam or horsehair polish applicator, apply an even coat of solid paste polish. Work it in with the applicator a bit. Do this one shoe at a time, so the polish has some time to set before the next step.
5. Use a horsehair buffing brush to really work over the polish. Abuse it. Work hard. Apply the brush with vigor and enthusiasm. Buff until you see a good shine. Remove extra polish from the seams, eyelets, and other crevices with a rag.
6. (optional; I usually skip this step) For extra shine, spray or mist a little bit of water on the shoes, and buff with a soft cloth until it is as shiny as you like it.
7. Apply Mink Oil liberally to the entire shoe. This is the waterproofing step, so take your time and pay close attention to the seams. Use a shop rag to transfer from the can to the shoe, then spread it evenly. Excess will wipe off as you work it in, so don't worry about using too much.
8. Finally, use a soft cloth or an old T-shirt to buff the Mink Oil to a high shine. Light pressure is best at this point.

That's it. Your shine should last at least three weeks, unless you regularly stand in mud puddles or work in a high-scuff environment. Enjoy!
posted by leapfrog at 6:33 AM on April 6, 2005

You'll need to take a minute to get the worst offenders off the leather. Water works fine, so does a dirty shirt. The dirty shirt method takes longer to get the stuff off your shoes, but the water method takes longer to dry.

Cleaning the shoes I use the water method. Here is where I differ. With dampness still on the shoes apply the paste polish. Then let the shoes dry by placing the shoes on the floor in front of the kitchen refrigerator’s venting grill (great place to dry wet tennis shoes overnight). Buff out with a horsehair brush...spit shine every time.
posted by thomcatspike at 6:37 AM on April 6, 2005

Liquid shoe shine is evil. Avoid it like the plague. I've you've used the paste (big fan of Kiwi brand myself), it rarely takes more than two minutes a boot (1 minute to apply, 1 minute to buff) to get a decent shine out of a pair of shoes/boots.

Best secret tip evar: After you've brush polished, get an old pair of ladies nylons (I still use ugly beige ones), stretch them a bit and buff your shoes with them....brings a fantastic glow that's the next best thing to a spitshine.
posted by furtive at 6:46 AM on April 6, 2005

"Some inexpensive liquid polish. This stuff has a foam applicator built-in, so you don't get your hands messy"

OH GOD! NO NO NO! Are you intentionally trying to ruin your shoes?

"There's no quick way to a shine that's any good for decent shoes."

This is true. More so, after your shoes have a good coat of wax on them after a couple of shines, you can shine then in 45 seconds or less with a quick brush. (unless they are really scuffed) Never, ever use the liquid polish!
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 6:49 AM on April 6, 2005

mattr: cheers, I'll give it a try at the weekend.
posted by biffa at 7:04 AM on April 6, 2005

leapfrog: very detailed instructions. reminds me of several passages in American Psycho

no offense meant. i am slob, therefore can't comprehend such attention to detail
posted by poppo at 7:08 AM on April 6, 2005

poppo- Fastidious attention to detail can also be a sign of Aspberger's (autism), OCD, or just a desire to do things the right way. I started with the "five minute polish" basic technique, and found it lacking, so I added a few steps. Also, shoes tend to last longer if I take proper care of them, and if I spend a little extra time working on them when I do the polish, the polish lasts a lot longer. My instructions also resemble some passages from the Unix man(1) system.
I forgot to mention, to remove shoe polish from carpet/clothing/hands, try Orange Goop hand cleaner. It should dissolve the polish without too much trouble.(Always in an inconspicuous spot first!) Don't use the kind with grit in it. Apply, rub gently, blot, rinse, blot some more, repeat as necessary.
posted by leapfrog at 7:50 AM on April 6, 2005

I personally prefer using a badger hair brush and high-carbon Solingen straight razor to shine my shoes.
posted by Demogorgon at 8:41 AM on April 6, 2005

Forgot to say I'm in agreement with the link except for the liquid polish part. Point is shoe care can be done in five minutes, even with paste polish like Kiwi. It's a matter of having all you stuff in one place. I'm not quite mature enough for shoe trees yet, but I do aspire to them. What is also interesting is that these sort of 'forgotten (wo)manly arts" are popping up on the web. Look for tire changing and oil changing soon.
posted by fixedgear at 8:50 AM on April 6, 2005

Hmmmm. Anyone else reminded of TMN when they read these articles?
posted by weston at 8:59 AM on April 6, 2005

Good suggestion, scaryduck.

If you don't want to have flashbacks to your heroin days, though, you can also heat up a tin of kiwi polish by holding a lit match just over the surface until you see it melt slightly.

I don't believe anyone has mentioned the "Rub your shoe on the back of your leg" trick. Please only try this with pants that match your shoe color.
posted by sciatica at 9:06 AM on April 6, 2005

I personally prefer using a badger hair brush and high-carbon Solingen straight razor to shine my shoes.

Sure, but that only prevents leather irritation and razor bumps. You forgot the aftershave to bring out the natural smoothness and shine.
posted by mystyk at 9:26 AM on April 6, 2005

Here's the permalink for when this article gets pushed off the front page of the site.
posted by armage at 9:38 AM on April 6, 2005

Hm, guess I should stop just buying new shoes.
posted by sninky-chan at 9:44 AM on April 6, 2005

I have a pair of expensive black leather dress shoes where the leather was dyed. I was told by the salesman that since the leather was dyed I would not need to polish them.

It's been a couple years now and though the color has held up wonderfully, I'd like to refresh the color and/or care for the shoes so they last longer.

Does anyone know about how to care for dyed leather?

B.
posted by digibri at 11:29 AM on April 6, 2005

My dad used liquid polish, but it bothered me that it dried looking like plastic. So me, I use the REAL stuff and I've even been known to use saddle soap first; I can waste several hours working over my knee-high engineer's boots, or at least one hour on my combat boots, because I don't half-step or cut corners. (As a result, I seldom wear those things; oy, the price of neurosis.)

As the houseplant of a ferret owner however I strongly discourage mink oil; it really is made from rendered minks. (I don't wear fur either, but unlike her I do wear leather and eat what she calls carrion; the difference is that weasels, baby seals, etc., are killed just for their fur.) With all the vegetable-based oils, or even synthetics, one can live without putting mink oil on one's shoes. (Try butter if you're a fanatical antivegan.)

By the way, yesterday at the laundromat -- I really needed to wash my jeans and small rugs, I didn't go there just for ESPN, really! -- I saw a young guy washing leather sneakers in a machine. That can't be a good idea. (He didn't dry them though).
posted by davy at 11:33 AM on April 6, 2005

wet shaves, bespoke suits, and five minute shines? hm.
posted by 3.2.3 at 11:40 AM on April 6, 2005

davy-
And to think, all this time I believed the back of the tin, which says it's silicone-based. (I use Kiwi's stuff, which probably has some of the oil in it anyway.) I guess I'll have to switch to BeeSeal, or something similar. Waterproofing makes all the difference for durability of the finish, and I'm afraid olive oil just won't do that. My complaint about beeswax-based treatments is that in general they require pre-warming of the leather so the wax melts in.
Remember, a mink would kill you, wear your fur, and use your natural oils to maintain its shoes made from your skin if it had the chance. Or something like that.
posted by leapfrog at 1:56 PM on April 6, 2005

digibri,

'don't need to' does not imply 'should not' or 'do not' polish. Polish away.
posted by pmbuko at 1:58 PM on April 6, 2005

regarding shoe trees: buy one nice set of cedar ones and use them for the pair of shoes you just took off. Their primary purpose is to help your shoes air out after being crammed full of your smelly feet and keep their shape as this drying occurs. After 24 hours they've done this suitably, and can happily be transferred to the next pair of shoes. This should go without saying, but always give your shoes at least a day to rest in between wears.
posted by rorycberger at 2:17 PM on April 6, 2005

I so very much wish I hadn't worn my daily dress shoes while pouring/leveling syncrete concrete in prep for hardwood flooring. I utterly destroyed them.

However, I look forward to presenting them to a shoeshine kid. I'll be sure to double the fee if he does a good job, 'cause it's gonna be work...
posted by five fresh fish at 2:24 PM on April 6, 2005

This should go without saying, but always give your shoes at least a day to rest in between wears.

the fact that someone thinks this should go without saying wildly underscores the fact that i know nothing about nice shoes. shoes need to rest??

my daily footwear did cost in excess of $200, but that's only because they're calf-high, waterproof, and supposed to keep all of the skin on my feet if i suddenly go from 2 wheels to 0 at 80 mph.

though daily use has scuffed the shit out of them and they could really use a shine. but i'm kind of afraid to go a'polishin' on such specialized footwear
posted by flaterik at 3:04 PM on April 6, 2005

Flaterik: Are they Sidis?

I have a pair of expensive black leather dress shoes where the leather was dyed. I was told by the salesman that since the leather was dyed I would not need to polish them.

I thought all leather was dyed, unless it is some sort of Nubuck/oiled/natural sort of finish. I think the salesman might have been blowing smoke. Polish away!
posted by fixedgear at 3:22 PM on April 6, 2005

Some mink oil products might be cut with silicone or something, but it's still going to have mink oil in it. Otherwise it's false advertising and so most likely illegal.

http://www.furcommission.com/Biology/oil.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mink_oil

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=mink+oil&btnG=Google+Search

http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/ingredients-data.html
posted by davy at 3:25 PM on April 6, 2005

rorycberger speaks wisely. Rotation of shoes is vital... it helps keep your feet healthy, it helps keep your shoes lasting a long time... it's great advice. Always rotate.

As for mink oil, I'd stay away from it as it makes it more difficult to maintain a level of wax and a quality of shine. Mink oil was intended for boots and work shoes that are prone to dry rot and only really need to be clean and not shined. Saddle soap and silicone treatments for work boots/work shoes is more than good enough. I never use Mink oil myself... there's way better stuff these days.

Good quality and expensive dress shoes only need soap and water every once in a while and paste wax (Kiwi, Lincoln Wax, etc...) after each wear. If you really want a "spit" shine, get an old t-shirt, get some water and get to making little circles with tiny amounts of polish. It takes forever but, the results are astounding. For a final OCD-like super finish, go through the entire process again with a clear wax. Myself, I use the nylons trick too... not that anyone really notices anymore.
posted by Dean_Paxton at 9:32 PM on April 6, 2005

Rotation of shoes is vital... it helps keep your feet healthy

Why is this? What is so unhealthy for your feet if you wear the same shoes for multiple days? Honest question, not trying to pick holes.
posted by biffa at 2:22 AM on April 7, 2005

fixedgear: aye, sidis.

they seem to beat the pants off most other commonly available boots. i love my flex-forces, too, though i havn't given them nearly as much of a workout as the on-roads i wear for commuting.

... i spent WAY too much on moto footwear. i'll probably end up crashing on my hands.
posted by flaterik at 12:33 PM on April 7, 2005

My Sidi bicycle shoes are Lorica, an incredible simulation of leather. They were crazy expensive too, but feel like bedroom slippers. The Eye Ties really know how to make shoes.
posted by fixedgear at 1:18 PM on April 7, 2005