Usually, there's two type of people, the ones who have been in the military and learned how to polish their shoes or the ones who have no clue about it and pay for them to be polished. Well, today for those who have no clue what to do, we will teach you how to polish your shoes like a professional.
But, before we start with the steps you'll need to remove your shoelaces and apply an edge dressing to the sole of the shoe and allow the shoes to dry on a newspaper to prevent getting edge dressing on the floor. Secondly, clean the welt of the shoes using a welt brush lightly dampened with a conditioner. Try to use a high-quality horsehair welt brush, they are not really expensive so don't worry.
Steps To Polishing Your Black Leather Shoes Like A professional
1. First, apply your leather conditioner to the surface of the shoe to be shined using a latex glove to protect your hands along with a thin, clean and soft 12 inch by 12 inch cotton rag wrapped around both the pointer finger and middle finger of the dominant hand you use. Most experienced shoe shine experts obtain this special fabric by cutting up old Santoni brand shoe bags. However, this same type of fabric can be purchased as a sectional at Walmart for about $5.00 per package.
2. Use a standard brand jar of black shoe polish to further condition the leather and add color to the shoe using the same area of the rag used in step one.
3. Apply black wax to the surface of the shoe by first spraying leather conditioner into the can of wax to make application of the wax easier. Use the same area of the rag used in step one and two.
4. Use an 18 inch by 32 inch piece of polyester blend fabric to wipe any excess polish off the shoes. This type of sectional fabric can be purchased at Walmart for about $5.00 per package. Cut the 18 inch by 32 inch section from the fabric for this and future shoe shine projects.
5. Apply “blue” wax to the surface of the shoe by first spraying one puff of leather conditioner into the can of wax to make application of the wax easier. Use the same area of the rag used in step one and two and three.
6. Use an 18 inch by 32 inch piece of polyester blend fabric to wipe any excess polish off the shoes.
7. Use a standard 8 inch long horsehair brush to buff the shoe for 30 seconds.
8. Use a nylon sock wrapped around your hand to buff the shoe while also removing any excess residual film that may still be on the surface.
9. Clean the shoelaces by running the laces through the same area of the rag used in step one, two and three. Finally put the shoelaces back on the shoes and feel free to wear your newly shined shoes to your favorite black tie event.
