Shoe shine:Do your own or take out??

[Big_e]

I shine my own. I too, find it relaxing. I shine my weekly work shoes Sunday evening and I pick out my weekend shoes and shine them Thursday or Friday evening.
Ernest

 

[Spw4922]

I shine my own, but I really haven't gotton the knack for it. Hints, Links?

Also, how to clean a pair of brown & white spectators?

What should a shine cost at a stand? I got asked if I wanted one the other day at the airport in Phoenix but I didn't have time. Is there a proper% to tip also?

SPW

 

[Old Rogue]

I've always shined my own. I love the aroma of shoe polish and leather, and love to the transformation in the shoes.

 

[Harp]

Kiwi shoe polish, matches, water droplets, a white cotton tee shirt,
horse hair brush, and buff rag.
Occasionally I throw some trade at an airport or hotel stand,
but I've shined my own shoes/boots since the Army.

 

[HodgePodge]

"Shine" my own. Probably not very well.

I was in a US airport once and saw a shine stand, so I figured "well, let's give him a shot, see how my handiwork compares to a 'pro'." The shine was crap; by the time I had walked the whole 50 feet from the stand back to my seat in the terminal the copious amounts of Kiwi had started to flake off. I haven't come across a shine stand since then to restore my faith.

 

[Mr_D.]

After many years of JROTC, CAP and life in the Air Force. I take pride in shinning my own shoes. However I would like to go to an old vintage shine booth some time and get them done.

 

[Travis Lee Johnston]

I wouldn't even know where to go to get a shine. The Casino maybe?
I get very good results doing it myself with Kiwi parade gloss, a cut out strip of a white cotton t-shirt, and a little sprinkle of water on the toe for the last buffing.
No brushes, applicators, or overpriced shine cloths. I've invested in those things in the past and found it to be a waste of money.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

There are no shoe shine stands near me. The closest being in Chicago-over an hour away. I do it myself unless I am visiting Chi-town, then I will have it professionally done.

 

[Spw4922]

Well, instead of grumbling and wondering why my self shines always turned out less than my expectations, I grabbed 2 pairs of shoes I thought beyond salvage, applied the shine, let sit, Brushed, Let sit, and finally spat upon them and used a chamois cloth.

My Goodness!!!, It actually worked!!!I'm pleased as punch!!


Wish I'd taken before and after photos, perhaps I will before my next endeavor.

 

[Dan'l]

I've been shinning my shoes since I was able to handle the brush. Now my wife and even our three year old ask me to shine their shoes when they see me cleaning mine. I tell them, "only one pair of yours at a time." lol

 

[John in Covina]

I have a shoe shine box full of stuff passed along from my parents and the odds and ends from my kit. When I have my brown walking shoes that get scuffed up a lot I use Brown Kiwi brand polish and apply with an old tooth brush. I then use a cotton cloth like an old towel to smear the polish for better coverage and rub it into the leather . I set the shoe aside and work on the other. After a time I go back with a cotton cloth and continue rubbing in the polish for a bit. Then I go to a shoe brush to buff it up to a shine. Now and then I give it a little spit, the scuffed leather is filled in and there is a nice shine. My black shoes get the same treatment now and again if scuffed but usually I use the liquid polish applicator which gives a nice shine.

My suede shoes i use a brass suede brush now and then.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I've popped for a shine a very few times, but most of the time, I do it myself.

 

[pasnthru]

I would love to find an old corner shoe shine booth and sit reading a paper whilst my shoes are prepared. I think the first few times I wouldn't even want to read the paper!

 

[Geiamama]

I hope you don't mind a gal joining in...

I shine my own and the rest of the family's, as well as friends if asked! I love shining shoes. I learnt to bull polish when I was in the airforce and I find it really satisfying applying thin layer after thin layer of polish in tiny little circles. I also rather like the smell of melted polish, though I have to remember to do it in a room with plenty of ventilation! however, saying that, if I could find a shoe shine, I would definitely use it.

 

[John in Covina]

Some of the shoe repair places have shoe shine as part of their services.

 

[Undertow]

Always shine my own.

 

[Flipped Lid]

I typically do my own. There was a time in my life when I discovered that putting a good shine on a pair of shoes was preferable to doing push-ups, so I learned how to do it properly. The barber shop where I get my hair cut has a shoeshine stand and the guy who shines the shoes is a very nice guy. If I find myself there in a pair of dress shoes that need a little touch-up, I let him shine them simply because I know he needs the money. Six dollars with the tip once in awhile won't send me to the poorhouse.

 

[filfoster]

I do my own (and feel somewhat guilty depriving the shoe shine specialists at our local hat shop, Batsakes, and the hotels, of some business) and follow the same steps as John in Covina but with the final step of a brisk rub with one of my wife's cast off nylon hose toes -a tip from my Marine Corps recruiter, perhaps the most useful thing he told me-which really makes the shine 'pop'. That last will also serve as a quick and dirty spruce up if I don't have time for the full routine.

 

[30s sliphorn]

I always do my own, my wife's and my girls' shoes. My first job as a kid was cleaning & shining shoes at a local country club. I later learned in the police academy how to do a good spit shine, and as strange as it sounds, I find it relaxing. Since the wife and the girls do not, the task has, not regrettably, fallen to me.

 

[Dr Kilroy]

And where is the option "I wear patent leather shoes"?

Best regards, Dr