Project Description
Getting the desired military standard “mirror polish” on your boots takes a bit of time and effort, says guest contributor Pup Handler.
1. Firstly it’s important to use the right polish. Kiwi works best for me because of its high wax content. There’s also Parade Gloss (again by Kiwi), but be warned that it also contains paraffin which will have a detrimental effect on the quality of shine you achieve. Stick to the good old, trusted, standard black Kiwi polish.
2. You also need a soft duster/cloths. I use the yellow ones for best results. Best to have a ‘dusting cloth’ to quickly go over your boots and remove any surface dust fist. If there are any hard bits of dirt, use a soft to medium brush and remove what you can. Then have a second duster/cloth for polishing. Never mix the dusting cloth for applying polish and vice-versa. Best to mark your cloths/duster “1”, “2”, etc.
3. Put your finger into the duster so the end is covered. Then lightly dampen it with a little spit. Next get a small amount of the polish on the duster, then using small circular motions apply the polish to the toe of your boot. Once you have an even layer, just spit a little onto the toe of your boot and continue polishing. Keep repeating this process of a little polish and a little spit until you start to see the shine coming up.
4. Keep going like this until you reach the desired effect. The longer you go on and the more layers you build up, the deeper and more impressive the shine will become. Once you are nearly happy with the look, stop spitting, and using just a very small amount of polish and breathing on the boot, complete the look to your (or your Master’s) satisfaction.
The idea is to build up many thin layers of polish to give you a smooth shiny finish, so the longer you keep going the better the finished article.
Hope this has helped a few of you out there get a great looking pair of boots.
One boot down one to go, be shiny clawed pup next week! pic.twitter.com/z5yFl2F3mU
— Pup Sparky (@puphandler) May 24, 2025
Pup Handler, based in Southampton, is a “gentle master and pup handler”, morphing into a pup - now there’s a turn up for the books! Wruff and wags aroooooo! Follow him on Twitter.
