How to Become a Master Shoe Shiner

Shoe shining is a category and world of it's own. We will show how the average person can obtain a quality look and a positive attitude through shining their own old, beaten or new shoes. Your feet point to where you are going throughout your life. Why not do so in style? You deserve it. Every step you take and every ground you cover cannot be repeated exactly the same. Make every step count. Make every footstep as impressionable as the legendary footstep on the Moon.

There are many reasons why one would choose to shine their shoes. First impressions are important and in many ways becomes the mechanism by which your life operates. In any formal situation you are meeting someone that will judge you and, in fact, you are going to be judged. In a job interview you want your persona to reflect someone who takes care of their hygiene and is conscious about how they look and present themselves. An authority figure who hires will not only be judging your responses but also your cleanliness and presentation from the top of your head clear down to your feet. A nice pair of shiny shoes is one of those quality signs that you are self aware of even your shoes and this is good in the eyes of a perspective employer.

Other formal situations may include funerals, weddings, various other interviews and even church services. All these often constitute your best attire. Your best attire should reflect and complement your attitude. Your attitude can start with your shoes and how well you've prepared them. Your formal shoes, no matter how old or worn, can still be renewed with a little tender loving care and dose of shine.

There are a few needed items in order to ensure a healthy and proper shine. A shoe shine kit is ideal for these occasions. It can be a small bag, tupperware container or even the traditional old shoe shine box like the one pictured. This one is an old Griffin Shinemaster and is fitted with a shoe post on top of the lid. At the least you need your shining polish, applicator and a brush with preferred horse hair. Extras may include various sizes of brushes for the various leather cut designs of your shoes, oils and a cotton cloth. For the real enthusiast you may have a small bag of arches you can nail on for comfort fits. Once you have the basics you are then ready to begin the process of giving your shoes new life.

The process is as follows:

1. Take a cloth, not the cotton cloth used in shining, and wipe down the shoe. It is important to start with a clean shoe. You don't want to risk grinding dirt, mud and tiny rocks into the grain of the shoe. Just give it a brief rub down prior to application.

2. Take your stain polish, shoe cream, paste or any like material and apply it to the shoe using a sponge applicator. Do so by blotching onto the shoe while twisting the applicator. The entire shoe should be done and not just trouble spots. When done your shoe should look dull and look matted with polish.

3. Take your horse hair brush and lightly execute back and forth brushing motions to the shoe. As you do this you will immediately start seeing a luster and shine. Do this over the entire exterior shoe and use the special shaped brushes if available.

4. Finish the job by taking your cotton cloth and giving the shoe a good rub down.

There is one main maintenance item concerning your shine kit. If not regularly used the polish can become dried out. Never fear as it is still good. Add just a couple drops of WD-40 or even plain water and work it in with your sponge applicator and you will be back in business. Also, there are many brands and various kinds of polish. Griffin, Johnson's, Kiwi and others all offer fine products in varied colors as well. Common colors are black, tan, brown and ox blood. As far as your brushes and cloth this author does not advocate washing them. Actually the oil polish sediment that remains on them will only serve to benefit future shoe shines. Maintaining your kit is easy but becoming disciplined in regularly shining your shoes can be tasking.

Throughout the ages shoes have helped define civilizations and classes of people. Today is no less different. Whether sandals of two thousand years ago or a set of Easy Spirit they each represent footwear and the fashion of their respective peoples and times. Quality shoes of today can be purchased most anywhere. There are brand new shoes that you can by for thousands of dollars and there are the exact shoes that are brand new that can be purchased at a Salvation Army outlet or second hand store. They both can equally inherit a lifetime of shine from their master.

As you commit to reflecting your attitude in your clothing or vice versa remember to protect the integrity of your shoe shine kit by applying this knowledge and care to your formal foot wear.