a) Find a kindly RCMP officer to do the job for you - or -
b) collect used nylons and fold them into a ball of stockings and use them to buff. They build up heat and friction for the shine. (My way).
I use to always use the Dry Kiwi Polish in the can but my shoe repair man told me to only use cream, so now i just the Kiwi cream in black… it has a nice little spongy applicator so it makes easy work… If you do use the paste, i was told ny an Army captain to light it on fire, which will melt it and then apply it with an old white t-shirt. Let which ever type of paste dry, usually the length of time to apply polish to the other boot… then buff the boot to a shine… I like to start with a horse hair shoe brush, then finish with a cotton T shirt, or soft cotton cheesecloth type towel… Usually i don’t have to reapply a second coat. then before classes its just a matter of wiping them down one more time with a clean soft towel.
I do believe certain leather will shine more than others, and it will be hard to get a mirror glass shine on some of the leathers used today. But you can get a nice glow and gloss to most boots this way. Im happy to say that every clinic I have ever ridden in the Clinician always compliments me on my boots shine. so at the risk of tooting buy own horn, i must be doing something right. of course I’m weird and find polishing boots satisfying and the perfect way to end the day when getting ready for the next show day.
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Rub Kiwi on, hit with ice water, then rub in and shine with old panty hose. The ice water really makes the shine POP! Follow up with a soft cloth.
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I use Urad as a base, but I find it doesn’t protect the leather well from scuffs. So I use Urad and then a shoe shine brush to set the base. Then I take a cotton round pad (like the face ones) get it just VERY slightly damp, and use traditional kiwi polish. Lots of very light layers, just dab the cotton into the polish, wipe into the boot with lots of small circles. Once you are doing more polishing than putting polish on the boots, dab it into the polish again. Repeat.
It takes a couple of hours, but I can get a mirror shine even from leather that has had conditioner applied to it.
I’ve tried products like kiwi parade gloss but I found that it didn’t provide enough protection / moisture to the boots and had a habit of drying the leather out.
40 years ago, nylon stockings were THE buffing product. In fact, I used them on several Olympians’ boots because they noticed that mine always had the best shine.
Of course, nylon stockings are hard to come by now, but you might go into a 2nd hand shop and look for nylon clothes. Silk might be just as good.
The other tip: you need to let the polish sit overnight before buffing. A good job does take more than 12 hours to get the job done
I use regular Kiwi polish (I find it is less likely to crack than the parade boot polish and you get the same sheen). Start with a few coats of it where you apply with the small circular application brush leave on while you apply to the other boot and then buff off with the square polish brush.
Once you have a solid base of polish on the boot dampen the Kiwi cloth you can generally find next to the shoe polish. Use that to apply another layer of polish to the boot. This is the terrifying part, use a candle to melt the polish onto the boot:
- You will run the candle flame along the boot less than an inch away, you will see the polish go from dull to wet and shiny and as you move on back to dull. Once you have melted the polish onto the whole boot let it sit on it while you do the same process with the other boot.
Now that the polish has been melted on use the damp cloth to in small circular motions to buff the polish off. If you still want them shinier then use the damp cloth and a tiny spec of polish and work it in to small areas at a time until satisfied. Just be careful to not do too many coats of this at one time or you risk having it crack.
If you look up “how to spit shine boots” on youtube you will see lots of tricks
I use Lincoln shoe polish. It’s available on Amazon or directly from Lincoln online. Top notch shine and not over the top at all. Apply sparingly to clean boots and allow to dry. Allow any polish to dry for a long time, otherwise you are just buffing it on to your rag! I also have one of those spinning shoe polishers which saves on the elbow grease. Don’t forget to put a coat of polish designed for heels on the heel and around the edge of the sole. (I even put some on the heel edge that is under the shoe.) Make sure the heel is very clean first. Kiwi makes one with a built-in applicator which drips and just makes a total mess. I like Angelus (also available at Amazon). It is very shiny when you first put it on, but as the soles and heels are the ones that get dirty first, it stays looking good and the thin edge of the sole isn’t too much shine.
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Wow! I have used Kiwi for my whole life because my dad, too, was ex-navy. But when I was riding—it was Properts boot cream. Whatever happened to that???
I am trying several of the different approaches mentioned in this thread… I’ll report back after Country Heir.
I browsed through this thread and realized I’ve never thought to use nylons before. I found a pair I was willing to sacrifice and man, what a game changer! Works much better and arguably faster than the cloth I was using.
I browsed through this thread and realized I’ve never thought to use nylons before. I found a pair I was willing to sacrifice and man, what a game changer! Works much better and arguably faster than the cloth I was using.
Please attach pictures!! Would love to see before and after.
Wishing good luck for your kiddo at the show 
Another Urad fan here
