Using military rough-out boots

[IceNine]

What type of polish/method are you using that is "burning" your nose?

I've spent a fair number of years polishing and never even had irritation.

Leather Luster possibly. The solvent used to remove Leather Luster is pretty powerful stuff.

Does that take "hours" of "always" polishing? 

[PHall]

What type of polish/method are you using that is "burning" your nose?

I've spent a fair number of years polishing and never even had irritation.

Leather Luster possibly. The solvent used to remove Leather Luster is pretty powerful stuff.

Does that take "hours" of "always" polishing?

Takes awhile to strip the old polish off the boot, prep the leather and then to apply the Leather Luster.

Leather Luster is very easily damaged and the only way to fix it is to strip and reapply, again and again...

[Dad2-4]

Is there a purpose to having the shiniest boots in your unit? I did that in Basic Training, Tech School, and a while at my first duty station, but then I realized that clean and polished was OK too. Plain black polish, cotton balls, and water is all it takes.

[Ozzy]

Is there a purpose to having the shiniest boots in your unit? I did that in Basic Training, Tech School, and a while at my first duty station, but then I realized that clean and polished was OK too. Plain black polish, cotton balls, and water is all it takes.

Heck, I don't even do that any more. I just use some Kiwi leather conditioner and I treat my entire boot with it once a month and it looks great! Takes about 5-7 minutes per boot.

[manfredvonrichthofen]

I use kiwi water and cotton balls, get a really good shine and make em look good. Why? Because it sets a standard for the cadets. I also Iron and starch my uniform. Why? Because it sets a standard for the cadets. Not ragging on anyone who doesn't do all that, that's just how I look at it.

[davidsinn]

I use kiwi water and cotton balls, get a really good shine and make em look good. Why? Because it sets a standard for the cadets. I also Iron and starch my uniform. Why? Because it sets a standard for the cadets. Not ragging on anyone who doesn't do all that, that's just how I look at it.

It says right on the tag "do not starch". Utility uniforms aren't supposed to look pretty. They are supposed to get the job done.

[Hawk200]

Is there a purpose to having the shiniest boots in your unit? I did that in Basic Training, Tech School, and a while at my first duty station, but then I realized that clean and polished was OK too. Plain black polish, cotton balls, and water is all it takes.

That's the way I still do my boots.

I wear Ropers, both in civvies and with blues. I polish them the same way.  It's not a mirror grade polish, but it looks good, and makes them last longer.

[Hawk200]

I use kiwi water and cotton balls, get a really good shine and make em look good. Why? Because it sets a standard for the cadets. I also Iron and starch my uniform. Why? Because it sets a standard for the cadets. Not ragging on anyone who doesn't do all that, that's just how I look at it.

It says right on the tag "do not starch". Utility uniforms aren't supposed to look pretty. They are supposed to get the job done.

Agreed, for BDUs. If you want them to look nice, an iron is all you need. Blues need the attention.

[manfredvonrichthofen]

I use kiwi water and cotton balls, get a really good shine and make em look good. Why? Because it sets a standard for the cadets. I also Iron and starch my uniform. Why? Because it sets a standard for the cadets. Not ragging on anyone who doesn't do all that, that's just how I look at it.

It says right on the tag "do not starch". Utility uniforms aren't supposed to look pretty. They are supposed to get the job done.

Yeah when I was in the Army I was told to ignore that little tag, because your uniform had to look good. In CAP there is no reason not to starch the uniform. Especially being that for the most part the chemical that starch is bad for is either not put on the uniforms that are bought by most of us, or is worn off. Besides why would we want to hide our heat signature?

[Larry Mangum]

The primary reason to not starch our BDU's is that it seems to accelerate fading. Pressed is more then sufficent for BDU's.

[manfredvonrichthofen]

Washing in warm water is what makes your BDUs fade faster than anything. I still wear one of my uniforms that I bought fresh out of basic training, and they look like they are straight off the shelf. They are DSCP, not proper or anything of the sort. The brand of uniform has everything to do with serviceability and time.

[NIN]

AFKN used to play this stupid (and I do mean _stupid_) infomercial that had an honest-to-god jingle "Don't starch.. your bee-dee..youss.."

And we'd be like "Yeah, someone tell the 1SG.."

Not starching your BDUs (even though thats what the tag said) was akin to telling the 1SG "But Top, 670-1 says that the boots just have to be black.."    Ain't gonna fly for 10 seconds. Ever.

After my first year on active duty, however, I only wore BDUs to battalion parades (I was on the color guard) and safety down days, so my BDUs were well pressed by my aijuma and hung in my wall locker until, well, whenever.

Many of those sets of BDUs eventually wound up in my CAP rotation.

And you are correct: its all about how you wash/dry them.  My CAP trick was to cold water wash, pull them out after the spin cycle, soak them down with Stay-Flo & water, hang to dry, then press.   The heat of the dryer causes nametag puckering and all that, too, along with wear.   I had a set of BDUs I put together after I got promoted to Lt Col and they looked like they'd just come off the shelf at Hanscom MCSS 4-5 years later.  (I also cut the buttons off the shirt pockets and sewed down the flaps since in 20+ years of wearing BDUs, I never, ever put things in my shirt pockets and I disliked the unsightly "button wear marks")

To the OP: if you're irritating your nasal passages to the point of an ER trip, you are DEFINITELY doing something wrong. Whether you use a cotton ball or a cotton t-shirt (my pref), Kiwi & water should be the harshest thing you put on your boots on a regular basis and if applied correctly should only take 5-10 minutes to touch up occasionally.

[Hawk200]

Yeah when I was in the Army I was told to ignore that little tag, because your uniform had to look good. In CAP there is no reason not to starch the uniform. Especially being that for the most part the chemical that starch is bad for is either not put on the uniforms that are bought by most of us, or is worn off. Besides why would we want to hide our heat signature?

The military is known for being stubborn. A lot of the "it's gotta be pressed and starched" is old school. An iron will do fine, and won't destroy things. The presses they use at the dry cleaners press the whole thing in one shot, you get a lot of buttons wearing through because of that. That's why the press has "crinkles" ironed in.

Starch will cause fade, heat signature is irrelevent. While active, my best friend always got heavy starch, I just pressed mine. The color on mine always lasted longer. He replaced his due to fading in about two thirds the time. Now, for the purposes of the comparision I'm talking ripstop, it doesn't last as long, but his NYCO stuff faded faster than mine did as well.

[IceNine]

Heh...

Polishing boots in the emergency room  TO starching BDU's... 

This place is like 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon.

[HGjunkie]

Heh...

Polishing boots in the emergency room  TO starching BDU's... 

This place is like 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon.

Are you really that surprised? 

[AngelWings]

Sorry to all for my recent bad attitude. Please forgive me. I've been going through a rough patch and any material posted is not reflective of my true attitude and personality. Please accept my apology. It has been some of the worst time of my life recently, and my brain has been fried by all of the things that are going on in my life, so I am not thinking clearly. I got off on the wrong foot, and personally believe that I've been mis-using my 1st ammendment here. I acted immature, and sadly I  can't erase that. My hero's would have personally have thought I was a joke with this bad attitude. My actions were uncalled for and couldn't have been worse.
I would personally like to say that I have been acting like a little kid and couldn't have ruined my image anymore. This is the 100% worst case scenario, and I couldn't have done anything worse to offend a fellow cadet, a wing commander, and all of you.
So please, don't use this has an example of me or my squadron, and please forgive me. I learned that I shouldn't take out any of my life stress or emotions on anyone and that I should always watch what I say. I feel horrible for even have thinking at that time that this was going to fly and would like to put this behind me. I love CAP and I have had only the best treatment from other CAP members. I hope all of you have a great holiday.