Review Board Shoe Shine

[RiseAbove]

Good evening,

I have my review board tomorrow for my Curry, and I plan on wearing my general-use (concerts, funerals, etc.) dress shoes.  I know my shoes need to be polished, but how much needs to be polished?  Is it just the toe cap, or the entire "body" of the shoe?  If it is the entire "body", does anyone have any tips as to how to get the entire "body" to shine?

Thanks You

[brasda91]

lots of elbow grease

[RiseAbove]

Thanks for the tip Sir, but do I have to shine the toe-cap or the entire "body."

[arajca]

From my cadet days, "A toe shine is NO shine."

Do the whole shoe. You use the same process as the toe for the body.

[brasda91]

From my cadet days, "A toe shine is NO shine."

Do the whole shoe. You use the same process as the toe for the body.

yep.  hope you have lots of time.

[DC]

Shine the whole thing.

Or invest in a pair of Corframs for events of this sort.

[MIKE]

Plastic shoes suck... They scuff easy and can't be fixed... And they're hot.

[CadetProgramGuy]

PM Sent

[mikeylikey]

Plastic shoes suck... They scuff easy and can't be fixed... And they're hot.

Then be careful not to scuff them....... 

[DC]

Plastic shoes suck... They scuff easy and can't be fixed... And they're hot.

For the occasional event where extra-glossy-mirror-finish shoes are needed I could tolerate a little heat (I'm a Floridian, for crying out loud, its nearly Midnight and its 80 degrees out...) and they won't scuff if you are careful.

[RiverAux]

The soles will fall apart on you though....

[Gunner C]

The soles will fall apart on you though....

(I've had two set of plastic shoes: one as a cadet and one on AD for official photos). The last set of corfams I had fell apart on me at my first wing conference after I came back in.  I was driving to the venue and noticed that I felt a breeze on my toes.  I looked down and the shoes had completely come apart.  Since I was two hours from home and I had already payed for the conference and the room, I stopped at a car parts store and bought some wide black electrical tape. My shoes looked like hell, but I I couldn't do anything else (no way to buy plain toe black low quarters).

When I got home, I dug out my issued low quarters (being a paratrooper, I hadn't worn them since jump school, 23 years earlier.  They were, and are in great shape.  They still hold a great shine and have, over the years, actually gotten comfortable.

As far as how much to shine:  Shine the whole shoe!  Use edge dressing on the sides of the soles, and use an old tooth brush to get polish into the area between the sole and the uppers.  The board won't know that you went to all that trouble but you will.  Going the extra mile is a great confidence builder.

Good luck!

Lt Col Gunner Pierce

[DC]

I started off with corframs in CAP, I had one pair for almost a year, they had some scuffs on them, but they never fell apart, and I was never unduly uncomfortable in them. I grew out of them, and donated them to the squadron uniform supply, they were still in pretty good shape.

[RiseAbove]

Somebody just gave me the suggestion of spraying Kiwi Liquid Polish on them in layers (letting them dry in between).... it sounds like a great solution, but is this considered cheating and/or would the cadet/senior staff pick up on this?

Thank You

[mikeylikey]

^ NO....DO NOT DO THAT!  It will dry funny, not to mention it will jack the shoes up.  Unless you have 1,000 hours of using spray paint without it running or streaking on whatever you put it on, do not use liquid spray polish. 

Also, I suggest you talk to your SQD Commander or other cadets and see what exactly is inspected for you to get your Curry.  Sure your uniform has to be clean, and pressed and your devices have to be positioned properly, but I can not see them denying you your Curry if you have a small scuff on your shoe. 

[RiseAbove]

It's not that there are any scuffs on my shoes, they're simply not shiny.  They are the regular, store-bought, black dress shoes.

[mikeylikey]

1 can of kiwi polish, one rag, and a small amount of water.  Follow the directions on the back of the can.  Take two hours and get your shoes shiny. 

Good luck on your review board. 

[DC]

It's not that there are any scuffs on my shoes, they're simply not shiny.  They are the regular, store-bought, black dress shoes.

My preference for polish is Lincoln's Wax. I find it much easier to work with and you get to a shine much quicker. But, bottom line, there are no shortcuts. Shoe polish + water + cotton ball + elbow grease + a few hours = a good shine that will serve you well. If you go the extra mile and get your shoes looking really good now it will be very easy to maintain. Once you get them to that point usually it will only take a few coats to restore them.

[CAP006]

1 can of kiwi polish, one rag, and a small amount of water.  Follow the directions on the back of the can.  Take two hours and get your shoes shiny. 

Good luck on your review board. 

Well I use the parade gloss for my paten leather blues shoes and black shoe polish stainer that the marines use.  I dont remember what the name of the polish is called but I got it at a millitary surplus store and it has worked wonders for my combat boots.

I normaly put in a good two to three hours in my boots and my combat boots almost look like corframes. 

[MIKE]

How To Spit-and-Polish