How to Polish Your Boots

Get your boots shining in no time. Whether you are marching in a parade or deploying on operations or an exercise, polished boots are a must in the Army. Not only does it keep your kit looking smart, but the polish actually helps look after the boots.

You will be taught the best way to polish your boots during training. It is a great habit to get into with boots or school/work shoes. With a bit of practice, you’ll be able to see your reflection in them in no time so get ahead and watch our how to guide now.

What you’ll need:

• A pair of boots/shoes

• The right colour polish (brown or black usually)

• Two brushes – an ‘on brush’ to put the polish onto the boot and an ‘off brush’ to polish it off

• Some newspaper/old cloth

Step 1 – Set up your station

Make sure you’ve got a flat surface to place your boots, polish and brushes on. Lay down some newspaper, an old cloth or anything you don’t mind getting dirty – you don’t want to end up wiping polish into the carpet! It’s also best to take the laces out of the boots, so you don’t cover them in polish and they don’t get in the way.

Step 2 – Ready, steady, polish!

Take the ‘on brush’ and wipe the end in the polish. Put your hand into the foot of your boot and make sure you’ve got a good grip on it. Start brushing the polish onto the boot in a circular motion. Make sure you cover all sides and get into all the creases and seams. Put a bit more polish onto the brush if needed to cover the whole boot. Once you’re happy with your first one, place it to the side and repeat the same process with the second one. Leave both boots for at least 10 minutes, to allow the polish to sink into the boot.

Step 3 – Mirror mirror…

Now that you’ve left your boots to soak in the polish for a while, it’s time to get them shining. Put your hand back into one of your boots and make sure you’ve your sturdy grip again. Pick up the ‘off brush’ and start brushing quite hard all over the boot. You should hopefully start to see the shine appearing on your boot. Once you are happy with the first boot, swap over and do the second one.

Step 4 – Final touches

Put the laces back into your boots and double check that you have brushed off all of the polish. If you need to use the 'off brush' to get a bit more shine, you can do that now. If you are happy, sit back and admire your work.

That’s how to polish your boots, Army style!

It sounds like a simple task but if it is something you can do well now, then it will save you time in the future, which is only a good thing when you’ve got lots of other kit to sort out.