How to Properly Shine Leather Shoes

How to Properly Shine Leather Shoes

No matter how nice your shoes are, they can start looking worn and ugly over time if nor properly cared for. Here's a quick tutorial on how to properly shine a pair of leather shoes.

If you haven't shined shoes before, don't worry—it's actually really, really simple. You will need a few things beforehand, though, which you can buy very cheaply anywhere from a professional shoe shop to somewhere like Target or Wal-Mart:

§ A soft cloth. This can really be anything from a rag or an old t-shirt to a special buffing cloth (really though, an old t-shirt should work just fine).

§ A can of shoe polish. These usually run for about a dollar. Grab them in whatever colors you need for the shoes you're shining.

§ A good shoe brush. Usually these will run you anywhere between $5 and $10.

Shining your shoes is a simple process that should only take you a few minutes. Here's what you do:

1. First, brush off any dirt, mud, salt, or other debris on your shoe with your brush or a damp cloth. Wait for the shoe to dry before continuing to the next step.

2. Next, apply a little bit of your shoe polish to the shoe with your cloth or t-shirt. Make sure not to get it on the carpet or anything else, it won't come out easily! Rub the shoe in small circles, using just a bit of shoe polish at a time—remember, less is more (and you can always add more if need be).

3. Use your shoe brush to brush any excess polish off the shoe. Don't be afraid to put a little elbow grease into this step, you won't ruin the shoe.

4. Lastly, take your cloth or t-shirt and buff out the rest of your shoe so it shines.

Check out the video above from About.com to see it in action. If you prefer to have a little cheat sheet, weblog Art of Manliness put together a great little illustration that goes through all the steps. And remember: if you run out of shoe polish, you can always substitute a banana in a pinch, not to mention clean your tennis shoes with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser or baking soda.

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