How to Clean & Polish Combat Boots 

As a cadet MSG in ROTC I took time to show the newbs how to put a good spit-shine on boots, and pointed out that you want real cotton balls or a roll of 1st aid cotton. I'd like to think they are still doing their leather right because they were taught the right way the first time! You should do some other videos on individual soldier skills! Great vid.

I know you didn’t mean to, but this video brought a tear to my eye, reminiscing on past boot shining “parties”

Appreciate the vid, but as an outstanding Boot and Shoe polisher who can make leather oxfords indistinguishable from patent leather dress shoes and was nearly gigged for it a few times only to get extra credit during inspection, I offer a few points.... 1. Lighting your shoe polish on fire is dumb, it dissolves all the solvents that are necessary to get the wax down into the leather. It does however, help to heat the wax up to a liquid state in a cold environment to get it to saturate the leather. 2. When polishing jungle boots, mask off the canvas with something like 100 mile an hour tape to prevent the shoe polish from blackening the OD Green canvas. But be sure to remove ASAP and do not leave it in the Sun or the glue will stick to the canvas. 3. Always remove the laces unless you want shoe polish all of your hands every time you tie your Boots. 4. Use either a dauber or cotton rag to apply polish but have a separate rag with cool water to buff hard shine. If a hard shine is not desired, a spritz of cool water and a clean horsehair brush does the trick. 5. Always apply a bit of Polish to the edge of the sole for a more complete job and nice Finishing Touch. 6. And for the love of God and all that is American, DO NOT buy Rothco gear! Although they used to be a U.S. military contractor many moons ago, they strictly cater to the civilian market now and have completely sold out to the Communist Chinese. Although it's getting hard to get original jungle boots and the prices are reflecting that, there are still manufacturers here in America like Altima and McRae that are making a very similar ones for a fair price. Only difference being is they now have speed laces. And one final point, it is my personal opinion that the lack of required uniform maintenance is a part of weakening our military, reducing skill sets and contributing to laziness that reduces morale and Esprit de Corps. Now is it not only not necessary to polish your boots, but you can simply stick on things like your rank, name and service Branch tape and unit patches with velcro. Rather than having to perfectly align them and sew them onto your uniform professionally. You can throw that in with the declining grooming standards and physical fitness standards. Anyway, that's the end of my soapbox LOL! Thanks again for your content and continued service to our country!...07 ⚔️🇺🇸 ️⚔️

Spit shine my pops used to say!!! When I was 7 looking up to a WWII & Korean Vet of 13 years with the 82nd AB. Look Sharp be Sharp 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺 Cheers Randall 🇺🇸

This was an awesome upload. I shine my work boots weekly and do enjoy boot care videos but they’re usually all too prestige. This was real deal and was perfect motivation to open up my boot care kit (old cigar box) and shine mine up for the weekend. This would be a great chat session background topic

Used Kiwi in the Dutch army...and still using it today👍🏾👊🏽

I grew up as an Air Force brat in the 60s and 70s. My older brother and I spent way too much time polishing the old man's boots. He was a career NCO.

Ever since I F'd up a pair of Danners during a silly rear area security exercise (med guy) at Pendleton I bought $60 boots with Scholes inserts from Walgreens and I was good to go. Still got those bad boys from 2006.

I like these ASMR videos. I dont brush them until the next day tho when the polish had time to soak in and harden. The brush stays clean and the shine is better.

Ahhh memories lol. Same applies for Desert/ Suede Boots too, there's a care protocol there especially for waterproofing that needs to be done periodically. Cheers brother!

That was our Sunday nights too. Great memories with great guys. I miss the old cammies and boots. It was easier to tell who the sh*tbags were.

I do mine the same way bud . Keep the videos coming. Wishing you and yours the best. Stay safe and be well brother 👊😎🤙🍻🇺🇸

That's what was called a 'Hershey Bar' shine. Great care and protection for field boots; in the 1970s Marine Corps, we tried to keep one pair for inspection only, and worked those to the bright, glassy mirror shine. Another advantage of higher top boots is that trash and grit can't fall inside them. I used to wear the Rothco jungles (called 'Halloween Boots' due to their price) for work boots. Unfortunately, the sole came loose fairly quickly; I'm about ready for some new summer boots, so I may order a pair!

All types of leather boots require periodic maintenance. Personally, for me, it breaks down to they either need some kind of paste like mink oil paste or black kiwi shoe polish. For hunting boots, at the end of the year, I strip the shoe laces out, wash them with borax, wash the boots with saddle soap, then rub mink oil paste into the leather good and thick with a rag, and let them sit in the basement all winter until I need them again next year. For my last set of issue steel toe work boots (at least 27 years old now), I basically do the same thing in this video. When I still wore the uniform though, I had to have my boots black at the beginning of every duty day. For an engineer type doing heavy construction, THAT can be a lot to ask. For an actual shine (open ranks inspection) , I'd put a coat on, let it set, then spray it with a fine mist of water from a spray bottle, and then buff it out with a lint free rag, or the horse hair brush I'd normally use. Putting polish to boots was a daily chore. Admittedly, while deployed or TDY, few bothered to do it. Depended alot on the officer or NCO in charge. Some were sticklers, others were more concerned with getting the job done quicker and didn't give a shit if our boots were black at the beginning of the day.

...Grunt maintenance...ahhhh the memories.1 for parade,1 for the J.

Fun fact, Kiwi has discontinued selling in the UK, but can still get it from Amazon. Just like any other leather, needs looking after.

Got 59 min today…cheers to your Coors heavy and boots. I’m going with mezcal and Topo Chico. And…Obenaufs on my boots, monthly. A great de stresser, shining boots…

I wore flight deck boots for 8 years in the navy. Always used polish. Since then, working in manufacturing and I only use neetsfoot oil on my steel toe leather boots. Wipe them off with a damp cloth to clean and apply the oil. Buff them with my 40 year old brush and they're ready to go. I may be wrong, but I think oil works better than wax.

Thanks for the memories..I remember the Sunday evenings in the barracks getting ready for Monday inspections. It's sad the Army has done away with leather boots. It's a way for uniform maintenance and building a prideful work ethic.

I alway “brushed” shined my boots. For garrison duty and dress occasions I had my professionally shined Cocoran Jump Boots. Infantry Leads the Way and Airborne All the Way!

Good old memories! I would rather buy McRae jungle boots than Rothco's. Buy once, cry once.

The thing you said about lighting the polish on fire. My grandad was a WWII veteran, he was in the desert with Monty. He taught me a way of shining my boots/shoes by covering them in polish, then getting a spoon that you have heated to red-hot over some kind of flame, then you rub the back of the spoon over the dull polish covered boot. It gives them a mirror shine almost like patent leather. Anyway your video reminded me of him, so thanks for that.

I still shine my Altima Jungle Boots.

I have the Altima Px 10.5 in Jungle boots. Luxury for the feet

I don't polish my boots but I do condition the leather. I got some brown Danner conditioning stuff for my brown Danner hunting boots and for my black Danner work boots I just use mink oil. My Red Wings came with the option to bring them in to the local Red Wings store and have them condition them for me whenever I want. The local store is a block away from the indoor range so I let Red Wings do my boots for me and I use it as an excuse to go shooting afterwards. I also prefer the Red Wings (model: "King Toe") so I'll get another pair when the Danners wear out. I also brush them off, but what comes off is mostly aluminum chips since I work in a shop, not outdoors.

I didn’t know that jungle boots with the panama soles were still available! Brings back memories... The key to having highly polished footware, is polishing the polish! Spit shined jump boots (using neutral as a finishing polish), Class A uniform, bloused trousers, and original black beret - RLTW!!

I've been looking for this. Thanks man.

I don't make a lot of money so I buy the best I can afford and I want my stuff to last and basic maintenance goes a long way. Buy once, Cry once. I like Lincoln Stain Wax over Kiwi. Also, Redwing boots makes a good boot creme for in-between polish maintenance.

Good job! Gear check (i.e., equipment care) is aways important and useful. Good teaching moment, no one talks about gear maintenance anymore. SemperFi!

I really missed wearing my jungles every day when they switched to the acus. I still have my jungles. They don’t get worn as much anymore, but I still have them.

Had Ro search and macrae boots 35/40 years back used to use an old tooth brush to get into the areas between the sole and the leather, used to go cross bar uppermost on the bottom lace, couple of crossovers then a verticle loop on both sides then crossover lacing to the top. Still have a couple of pairs of Ro search panama sole jungle boots, never used the plastic waffle insoles 9R after nearly 40 years and still my favourite boots apart from Danner Acadia's for winter. Enjoy watching these videos, brings back memories of my time as a paratrooper

Reminds me to take care of my work boots this weekend. Thanks Grunt!🤠🍺

i used to do my boots and my buddy's because i was good at it, as my dad was a Sargent Major (as a kid he had me polishing my boots daily and often his too) ... in return my buddy would press and iron my uniform, (something i hated but he actually enjoyed doing)

Nothing beats my waffle sole jungle boots!! I LOVE polishing boots its like relaxing meditation too me!

Good video, as I needed the reminder to go take care of my old boots. Thanks.

A note to add, check the boot manufacturers care instructions. Different boots are supposed to be cared for in different ways and some say no polish (2 pairs of mine say that even though they are leather).

Good video. After they dry the next morning when the dew on the grass will shine the boots. The grass should be 4to5 inches tall. God bless. From Glenn CATT in Massachusetts.

Man you're my new favorite youtube guy! I bought a pair of those in new condition from a second hand store for 30$ earlier this year. Just started wearing them but had no idea about the importance of inserts and polishing. I'm gonna be sure to do that before I take them out again. I did experience blistering on my heals wich was a pain but I'm sure with the inserts and regular wearing, my feet and boots will develop a symbiotic relationship with one another. But yea man, I love how the boots feel when I walk. It's like the boots do the walking for me. Thanks a ton!

At 71 when I think of boots I think Basic Training and boot care. We spent a lot of time on boots.

Coors Hell yeah my man! I did concrete foundations in construction my whole life, danner's, Irish setters, Georgia make some good all leather ones too. I always clean them and treated them water proofed them.

Clean and polished boots are happy boots. Happy boots mean happy feet. Some things I do. I clean the leather with a brush. Once all the grime is off, I add a leather treatment to help keep water out (not jungle boots). Then I add the black polish. After that, I add a clear polish/softener to keep them supple. Is it overkill? Yes. But nothing beat a shiny pair of Matterhorn boots with a clean set of BDUs.

6:01 Burning the Kiwi makes it liquid so it can soak into the stitches. They told me it was for waterproofing. I never bothered to do that, to messy! 👍 love the videos

My older brother set our carpet on fire after lighting tin up. It startled him and he dropped it. He ran to get water, a no no for oil. I used an all white Hoodie of mine to stomp it out.. ruined it. Aw, the 90's..

I can still hear my old top sgt saying "Polish is the life a yer boots!"

I have a rothco bag that has served me for years. Can't complain one bit.

There’s just something “special” about the green jungle boots...I would pay the “shoe guy” to remove the metal widget and lay on a lug sole or panama sole. Best upgraded walking shoes ever

Things Your Dad Shoulda Taught You 101. I've got a sweet pair of Italian leather motocross boots I have to maintain well.

I polish all my hunting, cowboy and farm boots too

Good vid. Been watching y'all with these jungle boots so I decided to try a pair. Great boots, I like them very much. Only take a bit to break in like normal. Yhey form fit to my feet real fast and are really light weight. Thanks bud.

Make you a smug pot for the knats and flies. I have a plethora of water oak here in the swamp, and in camp or in my backyard while staying busy, I have NO knats or flys, and cut mosquitoes down significantly

Lincoln boot polish was my choice in the military.

I'm "lazy" too,, but i still take my laces out,, always surprised me just how much krud had gotten into there

Good stuff. Interested in your views on waterproof vs quick draining boots like these. Might have missed it in your other videos, but one of the lessons I learned the hard way in the backpacking world is that, for me, waterproof boots in warm, wet environments is a no go. With the proliferation of gore Tex footwear, everyone pushes you towards waterproof boots, and as I’m sure you know they’re death on feet once they get wet inside. A quick draining shoe with poly or wool socks is the only way to go for me. On a multi-day trip in the Eastern US, my shoes and socks are literally wet the whole time but my feet are fine. I find it interesting that most of the combat boot offerings are GTX, you have to really look to find a modern jungle boot. I like GTX for a winter boot but not above freezing.

Have you ever used Leather oil? We also did the ole cotton ball with water application for a shine.

done it in police academy. They were hot on shined boots. I make my own leather cream out of pine tar, beeswax and oil

thanks!

Soldiers now days don't take care of their uniform. Nothing wrong with shining your boots! I like to look sharp no matter when or where. Wish I still had a pair of those old Vietnam jungle boots! They were awesome... If you have a new supplier... SHARE PLEASE!!!

I'm enjoying the days now, when I don't have to have my boots polished.

just spent 2 hours getting a mirror shine just to watch this. sometimes i wonder if i do too much

What is your boot of choice for rucking

I even made the c***** Walmart tacticool boots With the side zip built-in Look fantastic when I Polished them in the fire department. I used to Polish those every week, Then I went into the marine corps and got issued those ugly Fake leather things that we wear now. I made a pair of Walmart combat boots last 6 years With a busy fire department including fighting wildfires with them on until I went into the military. I can't tell you how many times I had to replace my combat boots in 4 years of Duty and mechanic work while doing my stent

I bought a pair of the hiking boots you were talking about the mcb 950. There cow hide do you us the brown polish on them or us boot oil to start with. Plus the cover going around the toe and hill is that leather or something else.

These American jungle shoes served soldiers of the Republic of Vietnam

Keep em comin....

The amount of time I spent with kiwi, cottonballs, cigarettes and coffee...

Tooth brush for those hard to reach places,

Hey troop you missed a spot.........

I like to spend money. Get the McRae boots. US made. Don't be poor! ;)

A stupid qwestion! I guess that the boots are dry? Or im incorrect! A former paperpusher!

Instant shine is definitely a NO GO , don't go there.... garbage.

A well maintained pair of leather boots is far better for the feet than a pair of the latest Gucci Goretex boots.

I've out of the Navy for a long time and I can still drop a spit shine on a pair of leather boots. Fellas don't use the crap in a bottle...it will ruin your boots, by drying them out.

Why, when everything in the army is matte, would you want SHINY shoes? lol