Parade Shoes
So you have gone out and bought your first pair of parade shoes, they are dull and nothing like the shoes you see the NCO's wearing, so it's time to get polishing! There are many methods of polishing shoes that you will hear about when you go on camp or meet other cadets. These range from using paint, lighters, blow torches, spoons, melting the polish then applying it to the shoe and many more. We are going to take you through the simple but time consuming method of polishing your shoes, although it takes time the results are worthwhile.
1. Gather the supplies you will need; a duster, a tin of Kiwi Parade Gloss and a bowl of hot water. There is some debate as to whether Kiwi Parade Gloss or just plain Kiwi Black polish is best but we are going to use Parade Gloss for this guide.
2. Double over the duster and wrap it round your finger. Dip it into the bowl of hot water until it is thoroughly soaked through.
3. Dip your finger into the tin of polish, don't put too much on as this will make it difficult to rub into the shoe. The amount shown on the photograph is the maximum you should use.
4. Starting at the toe cap rub in the polish in a small circular action, it is important to keep the circles small. You will need to continue to dip your duster into the water and polish to build up layers on the shoe. This is the process you will need to repeat to get the high shine on your shoe.
5. After about 5-10 minutes you will start to see the difference between your shoes. Keep up the hard work and after around 45 minutes to an hour your toecap should…
6. …look like this! As you can see in the picture the toe cap is reflective with a high shine.
7. Now you need to work on the other toe cap. To finish your shoe repeat steps 2-4 for the rest of your shoe, it does not have to be as shiny at the toecap.
For female shoes there needs to be a high shine all over the shoe with the emphasis on the toecap. Avoid too much polish on the creases as it will crack.