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Getting Dirty: Boot Blacking Basics

Boot blacking, at it's core, is a very simple process.

Your basic boot black kit consists of a few general things:

  • A tote or box to carry your items 
  • Spray bottle, filled with water, small travel sized. 
  • Black and neutral wax polish in your preferred brand
  • Black and neutral cream polish in your preferred brand
  • A leather conditioner 
  • A leather-safe soap 
  • Brushes [soap brush or sponge, a brush for the cream polish and a brush for the wax polish]
  • A few rags for cleaning
  • Buffing cloth, or preferred shine tool 
Your kit can grow as you do. My kit is larger than this and includes a few extra items I've found to be very beneficial. My preferred wax polish is Lincoln, I usually have at least a black and a neutral. My preferred cream polish is meltonian and I usually have a few different colors in my kit. I'd recommend starting small and seeing what you need. If you have boot blacks in your area, you can always ask them what they prefer. I have several conditioners on hand that are used for different things, but for a starter I'd recommend Chelsey leather food, in natural/neutral. It's an all around good conditioner you can use on pretty much anything. My preferred buffing cloth is a microfiber sock. 

Other helpful things I have in my kit
  • Super glue gel [used for basic repairs]
  • Tooth brush [great for getting mud off of the cat walk of the boot]
  • Extra dauber brush [gets soap out of hard to reach places]
  • Q-tips 
  • Paracord [for making new laces]
  • Lighter [burn off fuzzies, and melt paracord ends] 
  • China markers, yellow and white [re-coloring the stitching on Doc Martin's] 
The general process for boot blacking [high or medium shine]
1. Inspect the boot 
2. Remove laces [if necesary]
3. Soap and clean the boot
4. Condition if necessary
5. Polish boot 
6. Re-lace boot 

It's really really simple. Those general steps above are all you really need to do. Your exact tools and process will vary based on a few things, like the type of leather you are working with [oil tan, high shine, etc]. Oil tan leather is generally not polished. You only clean and condition. Suede and nubuck are treated differently as well. You do not put liquid water on suede or nubuck. That's another matter. 


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