OK. I'm starting a new thread because I'm afraid we might have gotten just a little bit sidetracked by the Baylor coach's silver shoes. Today I bought NB cross trainers because I happened across a huge sale and could get them sooooooooo much cheaper than Reebok's The Ref. Also, I have seen tons of colleagues wearing them. But....will they polish up nicely? They are pretty dull when new. Speak to me zebras.

It will take a few coats of liquid lustre to shine them up, because the grain of the shoe doesn't really allow the polish to take that well right away. Coat them once, let them sit, and repeat 2-3 times, and then the liquid polish will begin to gloss better. Be patient.

OK Canuck, I'm gonna trust you on this one -- after all you put the stop sign on the DMX runners. Patient -- I think I was patient once

Did you find them to be sticky after the first coact of LL?
I kept waiting for them to dry, before putting on a second coat.

Nah, never had too many problems with that. Just leave them overnight, I found they dried fine. But like I said, it takes a few coats before the shine REALLY takes.

BTW, I finally broke down and got a pair of patent leather shoes :D but I still have a pair of NB609's all shined up!

A friend of mine who has been officiating for over 30 years just bought some new shoes. I asked him if he got the patent leathers. His reply was, "Are you kidding, I can get yelled at enough without having shoes that make me stand out and be more noticeable." After next season I make break down and try a pair. Heck, in the 70's I probably only had one pair of dress shoes in my closet that weren't patent leather. Can't forget those black patent loafers with the alligator print on the top of the foot! Looked great with my leisure suit!

I don't bother with the liquid luster.

Get some black paste wax, apply with liberal elbow grease & they polish up fine. Touch them up with Kiwi Ultra-Brilliant liquid polish before each game & you are good to go.

After just buying Gerry Davis patent leather plate shoes I think I am sold on buying some patent leather shoes for basketball. They are so easy to keep them looking great. But as you said, I don't want the move to be looked upon as trying to draw attention -- so right now that's my only hold back.

What's that old saying, "Once you go patent you never go back"?

Or something like that. I've tried doing the Leather Luster, sending my shoes out and having someone else do the LL, different Kiwi polishes, voodoo and candles, etc. But once I got my first pair of patent leathers, I realized that's what I had been trying to do all along. So why not save yourself the hassle and get them "pre-shined"? As far as trying to draw attention - at least around in my area there are enough people using the patents that you would almost stand out NOT having them. But I'm not entirely convinced you would be drawing attention to yourself even if you were the only one with them. I think part of the battle as referees is the "first impressions - look sharp" issue, and the patents certainly look sharp. And, you have to admit they are easy to keep clean. Now I'm sure there are enough people with foot issues that need a certain type of shoe to feel comfortable, and that might preclude them from wearing the few models of patents available. But in my case, they fit well, look sharp, and I've stayed away from foot problems all season.

Now, if I can only find a pair that will keep my foot out of my mouth...;)

I have had two-pair of NB cross trainers, both shined up nicely after a few times. I only use KIWI Parade Gloss Wax. I use the liquid KIWI as a sole dressing, and to keep them black when they get dusty. I did recently switch to Nike Shox. The shoes are great, but they don't shine quite as well because the leather is softer, so it absorbs more polish. It just takes more work to get a good shine out of them.

In our association, we only have one guy with patents, so no one wants to step out on that limb. Personally, I prefer to shine my shoes myself. I do it before every game as part of my preparation. It is kind of like a zen thing for me. My wife thinks I'm crazy, although I'm not sure you can trace that back to the shoe shining alone. . .

Try this: before you polish the new shoes, use a rag and some rubbing alcohol and wipe the shoes down really well, let them dry, and then polish them up...several companies - including New Balance - coat their new shoes with a waxy coating to make them look better longer in the box...the rubbing alcohol takes that off and lets the polish get right into the leather...I also use a liquid polish called Shape-Up which works great...

Rockyroad,

That sounds like a great tip! I will have to try that on my next pair.

Wow. I feel better. My daughter thinks I'm obsessive about the shine on my shoes. She won't come near me when I'm polishing. She said I made weird noises. So I sound a little like Renfield when he gets a spider. My shoes look good.

I found the NB didn't shine as well also. I thought it was because of the pebbly grain. I'll try rockyroads suggestion. Kiwi Parade gloss is my choice also. I keep a liquid Kiwi for touch ups.

Speaking of patent leather, does anyone know any store with the Reebox's in stock?

I found several on the Internet, but the only "true" official shoe I have ever seen in a store was the converse at Gus Doerner's --- but that's been a while. I talked to a store on their 800 number about the 'bok's and the Asics ref shoe. They were real helpful, but I cant remember for sure which one it was. it was a referee supply site in Colorado.

Thank you rockyroad for the information about the preservative on the new shoes. I stripped all the old wax off the NB's and reapplied the polish. Instantly looked a lot better. Deeper, richer, shinier color.

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Is this some sort of special polish? I'ver never heard of it. Where do you get it?

I've used Shape-up before, it comes in a bottle with an applicator. I believe its specifically made for military but you might beable to find it at CVS or some store like that.

I just googled and found this: http://shoe-stuff.com/shapeup.htm

You might not like it so try it on an old pair of shoes.

IMO they don't look sharp. I don't think I would wear any of those shoes (converse, OC or Reebok) if they weren't patent leather either.

I think the cleaning process Leather Luster does would work for any kind of polish. What they use is basically paint thinner or something like that(maybe someone else knows for sure). It can be purchased at home depot.

Among many other things, I've used Griffins polish and it works pretty good.

I agree, with tomegun in that, I have been very happy with Griffin's polish each time I have used it. As for the leather lustre, I am a member of the military so I have quite a bit of experience with shoe shining, and I would never use leather lustre. It cracks, and it does not allow the leather to "breathe" as it should, consequently it shortens the life expectency of your shoe by damaging the leather. I do like the patent leather shoes, only because I have gotten a lot lazier, and a whole lot busier. I guess in the end it all comes down to preference, and lately I prefer not to spend the hours I formally spent giving my shoes an ole fashion spit shine...Just MHO...UNSOLICITED

It's laziness. Pure and simple; lack of work ethic. What's this world coming to, when no one wants to spend some good old-fashioned elbow grease to get their shoes lookin' good? LAZINESS, I tell you!

At least that's why use the patents. :D

I have to jump in here to defend leather luster a little bit. A lot of people in the military do not apply the product properly. It should NOT be put in the oven to "bake" and the instructions should be followed for good results. I have sent two pairs of shoes to leather luster and they look good. They will NOT crack when done the right way.

It does hinder the leather from "breathing" like normal.

:D Again, I am strongly considering some for the court. I already have plate shoes that I love and I ordered base shoes (that will be here today!!). Just a lot easier to keep clean and again I think they look good.

I get mine from a company called Safety League - they sell police equipment and stuff like that...my sons get a kick out of looking thru the catalog!

Anyway, it is a "paint-on" type polish, so you have to be careful and do it right, but I usually make it thru a season with only 3 applications per, and the shoes look pretty good all season...