I never allowed a brush to touch my boots! the D.I. said that the bristles would leave small scratches, and I believed him. My own method was similar to Woot22's; cool water--sometimes warm if the boots were especially dirty or scuffed--but I only used alcohol on rare occassions and when there was plenty of polish on the boots. The alcohol will dry out the leather if it gets into the leather itself, as will saliva. At least, that's what I've been told. I never burned the polish, but I had shoes that looked a lot like patent leather, at least in the dark. Mine werenever the shiniest, perhaps, but the shine would last, even if scuffed a little.

I always use a soft, cotton cloth around my index and middle finger, something like a handkerchief or a sock or a diaper. Dip into the water in the Kiwi lid, dip in the polish, and apply. Breathing will add a bit of moisture as you rub in small circles.

There are two important things to remember:

1. lay on the polish so that eventually, you are polishing the polish. This must be done in thin layers over time; there is no short cut to a rich, long-lasting shine. You can do it several times a day, but it needs to be done in very thin layers. And

2. be sure to wear the boots or shoes regularly while laying on the polish. Otherwise, it will crack and leave a real mess where the leather creases. One guy in our platoon did just that, and it caused quite a ruckus with the DIs.

One more important trick--when the shoes/boots are brand new, saddle soap them first to get the stuff that comes from the factory off the leather. Then the polish will be going on to the leather from the start and not on to the stuff--whatever it is. We used regular bar soap in bootcamp to get that faux shine off our shoes before we started putting on the shine.

In the Corps, we had to bring the brims of our barracks covers up to a highly polished shine from a pebble grain beginning, and, believe me, it teaches patience. I've been out of uniform over 30 years now, but I can still polish shoes that will pass muster.