My friend Noah, the manager at the Crocker Galleria location of A Shine and Co., was kind enough to let me photograph him as he shined a pair of shoes the other day.
The process begins with wetting a toothbrush and scrubbing any dust out of the welt. The shoes are Edward Green Cardiffs in Edwardian Antique (from Leather Soul in Honolulu). I don't usually wear bluchers with a suit, but sometimes you have to bend the rules to get a shine.
After the shoes are clean, Noah puts on layers of polish. This particular pair didn't need conditioning so he's using neutral Lincoln wax.
Noah brushes the shoes after each layer of polish. Shoes like polish after every second wearing, and I'm getting three coats today.
Finally, the shine is buffed out. The calf that Edward Green uses gains lustre as it ages. I have several pair that are twenty years old and they really gleam after a good shoe shine. 
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3 comments:
What a small world. When I used to work nearby, I'd stop for a cappucino at Tully's in the Galleria.
How much does he charge for a shine? And gratuity?
Tully's is still there.
He charges $7, $8 or $10 for a shoe shine with two, three or four coats of polish.
I had the best of intentions to visit this spot a number of times as it is very near my office. Will's posting forced my hand and I took a stroll over there at lunch time today. While I normally shine my own, it is a real nice treat to get a shine.
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