As a Serving member of the Armed forces, i thank you as you have just saved me from a "Rescrub" on my next inspection. I fought with one of my shoes for 3hrs before i saw this video, i've been polishing my shoes to a mirror shine for years but never had this issue until now. i tried waxing, leather treatments (softeners and moisturisers), stripped the polish back twice (ended up puting on over 70 layer's of polish overall!) and after all that i still had a large dry spot. You've earned a subscriber today and i will be instructing my lads to follow this video when they have issues with boots and shoes.

Me, never planning on mirror shining: ah yes, the video ive been looking for.

I’m a new cadet and was shining my boots when I came across the same problem. I appreciate the video.

Thanks for all the helpful tips. I recently followed your guide to mirror shine and it came out pretty well for a first time.

So a dry spot is actually a wet spot. Awesome content as usual mate.

This is by far the best I have seen from you Preston. Great job brother.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was frustrated why I got this spot that just won't shine. And now I know why and how to solve my problem. Amazing video!

For years I have used an old nylon stocking for final polish. As a stocking is used, it accumulates a bit of was, giving an even better shine. The trick is to hold the shoe between your knees, and RAPIDLY stoke back and forth with the stocking held in two hands. It will build some heat, and will polish that wax to a hard finish. I even carry one, along with a clean brush, in my car for quick touchups in the field.

I'm not sure how shoe shining and cobbling got into my rotation, but it's really sparked a irl interest.

You’re the hero we need, Preston. I started watching your channel just a few weeks back. It’s been an addiction. I received my pair of Meermin copper 101440s in copper today. I immediately got to work with the brush, crème universelle, 1909, pate de luxe, and - ultimately - the neutral mirror gloss. A dark spot developed on the toe. It sure looked like I’d somehow distressed the calf. Instead of panic setting in, I recalled this video. Three rounds with the hairdryer with a little buffing in between and the blemish was nearly gone. 30 minutes later working the mirror gloss back in, I have a shine about 50% as good as that at the end of this vid (that’s a massive win for this absolute novice)with zero evidence the blemish was ever there. It’s all down to you and your excellent content. Bravo, Sir! The finger and palm trick worked wonders, too. I slowly rebuilt a couple dozen layers of gloss that way, the extra friction heat really helping, before finishing off the last few layers with the shirt scrap two finger wrap. I need some crème polish in light brown for these, some oiled leather crème for my Captains (see your CXL video), and -what the hell, I’ll take a welt brush too… order placed on

This was a lifesaver. I fought 2 pair of boots for several days without being able to get rid of the 'dry spot'. Not understanding they needed to dry out. Drove me crazy until I found this vid. Put the heat gun on them for a few seconds and started over. Now they look fantastic. Thank you.

Congratulations on the 200k Preston! I always love watching your stuff and have learned a lot

Thank you for explaining the cause of the problem. I now know how to take care of it! Thanks! Your videos are fantastic

Amazing, thank you for your videos. They are so inspiring. Just put a mirrorshine on my shoes and it worked out brilliant. Keep on, I love watching.

Fabulous mirror shine been using my fingers for decades,and you are right you cannot do this if excess moisture is present in the leather.

Thank you for this I thought I had ruined my favorite Steve Madden shoes, the shine came back and is brilliant! Thank You!!!

Very much appreciated for this video. Just started wanting to get a mirror shine on my shoes and made the dry spot.

Where were you when I was in the military, without the internet, and trying to mirror shine my Combat boots? LOL, thank you. I have caused the spots on my shoes and was not sure how to get rid of them. I appreciate you and your skills.

Thank you for making this video, I've been watching your video for a year. And I just spent my entire afternoon trying to get rid of it then I think of your video that I watch two weeks ago.

Recently, it took me 3 DAYS(my worst shining experience) to get rid of a dry spot, but it was probably due to my extreem impatience, constantly trying to fix it, and not letting the shoe dry properly.