Was wondering if anyone would like to share any tips on kit prep? i’m a recently appointed Adult SNCO and to be fair things with my kit are coming along but keen to find out what other people do
I have my manservant do it. 
Which kit?
Uniform?
Are you having any particular problems or are they items that you would specifically like to know about. There are so many items giving so many starting points.
As stated above.
What kind of kit?
Hi there, delayed response! I go to Cranwell for SSIC in 7 weeks and need to make sure I’m tip top - shoes I’m ok with however struggling a little with ironing, any tips would be appreciated.
I would find the cadet with the best uniform and ask them how they do it. If that’s embarrassing ask if they’ll do a presentation on kit prep to all your cadets and just sit in on it…
Ironing - use a good steam iron.
For shirts, use spray starch. Check on where the upper sleeve crease must start in relation to epaulette! Very carefully position the sleeve material on the ironing board in order to ensure no pieces of material are bunched up & that the upper crease will result in a logical “lower” crews near the seam.
Trousers - always use a thin, damp cloth (such as handkerchief) between the iron & the material of the trousers - never directly onto the material (makes it go shiny eventually & reduces burn risk if you have things too hot).
Trousers- I use a thin tea towel. No need for it to be damp if you’ve got steam.
Beret, get it soaked on warm water and then put it on your bonce and shape it. While you’ve got it on, squeeze the water out as you shape it. Then leave it in for 30 mins while it drys a little. Then take it off Gently and allow to dry on the radiator or airing cupboard.
Shirts- no need to starch really as you’ll end up with arms like cardboard. Just use a good steam iron and try to iron so that you don’t get tram lines.
Jumper- iron epaulettes on the reverse and also using the tea towel.
Well, I’ve been using spray starch for as long as I can remember (post 1976!) - on military shirts & work shirts, & never had that cardboard feeling! I do remember a Sgt DI at Swinderby who must have used the old-fashioned starching process as his shirts fairly crackled!!
A light spray starching helps the ironing process & makes the shirt look better for longer. For prolonged shirt-sleeve order, I lightly re-spray the sleeve upper creases after the first ironing & iron them again. Always have razor sharp creases at the end of the day.
Iron on the creases on a new shirt slowly & with great care; NO tram lines !
Well, I’ve been using spray starch for as long as I can remember (post 1976!) - on military shirts & work shirts, & never had that cardboard feeling! I do remember a Sgt DI at Swinderby who must have used the old-fashioned starching process as his shirts fairly crackled!!
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there are 900+ Squadrons in the ATC, and ~50000 members, in my days i have come across about 150 different ways (ok slight exaggeration…but you know what i am getting at) at polishing shoes…the end result? a shiny shoe.
my point? there are more than one way to skin a cat.
with a tea towel, with a damp tea towel, with a steam iron, with starch, with a pile of books, with a Corby trouser press…there are several different ways to iron a short, and also sort uniform, most work, some better than others.
in my experience there is no “right or wrong way” just a method that suits the individual…try a selection if you so desire and determine which you find most practical
I never starched an RAF shirt. The things are mostly plastic anyway.
Yep, there are different ways to skin a cat - some of them viable & some where the cat’s skin ends up in 10 pieces!
I tried to calculate how many shirts I had ironed (RAF & work equivalent) but gave up, 10,000+ at least? From my first RAF shirt to the ones used by cadets (& RAF) now, the material has changed very little. The basic method I described was standard when I was an instructor at Cranwell, teaching baby officers; it has stood me in very good stead for about 40 years of dedicated ironing - & the last 13 yrs have been for VVIP operations, scruffy shirts are a huge no-no! ;-).
If you want real ironing lessons, we can look back at the “hairy blues” & the tricks to make them stay smart - such as lining the creases on the inside of the trouser legs by running soap down them! :woohoo:
Shoes - as demonstrated by a QCS instructor. Mine were bulled for every day I wore them. No other way allowed. 