Don’t beeswax? It’s not purpose built for waterproofing, just 100% beeswax, even then that would be if I strip them. Might’ve misinterpreted what you mean.
I’ll give the dry layers a shot quickly, not sure it would be the moisture though as I hadn’t worn them in a while as we were in greens and civvies for the first part of this month.
Might be worth the investment then. Might also be useful for keeping my greens boots tidy too.
When I beeswax them, I make sure they’re stripped prior to doing anything. When you’re putting beeswax on, because it’s melted, it has a tendency to drip off - giving uneven coverage so just be aware of that. Personally I don’t tape my welts (after numerous fails with the wax cracking when using the shoe). But after everything has dried, I take a few hours to get rid of the beeswax on the welts so it looks uniform with the rest, which worked for me. It doesn’t crack since I started doing that, no clue why 
I do want to reiterate though that using beeswax is very risky and you can potentially ruin your shoes if something goes wrong. Luckily for me I had old pairs that I grew out of so I could practice on those.
If it does come to it I’ll make sure to take that into consideration. I’m aware it’s risky and I’ll probably find some old parade shoes to give it a go with.
If it does get to that point, I wish you the best of luck.
Someone once told me ‘imagine you’re polishing an egg shell’. It works!
I 2nd that
If you dont know what you are doing with beeswax and dms shoes you will destroy the shoe in quick time.
The suggestion is to only beeswax proper oxfords as they have a leather sole rather than rubber so can with stand the heat
Almost certainly this is an issue with technique… There’s absolutely not a hundred or couple of hundred layers of polish built up on there.
In fact, it doesn’t need very many ‘layers’ at all. 100 layers of polish would be flaking and horrible.
It’s difficult though to diagnose exactly what the problem is with the technique over the internet. It’s very much a skill best assessed, taught, and practiced in person.
But at the stage that it appears your shoes are at I always recommend several layers of brush polishing to get a good start. There’s little point in spending time bulling until one has built up a base on which to work. Brush polishing is easy and quick, and will start to get polish adhered to the shoes.
Give that a whirl for a few layers. Brush polish on, brush off… Brush polish on, brush off… Brush polish on, &c…
After you’ve got more on there it will be easier to bull.
After brush polishing don’t worry too much about bulling those first few layers to a mirror - They’re not ready for that yet.
Use the normal bulling technique, but only go until the polish has started to smooth nicely. You’ll still have swirls at that point. Then add more polish and keep going. Small circles going over all the mottled areas with a firm pressure (but not pushing so hard that it hurts). You need to force polish into the gaps.
If it begins to feel dry, dip your cloth in the water and continue.
If you find that there are areas which just aren’t working whilst the rest of the shoe is coming up nicely, I often find it best to leave that section alone for a while. Move onto another part of the shoe and come back to the troublesome bit later.
Perhaps it’s the time; perhaps it’s allowing it to cool… I don’t know, but it’s what I’ve been doing for the last 26 years and it seems to help.
Finally, whilst you’re putting in all that hard work, remember to do the rest of the shoe as well, not just the toecap. Few things let down a well-bulled toecap better than the rest of the shoe being dull.
I don’t know when I developed a habit of pressing down with a bit of pressure but it was never a huge problem. Just tried consciously telling myself to use less pressure and it’s seemed to help with the rest of the shoe but the dull spots are still sorta there. Probably needs some more work but I’ve had enough polishing for the time being.
Definately works!
I’d go with @wdimagineer2b’s suggestion of brush polishing at first then try the egg shell method. Be careful not to use too much water as you go.
To be honest I went to cadets last night and asked my friend which shoe I had stripped and he said the wrong shoe so I think I’d call it a success for now. The eggshell tip is definately something I need to remind myself of because I’ve definately developed a habit of pressing too hard. Thanks for all the tips though!
This thread makes me both happy and sad.
Happy that you have had so many helpful, supportive experts happy to look after another member of RAFAC.
Sad that this is apparently so important… in the grand scheme of things, as long as your shoes are polished then you are compliant with the dress regs. Bulling is entirely optional…
That depends how you interpret “highly polished”…
‘Bulling’ is the means whereby shoes become ‘highly polished’. Simples.
My opinion is that there will be varying levels of success, all of which are acceptable; and also varying levels of not-so-much-success - all of which should be encouraged and assisted to improve.
For me it’s a lot about just setting an example and maintaining high standards. You can’t be what you can’t see.
I don’t disagree, but our parent service doesn’t take the same line the ATC does.
Closer to the CCF, if anything…
They do during recruit training.
So is the ATC, potentially, 8 years of recruit training? Seems a bit mean. You’re through Phase 1 a lot faster than that at Halton or Cranwell.
Maybe we should have bulled shoes for new recruits for a year, and for public parades, and chill the rest of the time?
How about no.
Shoes are to be clean and polished.
Polished to a shine on the toe cap.
Anything else is just slack.