Cotton balls spitshine perfectly. Mirror finish.
I still shine my shoes.
I have a pair of cordovan Florsheim shoes that my grandfather gave me about 1992. Good shoes. I wore them to Court recently and the Judge actually commented, from the bench, on how good they looked. Real cordovan leather. Quality shoes + shine and shoe trees = lifetime of use.
Side note: Those shoes are older than our most recent hire... I am now old.