Dry shoes in mucky weather

[A _L_ P]

This is probably the wrong time of the year to tell you Northern Hemisphere folk!

An enquiry to the Flood Company elicited the following:

"It is definitely a good idea to treat the shoes before they get into a bad shape. Penetrol will dry hard but will be flexible, linseed oil tends to stay sticky for longer. We have heard of using Penetrol for shoes and football boots to keep them dry."

It has been hosing down for days so last night in front of the TV I knelt on the floor with a big piece of cardboard protecting the carpet and Penetrol'd shoe after shoe, boot after boot. They are hanging up under cover outside, some of them still rather oily and wet but since today is sunny for a change I expect most of it to soak in.

Just thought I'd pass this on to others who get weary of drying leather shoes and boots. The first experimental pair of old shabby ones treated with a mixture of Penetrol and linseed oil have been good out in the garden. The original coating had worn off and the leather quickly got soaked but after treatment this ceased to be an issue. However we were not keen to risk good footwear till we had found out more. Googling didn't bring up the answer, thus the question direct to the company.

A L P

[wmaitland765]

I saw a news item recently that more people are sending their shoes in for repair these days and there is a boom in shoe repair businesses.

[PB1952]

Where did you buy the penetrol?

[e-mail]

[A _L_ P]

Paint shops. It is the top product for rust-proofing & making (oil based) paint stick esp on rusty surfaces, I've never found anything that works a fraction as well, and it is also used on timber for weather proofing because of the way it gets right into the minutest pores, which is why it occurred to me that it might work on shoes. Wasn't sure of long-term effect though which is why the search for further info!

A L P

[Geopelia]

Why not use good old Dubbin? Or wear gumboots.

[Ash]

Or better still a good old pair of Wellies !!

[A _L_ P]

Many people like to have more than one pair of shoes/boots suitable for wear outside the house. Anyone who doesn't is free to ignore the hint. Penetrol is totally unsuitable for use as a barrier cream on one's skin.

A L P

[Roger Dewhurst]

What about anhydrous lanolin? It will protect steel against seawater!

R

[A _L_ P]

That sounds good. How well does it seep down into minute gaps and pores? This is where I have found Penetrol so good, it reaches into places I can't work paint or grease or oil into so there are no pinholes in the protective layer. Any other grease-type product would no doubt do a good job if only one could get it to penetrate every crevice and stay there as an enduring barrier.

A L P

[Ginny]

I was going to suggest wellies or gumboats but if you're like me they make my feet sweat and then I get very cold feet. I do use Dubbin but found spray on Lanolin (comes in a pressure pack as a lubricant) very good for my leather foot wear without rotting the stitching. I'll look into the Penatrol and see what's available locally. We have Penatrene I think, maybe a local variety?

Thanks anyway

[Mister Scooter]

I've never found dubbin to rot the stitching of anything I have used it on, boots, wallets, baga, jerkins, leather jackets etc. I even use dubbin on the leather cover of my cellphone and my PDA.

-- "Cream rises to the top, unfortunately so does scum." Some wise person.

[Ginny]

You are correct, my mistake. Dubbin doesn't rot stitching but some other leather protectors do. Something we used on saddles, worked great but the stitching didn't like it, can't remember what it was called but it had the same look as dubbin.

[Roger Dewhurst]

Saddle soap?

R >

[~misfit~]

Neatsfoot oil?

My sister used to use (pure) neatsfoot oil on her tack but was particular that it *was* pure, not a neatsfoot oil based leather treatment as they often rotted the stitching.

Cheers,

[~misfit~]

Forgot to mention, also dad used to use it (pure neatsoot oil) on his workboots (farm worker, shepherd, whatever you want to call someone who works on a sheep farm), especially in winter, and swore by it. Said it made his boots waterproof and last longer.