What's a good sensible way of making my everyday leather boots more water resistent?
I used to use Dubbin but it's messy and takes a long time time to get absorbed.
Are the aerosol waterproofing sprays for shoes any good? I think they contain Scotchguard. They seem almost too easy to be good!
Buy a litre of castor oil from the chemist: pour into one boot. Leave for several days until it's seeping out through the stitching holes. Pour into the other boot and do the same. Save what's left for redoing in 10-15 years time...
If they are not dress shoes of any form, use Waxoyl. Apply when your shoes are warm (i.e. immediately after use) and rub in with your fingers. Works a treat - use the rest of the can on the car!
Grangers G-wax from any mountain equipment shop
Tony
That's why I wrote "sensible".
Try reading which groups you are posting to! Dip the boots in hot tar and allow to cool.
Hydrobloc is way better than any aerosol.
This is the kindest thing you can give your boots!
Ready with the castor oil. Is it OK to do both boots together? I only ask because I'd rather not wait several days until oil starts to seep from the first boot.
John wrote in news:Xns99C4CCA8EAA9871F3M4@127.0.0.1:
Thompson's Water Seal, or indeed any silicone based equivalent eg Wickes own brand.
Read the info on the tin - it does indeed state (at least on the Thompson's tin) that it's for fabric and leather. And as it's sold as a building product, while it's not cheap, it is *very considerably* cheaper than proofing products found in camping and outdoor shops.
Hope this helps
This is excellent on shoes & boots.
It is: and cheap. It worked perfectly well with Alan's boots (still in occasional use after about 30 years, and still waterproof after their second soaking), and my old leather boots (similar age, but retired on comfort grounds, but still perfectly warterproof last time my son wore them a couple of years back).
Wasteful as you need a lot more oil!
aerosol.www.zamberlan.com/catalog/index.php?lang=en&pg=prod&idprod=63
I've used Hydroblock for years now, or the Scarpa equivalent, HS12 I think, and never had leaking boots, even walking in long wet grass, untill the leather finaly split that is.
Ted
In message , Woody writes
Why wait - warm them up with a hairdryer!
Apply vaseline to boots while warming them with a hairdryer. It soaks right in, is waterproof, and preserves the leather (mineral oil).
Robert
Mineral oil> vaseline> candle wax are all basically the same stuff but with variation in viscosity and melting point. If you don't want the boots getting sticky in hot weather, the wax end of the scale would be best. Easily dissolved in white spirit by sealing it in a jar and placing in hot water for 30 mins or so. This is probably what most of the fancy products are based on.
I'm still trying to work out if this is a sensible suggestion or a piss take! :)
Surely the oil wrecks the inside of the boot and how on earth do you get it all out again afterwards?
Does castor oil not have a bad smell? My feet smell bad enough on their own!
I'd love to see the reaction in Meindl if I did this to my boots and then emailed them asking how to undo it all :)
It's real. Odd maybe, but real enough!
Nope! Waterproof inside and out, so even if you go in the bog up to yer knees, the boots will survive unscathed. I say nothing of the socks... ;) You should not do this to boots that have membranes or fabric innards: leather all through is what you need to start with.
You just tip the oil back in the bottle and prop the boots upside down on some newspaper so any unsoaked up oil trickles out. Might take a few days...
It doesn't even come off on your socks once it's properly soaked in. Darkens the leather of the boots is all, and makes it somewhat more pliable.
Sort of clean. Castrol engine oil used to be made from caster oil, and it smells a little like that, but fainter. My boots don't smell of anything very much, and certainly not of feet! :D Remember, old fashioned oilskin that fishermen used to wear were made of leather soaked in oil, before rubber coatings for canvass came along.
Hehehehehe! Experiment with an old pair. Alan's old boots are Monte Rosas. Dunno what mine are... Lost in the mists of time and moves!
But if you put your feet in them first, you'll not need so much oil! If you then walk in them full of oil, the oil will get massaged into the inside of the boots.
Jim Ford
Ideally clean them with saddle soap (horsey shop, a few quid) as this helps to lubricate the leather. it also gets it clean.
Then apply a water-resistant dressing. Nikwax or G-wax soft paste waxes (any outdoor shop) are about the best overall for performance, accessibility and cleanliness when applied. They're sticky at first, but wait a minute and just buff lightly with a duster.
Neatsfoot oil or dubbin are not a good idea. Neatsfoot doesn't work well and goes off in long-term storage. Dubbin is (as you note) filthy stuff.
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