Full leather maintenance on shoes, boots, or sandals - PEP BB textiles.straw.repair.shoecare

Edit* I meant to post this in the leather maintenance BB, my bad.

So my dad works at a factory outside of town, and part of his benefits includes a free pair of work boots every year. He doesn't go through them that quick so he gets all of us kids a pair instead. So far no one has questioned his ever-changing shoe sizes (lol). So I have a steel-toe pair of blundstones. I've had them for two years now and I've never done maintenance on them. They've seen it all pretty much: road salt, mud, big puddles, paint, heat, cold and what not. Pretty darn impressive that they look the way they do I'd say. Anyways, the maintenance.

So first I left my boots inside to dry for the past couple days. Then I gave them a wipe down with a damp cloth and brushed them with an old tooth brush to get any remaining dirt off. I microwaved about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil until it was liquid, then used another cloth to spread it around the boot as evenly as I could. I did both boots this way, and they are now sitting and drying. I love how tropical they smell.

Following this I tried waterproofing my dad's blundstones. They're the exact same boot I have just smaller. So I wiped them down as well with the damp cloth, and brushed them. Then I rubbed a bar of beeswax all over the boot to get a thin layer of it on there. Then I went at it with the blow dryer and rubbed the wax in as it melted. Notice the after pic with the water beads on top...looks like it worked! Also blundstones are made of greasy kip leather which I found out through their website if anyone is curious.

I heard my favorite boots gently weeping from the corner today.  I’ve been using Otter Wax (https://www.otterwax.com/) leather care kit for many moons now (good quality stuff goes a long way) — although now I’m familiar enough with the ingredients and though-process of each step, and have the materials sitting around to make it myself when this runs out.  Halfway through the job, I wondered what permies.com might say on this subject.  I’ll be darned if there’s not a PEP BB for every thing!

My boots are leather outer, leather-lined, rubber sole and stacked leather heel.  I’m in a suburban environment, so these are a mix between dress boots and daily travelers.  Occasionally do a buff/shine if going out somewhere nice.  Once every couple months I go all out (as pictured for this PEP) with:
  1. Soap (beeswax + castile)
  2. Salve (carnuba + shea butter)
  3. Oil (safflower + vitamin E)
  4. Wax (beexwax + lanolin)

Step 1: Get Your Torch! (And Soap Box?)
Saddle Soap.  Apparently there’s controversy (say it isn’t so!) over this stuff.  The kind I have isn’t ye olde version — just castile + beeswax — so I have no qualms using it on my favorite pair of kicks.  Calls for ‘stiff brush’ — I use an old toothbrush and it works just fine. Soap it up, then wipe it down with clean cloth.

A couple articles on the sordid history of saddle soap:
Section of interest is ~2/3 way down the page: http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/leather_care.htm
This one talks about pH, which I found interesting: https://bootmoodfoot.com/saddle-soap-leather-boots/

P.S. I do love the wikiHow link in the original post about using a banana to clean!

Step 2: Condition(al) Love
From the kit’s insert: “leather is happy when it’s hydrated.” Start with soft cloth for large areas; fingertips for difficult-to-reach spots.  Leave for 30 minutes; buff with clean cloth.

Step 3: Shine On!
Polish. Soft cloth to apply, even coating, work it into the leather with hands. Can use this version on rubber/leather soles ... and my hands benefit, too!

Step 4: Sally seals sea shells...
... Or something like that.
Beeswax + lanolin waterproofing step. Soft cloth, evenly coat, use fingers or soft brush to work it in everywhere, especially places more susceptible to water damage. Let it sit overnight before use. Test by splashing water on it — if beads up and rolls off, good to go!

A little over a month ago, I found my old, crusty shoes. They were stiff and uncomfortable to wear. So I thought I'd see if I could rehabilitate them!



I used the same saddle soap that I made to clean my leather gloves. Here they are all cleaned:

Shoes cleaned with saddle soap. They need to dry out before I can oil them

I waited a few days for the shoes to dry out, and then oiled them!

The dry shoes, in need of conditioning. I conditioned them with coconut oil+beeswax, and lanolin

I keep a beeswax+coconut oil salve/wood oil ready for whenever I need to oil things. So, I used this for the shoes. It seemed easier to just add a bit of lanolin to it when I applied it to my shoes, so I didn't have to make yet another small jar of specialized stuff.

Left shoe is oiled--what a difference!

Action shot of me conditioning it. I mix the lanonline and salve together on the shoe...it's just easier that way.

Since it's taken me a full month to get around to actually posting these pictures, I just now realized that I never took an "after" shot. So, I put the shoes on and snapped a picture. They're very comfortable, and far, far improved from the stiff leather shoes they'd been before. They're no my go-to shoe!

The very much after, 'after' picture, hahaha!

I love the video on making leather balm! I then realised I had all the ingredients in, so there was no excuse not to make it. I repurposed a parfait jar that had lost it’s lid, gathered the ingredients and started the process. It was very easy and smelt surprisingly good. In fact the ingredients are 100% edible.

It was the first time this autumn that it was chilly enough this morning for me to return upstairs and exchange shorts for trousers. It’s that time of year when my wardrobe gets reshuffled. Sandals go away and the boots come out. After four or five months in the cupboard they definitely needed some tlc.

With my new found skills and enthusiasm, I cut up an old t-shirt to make a cover for the jar. The bunch of carrots I bought this morning had a big purple elastic band holding them together, so with my rags, a circle of cloth and jar of balm, I was all set.

The boots soaked up the balm. I tested afterwards with a plant spray and the water beaded in a very satisfying way. I labeled the jar, put on it’s ‘lid’ and my task was done.

NB - I need to learn how to use a sewing machine so I can put a hem on the lid . . .
 

Edward, do you happen to have any pictures of cleaning the shoes, or how you cleaned them? The BB says,

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
- Cleaning a pair of leather boots, shoes, or sandals.
- Conditioning and/or waterproofing them.

I don't see anything about cleaning them in your post (though they do look clean, and they look very nicely conditioned). I think I can certify this if you post a picture of cleaning them, or even just show something else you've cleaned so I can tell you've cleaned shoes...

Edward Norton wrote:NB - I need to learn how to use a sewing machine so I can put a hem on the lid . . .
 

You don't need a sewing machine! A simple, normal "straight" stitch will work well. You just fold the edge over once or twice (twice is more secure, but I don't think your lid cover is going to get that much stress put on the seam).

Another option is a "blanket stitch." This takes longer, but works rather nicely on round things. (The below video shows how to sew two things together with a blanket stitch, but you can do the exact same thing on the edge of just one piece of fabric.)



My kids and I all have a yucky head cold, and so I made a bunch of washable kleenexes (aka "Booger Rags" or "Hankies"). I did a simple running stitch seem on the top ones, and the bottom one is a blanket stitch.

Oh no . . . Another lost in translation. Cleaning to me means applying the balm.

I’ve got another pair of boots on my list of tasks today. I’ll document and upload.

Thanks Nicole for not adding to my sad list of negative BBV’s - although it is a great incentive to level up to where I can start approving.

Round two!

These are my go to boots for dashing to the garage when it’s raining or jumping on my bike to go grocery shopping. They’ve had a lot of abuse and not much love.

Maybe making show balm with cocoa butter was a mistake - it smells so go.

The boots sucked up way more balm than the previous pair. They’ve lost their yellow colour, so maybe people will stop assuming I work in construction!

Here’s all the photos including cleaning which I carried out with a stiff brush.

I did 3 pairs of my boots but forgot to take before pictures for one of them, so here's 2 pairs!

I couldn't find information on the type of leather for any of my boots and I'm not knowledgeable enough about leather to be able to tell myself. I just wiped down with a damp cloth, used 100% glycerin saddle soap and then leather honey conditioner. The brown pair still aren't as waterproof as I'd like, so I think I'll give it another coat of the conditioner or go back to my usual mink oil.

Seeing the previous BB reminded me that I have pix for several that haven't been submitted yet. This one is from last spring. Better late than never.

These cowhide boots were obviously in need of cleaning. My leather supplies are still 1000 miles away. I normally use mink oil, beeswax, & Bear grease or some combination of them. Then I remembered Sophia Loren was known for taking olive oil baths. Figured if it was good enough for her it was good enough for these boots. The leather was very thirsty so it required several days & multiple applications of the oil. It worked very well though. It softened the leather & the waterproof effect lasted several months. Unfortunately it didn't help keep mud off. Soooo much mud in places around here.

So I'll admit I've been rather ignorant with regards to caring for leather goods, not really realizing there was anything that needed to be done.  Doing this BB taught me a few things!  I've got a pair of leather boots I wear all the time.  My sense of time could be off, but I don't think these are even all that old, maybe a year at most.  They look like they could use some love.  

I began by making a version of the waterproofing leather balm shown in the third video.  For this I used bees wax, coconut oil, and caster oil all melted together on top of my RMH.

Then I got a small shoe brush and cleaned off any dirt from the boots.  While the balm was still liquid from being melted together I brushed it on the boots.  Using a rag I rubbed it in more and wiped away a lot of excess.  Then let them sit by the hot barrel of the RMH for a while so the balm could soak in and dry out some.  After a few hours it looked like they could use a bit more so I got the rag and rubbed in another coat then let them dry again before a final buffing up with the shoe brush to clear out extra built up wax in the crevices and such.

They do now look much better and will hopefully hold up longer than they would have otherwise, plus I now have a jar of the leather balm on hand to reapply as needed, not to mention the experience under my belt of how easy it is to make more of the balm.

Hello everybody!  I have a couple pairs of White's boots that I use hard and take care of well.  The black pair are at least ten years old, worn on roofs, pouring concrete, in refineries and oilfield, driving truck, these boots have done it all and kept me safe and comfy through thick and thin.  The red/brown slip-ons are not quite as old, but have earned their stripes along side the others.  Both pairs have been resoled several times.

White's boots are "full grain water resistant leather" (as per their website).  I care for these boots by giving them a wipe down with some soapy water (7th Generation dishsoap in this case).  Second, they are set aside to air dry fully before applying Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP (https://www.obenaufs.com/heavy-duty-lp-p/leather-preservative-paste.htm).  It is a fantastic blend of natural oils, and bee products.  It can be used as a very nice hand and body moisturizer as well, it's full of natural healthy stuff!

The red slip-ons have a small cut on the right big toe.  Last time I took them to be resoled I had the boot shop take a look at it because I could not figure out how to repair it.  Alas, it is not repairable outside of shoving it full of shoe goo or caulk (it is out of range of a toe cap), but it does not leak significantly and as long as the leather stays conditioned the cut does not grow.  Other than that issue, these babies are rock solid no other issues.

I worked on 2 pairs of boots here. Mine didn't need any repairs. Just a LOT of conditioner. They're used boots, got them last year from a friend. I'm sure they haven't ever been maintenanced. On my husband's boot, I needed to do a bit of stitching. I show the small hole I fixed. The other hole broke my needle. We get his high-end work boots serviced every spring. It's usually $50 or so! I ordered a stitching awl, and maybe I can do the repairs now! I also show fixing an aglet that was peeling up. Vicious, sharp little boogers!

I've maybe done some maintenance on this pair of boots a couple of times since I bought them. This time they really needed it, as I'd fleshed a beaver skin straight from the tanning pickle. Once dry, my boots did not look happy!

I gave them a scrub with a nail brush. Left them to dry for a few ... weeks? Honestly, I forgot about them for much longer than intended. Life got busy.

Once I realized my other (insulated rubber) boots were hurting my feet, I found the cleaned boots, checked them over, and rubbed them down with mink oil. After a few minutes I wiped the excess off, let them be for a day, and took them out for a nice woodland stroll!

Okay here is my submission for maintenance on my leather boots. I have a 3 year old pair of Blundstones (Greasy Kip Leather) that needed a little TLC. They weren't very dirty but needed a damp cloth to get bits of mud off them. Next up I rubbed mink oil into them and then let them dry.

I bought these extremely expensive barefoot boots this winter and have been stressing out about the salt edges for a while now...

Hello
I have a pair of leather riding boots that I didn't maintain until now. They were dirty and the leather was not waterproof, so it would get soggy.
I washed them with a spray bottle of water and white vinegar and essential oils and a dirty sock, then waterproofed them with a beeswax oil thing from a jar in the garage

I haven't done any kind of maintenance on these bad boys in the past four years. The before picture doesn't quite do it justice. I wiped the dirt off and gave them about three scrubbings of saddle soap. Now they are back to their mostly water proof selves.

This is a cool first for me!  I've only polished office work shoes.  Have had these secondhand boots about a year and a half but didn't begin wearing them until about 6 months ago.  They've had the mud scraped off but this is their first polishing.  Now they are waterproof...yay...no more wet feet!

Hey David,  I wish I had melted the beeswax!  lol.  I had an excellent upper body workout scrubbing the beeswax off!  The fragrance was divine, though.  

Hey Tina.  This is all a learning process!  I melted my beeswax with some castor oil, though I think I still could have used a higher proportion of castor oil.  I find it still works best with my mix to melt it first before applying.  I do find at least that the excess rubs away fairly easily with a rag or the shoe brush.

Still I find it very cool that I can just go and re-waterproof my boots whenever they wear down enough to need it again!  I wish I'd know how to do this years ago.  I could have gotten so much more life from my past shoes/boots!

A rainy evening is good time to take care of those leather boots!

I don’t know with certainty, but I have to assume the leather is cow.
(Bought them in a local shop in the Alentejo region in Portugal, and after some research, apparently these shoes are called 'botas alentajanas'. 'Alentajana' is also a Portugese cattle breed, hence my assumption). The leather shoe maintenance process as I describe it below is something I do twice a year.

How I maintain my leather shoes:

First I brush my shoes with a dry shoe brush.
Then I wipe them down with a slightly moist cloth and then let them sit for a while to dry out again.
During the brushing and wiping, I thoroughly check for any signs for need for repair. In this case, there was no need.
As for the waterproofing, I only use horse grease for now, since it's the only non-chemical leather care product I've found in Spain so far. I am very pleased with the results.
I put a little grease on a cotton cloth and massage in gently and evenly onto the leather. Just a little bit at a time. I mostly move the cloth around in a circular motion, and I try to go into all directions wherever there is leather. I pay extra attention to the stitches and spots where leather pieces are on top of each other, because I want grease everywhere!

Time to give these boots some love again. These are a pair of Jim Green stockmans that I've had for a few years, seem to be holding up alright but they're the first pricier boots I've ever bought new so I don't have much to compare to. Supposedly they're built to last and be repairable. Construction is full grain leather with an inner layer of calf leather. I cleaned them up with a rag, warm water, and saddle soap then left them to dry overnight. Next I applied a bit of 100% neatsfoot oil the leather, giving extra to the areas that take the most wear and tear. Lastly I rubbed in mink oil to nourish the leather further and add a measure of waterproofing. Dribbled some water on them and it all beaded up or ran off. Ready for the change of season.