Waterproofing leather boots

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swampratt

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Yep .. I have a problem of getting my socks and feet wet all the time.

I have a cheap pair of leather steel toe work boots.
First attempt was to use some Scotch Guard i have had for many years
I put on 5 heavy soaking coats and it repelled the water like you would not believe.

I held them under the faucet for over a minute and remove the boot and the water beaded off.
Then I touched the boot where the water was running while under the water.
Guess what happened.. the leather soaked in the water.

I found when walking into wet grass/weeds the grass will rub on the boots much like my finger touching it.. Wet boots!

Then my son got stuck in the mud and 1.5 days to get him out.. this was clay mud and we were standing up to our knees in mud in some places.

My boots soaked in all that clay and are completely void of any oils or sprays now.. just clay dried boots.
Cleaned and dried them and have wore them a few times since then.

Now i will try some
Sno-Seal on them.
I have read about Never Wet,, but it does not last very long.. and really does not last long when subject to weeds and grasses rubbing and sanding on them.

I will update you when we see how this Sno-Seal works.
first i must get some of it.
 

swampratt

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I have been researching for the last many minutes on sno-seal and orbedorf's and nik-wax
Seems the older sno-seal was better and if you walk into rough terrain that is like marshy wet the new sno-seal wears off in 2-3 days.

I feel i may visit the primitive path of beeswax.

SMS what is your application like and time frame on waterproof when hiking in wet areas.
 

Surveyor1653

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Waterproofing is not a set it and forget it affair. This is actually a three-stage process. You have to clean the boot, condition the leather, and then waterproof it. There are loads and loads of products out there but Nikwax and Sno-Seal are great.

Bear in mind that the process has to be continually repeated. Once you've conditioned and waterproofed the boots, you won't need to do that every time but you'll absolutely have to clean them to some degree after every use. How dirty you get them and how often will determine how often you will need to recondition and reseal them. We're talking gear maintenance here. Think of it that way and you'll be in good shape.

Remember this, though: "Leather is only waterproof when it's on the ass of a cow." - Unknown General Officer during trials for a waterproof field boot
 

swampratt

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I have waterproofed my old wolverine boots many times and those i have worn out..
actually wore 5 pairs of them out over a 9 year span.

Used many things on them to keep my feet dry.. but never any sno-seal or the Stuff you posted Shadowrider.
But the main ingredient is beeswax.
 

Shadowrider

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I have waterproofed my old wolverine boots many times and those i have worn out..
actually wore 5 pairs of them out over a 9 year span.

Used many things on them to keep my feet dry.. but never any sno-seal or the Stuff you posted Shadowrider.
But the main ingredient is beeswax.

I've used all manner of silicone sprays and they work, but they just don't "hang", doing exactly what you described in your OP. Nothing will last forever and has to be reapplied regularly, but this stuff hangs longer than anything I've ever used. I've not used Sno Seal, but have always heard good things about it. But the Obenhauf was developed for forestry workers and gets wide praise. I just discovered it last year and it's doing very well on my leather bomber jacket.

If you want waterproof, you need gore-tex. It's worth it's weight in gold. I recommend Danner boots in the few models that are still made here in the U.S. You'll be hard pressed to find better boots. I've also got a pair of Merrill hiking shoes that are gore-tex that have been through the ringer and almost totally done. The gore-tex is still not leaking.
 

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