Anyone else clean and polish their work boots?

[bigtiller]

Clean and polish my work boots?.... no way! The only thing worse would be wearing a new tool belt. That's how cubs are identified.

 

[Looking4new]

I have a pair of high cut stove pipe work boots (no laces) that I got in 1989. The only thing they get once a year in the spring is liquid silicone (I get it for free at work). I do them in the spring because the spring time work is in Calcium Chloride (super salty water) and it always splashes on yer boots. They have been resoled 4 times and are due for another heel. When I bought them I knew a boot repair guy that told me he could put riding heels on them and eliminate the walking heels. So be it! They are nice and comfortable and will last me the rest of my life.

 

[kco]

I typically bake mine in the oven and treat with Chelsea leather food when new, maybe 3-5 coats, 150, and crack the door to let moisture escape, , After that once a year or more, I'll treat them again if they get soaked, and once in a while during the winter. I always remove mud, as it will quickly dry leather.

Pretty much the same on all leather goods.. belts, holsters, gloves, chaps, jackets, slings and the like.. More often than not its by the woodstove watching a ball game.

Like Tollster I warm my heavy leather hiking boots in the oven and work Sno Seal into them. I just do two coats but they stay completely waterproof for days. I still have one pair of old style, heavy, leather hiking boots but just use them if I am in particularly wet conditions. The ones I used for alpine climbing many years ago were Galibier Super Guides which are no longer available:

Super Guide

They were great for mountaineering and I don't recall them ever leaking(even on full days on melting glaciers) as long as water never came in from the top(they had a full gusset on the tongue).They had a full steel shank so were not pleasant for long approach hikes.

My present heavy leather boots were classed as heavy-duty hiking/mountaineering with a 3/4 shank. They are a bit more flexible but still miserable for long hikes.

My boot requirements have dramatically reduced with age and retirement. Except in very wet or rough conditions I have used Hi-Tec Altitude IV's for the last ten years:

Buy Altitude IV Waterproof online for just $79.99 | Free Shipping | Hi-Tec USA

They are much more forgiving but don't stand up as well. The uppers eventually split from the sole by the big toe. I used to go through two pairs per year but am now down to one. I keep a spare pair and purchase another on sale when the current pair wears out. I don't normally need to treat them since I don't spend near as much time under harsh conditions.

Older style boots with the soles stitched to uppers need more water proofing than some modern ones that have the uppers glued to the sole.

 

[farmer2009]

Clean my boots. :laughing. I get a new pair every 12-18 months when my foot goes through the sole. Even dry manures are hard on boots plus all the salts. Spray them with some camp dry silicone 2 coats and then wear them. I wear redwings. Dad has the same boots now over 10 years old. I wear mine 12+ hours 6-7 days a week and he wears his 1/2-1 hour a day 5 days a week.

 

[newbury]

Reviving this thread because it seemed pertinent. What's the best treatment to protect leather boots?

I've about 6 pair of "important" boots. All are "work boots". I only put them on to do work outside. My most valued pair is a pair of "Mickey Mouse" boots handed down from my Dad who got them when he was in the military just before the Korean War. They get worn about 4 or 5 times a year when it's really cold out and I just need to "slip into" something like to shovel the front walk. But they need no maintenance.

I've 4 pair of leather Army boots "kicking" around. The first two pair I got about the day they were picking the last Americans off the roof in Saigon, April of 1975. The second two pair from when I went to Bosnia about 1995. And I've one pair of Labonville metal toe logger boots bought in 2009.

All my leather boots I try to clean regulary and annually do a saddle soap rubdown maybe with some Sno-Pruf.

But now I can't find Sno-Pruf and I'm low on saddle soap so I thought I'd ask the TBN "borg" what's the best treatment to protect leather boots?

Reading up on Obenauf it seems pretty good, also Sno-Seal.

But what do y'all recommend?

 

[Looking4new]

I use liquid silicone. I scoop (liberate) about a pint of it every year or so from the company I work for.

 

[3930dave]

Pretty much any long running boot oil product will help.

Snow Proof is what I've been using for about the last 10 years:

Snow Proof Weatherproofing Paste - Shop for Leather Care Products :: Shop for Shoe Polish :: Fiebing\\\\'s Horse & Leather Care Products

I use a hair dryer to melt it once applied.

Rgds, D.

 

[sixdogs]

Because my boots don't get wet and I rotate two pairs, I just saddle soap and heavily wax with regular shoe polish every few months. The boots in the very first post of this thread are mine and are now about 10 years old and finally letting go. But they still look good. If I were to regularly get them wet, one of the oils would be what I would use.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

King Ranch Leather Conditioner... On Danner Boots.

 

[sixdogs]

King Ranch Leather Conditioner... On Danner Boots.

Do oils like this darken the leather a lot? Does it cause more dirt to be attracted to the leather? Get gummy in any way?