Boot/ Shoe Care (Products, Methods, and Suggestions)

[JCMx800]

Rough-Out care is a pretty interesting topic. Is there a special brush for rough-outs? RW do offer one:

[mclaincausey]

Ah seems to be a strong accord while I was typing that last.

[mclaincausey]

RW had care instructions pimping the use of their LP for roughout, but otherwise sounded like most of the responses on this thread, certainly different than Nick's. I did ask viberg's opinion on the matter when I sent in my trace too.

[vintage_engineer_boots]

Bring life back to those worn soles.  All it takes is water and some canvas.  Dip your index finger in water and rub it along a small portion - about two to three inches at a time.  Let the water set for at least twenty seconds.  Using the canvas, quickly rub it back and forth over the treated area.  The friction will cause the area to darken back up and gives it a nice shine.

[Snowy]

Thanks for the tip, had no idea about that.

[Finn666]

this thread is going to be pretty badass if VEB keeps on sharing such useful informations
thanks a ton mate…

[superfuzz]

That's crazy! What kind of canvas do you use?

[vintage_engineer_boots]

I just use a heavy grade canvas from the local fabric shop (Joann's in SoCal).

[Simon]

Mink oil on my Vibergs, yes or no?

[simonc]

What's the goal here Simon?

[Simon]

I washed the dirt off and now the leather seems a little dry. I suppose my question should be: should I just leave them alone or treat them with something, if so what, my normal goto is Mink Oil?

[simonc]

You know, Simon I'm with you on the oil, I do it, I don't drown them it, just a light rub.  I heard someone whining somewhere that his boots were like drunks, they sucked up everything he threw at them and then they got hard and crispy after a while and died, I dunno, then some other dude reckons that the oil rots the stitching.  In short, I think oil on rag, wipe, admire.

[BrownIcon]

had a "Boot Call" last night__ 1st batch lined up & got what they wanted  …

... Lexol PH leather cleaner + Obenauf LP ... the Maltons will get the buff treat later on

[mclaincausey]

Just ordered Obenauf's water-based silicon spray to weatherproof my roughout Smokejumpers. I'll share my experience here.

[Finn666]

was about time to show my lone wolfs some love:

pre-loving pics

obenaufs lp

action shots

focussing on the job

post-loving

…so fecking happy with those boots

[Snowy]

Looks like they're loving you back already too :-*. Nice IHSH to boot. Perfect mate, perfect.

[peezlep]

As alluded to over on the Trickers thread, these beautiful old shoes seemed to have a dried out (?) sole and heal.  Hopefully you can see in the picture how the layers in the heal unit have started to come away from each other.

Has anyone else experienced this before?  I'm familiar with reconditioning the leather of a shoes upper, but is this possible with the sole and heal?

[Chris]

Once leather has dried to the point where it's started to crack, there's not much that can be done, other than replace it.  I'd recommend going to a reputable repair shop (you mentioned the Shoe Healer in your other post, and he is quite reputable) and seeing if the shoes can be resoled.

[peezlep]

Thanks for the input, the Shoe Healer has been contacted…

[beardo]

I came up with a system after watching my wife (then GF) wash her horse saddle the first time. After the application of saddle soap/water and a scrub with a fingernail cleaning brush, a dry in the sun, she applied this: (http://www.lexol.com/Product_leather_conditioner.aspx) I started using the same technique once a month on all my boots and it's doubled the lives of my daily Thorogood workboots.