# Leather boot treatment formula??



## rhome

Howdy folks, Anyone here have a good homemade formula/recipe for waterproofing leather boots with lanolin/neatsfoot oil/parifin wax..etc etc.
I'd like to make a batch if someone has a good recipe.
Thanks,brewer


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## Spinner

I don't have any home made recipes, but here's a few things I've tried that worked well. I've used plain old mink oil with excellent results, but mink oil is expensive so it's a rare treat for the leather at my place. Bear grease is good, but hard to come by.  I usually use a bottle of stuff that's made for baseball mitts. DS found an old dried out glove and it brought it back to life with that stuff. I figured if it works that good on leather ball gloves it shoud work on leather boots. I'm glad I tried it cause it made my old boots like new again.


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## rhome

Hmmm, mink oil... never tried that product,
but in the "way back" when I groomed and trained standard bred race horses I used Murpheys Oil Soap and neatsfoot oil for the leather harness.
Just trying to keep this comfy pair of boots alive for a few more years.
Thanks and good luck.rhome


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## missysid

Dh uses Mink oil and gets it at an amish boot store about 2 hours from here. Price is good in my opinion $6 for a bottle that last about 2 years. He has to wear leather work boots for work and treats them often. I LOVE going over to amish country!


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## diamondtim

I've used a product called Hubbard's Shoe Grease, my dad was a telephone lineman and swore by it.

Cabin Fever uses a product called Nor-V-Gen Boot Oil and says it is the best.

No homemade recipe that I know of. :shrug:


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## elkhound

bee oil and beeswax.....no mink oil or any animal product for leather....the leather will last longer.


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## wogglebug

DO NOT use lanoline - it rots leather. Likewise, don't use mineral oil.

Beeswax and tallow is good. Mutton tallow is good, beef fat or lard will do if you can't get the good stuff. You can use methylated spirits as a carrier with the wax and fat, or neats-foot oil. Once you've used tallow or fat the leather will be supple and waterproof, but it will never take a shine again.

You can get this pre-packaged. The product is called dubbin. Marvellous for work boots.


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## Ohio Rusty

I like either Bear leather dressing or Pecards leather dressing. Museum curators prefer Pecards over all the others as it does a good job of protecting and preserving leather, whether new or old. For wet/winter weather I like Sno-Seal. Pecards works as a waterproofer also.
Ohio Rusty ><>
Psalms 27:1-3/Psalms 91:9-11 (AMP)


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## diamondtim

I found the following by doing a Google search:

" I found a fantastic leather water proof recipe in an old outdoor hunting book from the late 1800's.

You mix equal parts of beeswax and neatsfoot oil. I happened to have some beeswax and I got the neatsfoot oil from the Fleet and Farm store.

I melt the wax first so that I can measure it accurately. Then, you mix in the neatsfoot oil and heat until they melt together.

After the mixture cools, it is the consistancy of petrolium jelly.

You apply it to the leather with your fingers and then use a hair dryer to warm up the mixture on the leather until it melts and is absorbed.

It makes leather boots shed water like a duck's feather. It is absolutely incredible how well it works. Unlike silicon based waterproof, it doesn't just wash off in a day. It lasts a long time. Also, there are no solvents that tend to attack the glues in the shoe and shoe sole like other waterproofing.

I don't know why this isn't more popular.

Of course, SnowSeal is similar, but they changed their recipe about ten years ago and it has not been the same since.

The above recipe is really good. It is also very good on leather saddles. Give it a try."

This was found in a bicyclist forum. YMMV


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## rhome

diamondtim, thanks I'll give that formula a try...and thanks everyone for your suggestions.


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## meancoyote

ive allways used plain mink oil, plan to keep using it.


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## whiterock

I had a friend that was a wildlife biologist, he grew up hunting in the depression and swore by rendered raccoon fat as a treatment for boots.
Ed


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## diamondtim

diamondtim said:


> I found the following by doing a Google search:
> 
> " I found a fantastic leather water proof recipe in an old outdoor hunting book from the late 1800's.
> 
> You mix equal parts of beeswax and neatsfoot oil. I happened to have some beeswax and I got the neatsfoot oil from the Fleet and Farm store.
> 
> I melt the wax first so that I can measure it accurately. Then, you mix in the neatsfoot oil and heat until they melt together.
> 
> After the mixture cools, it is the consistancy of petrolium jelly.
> 
> You apply it to the leather with your fingers and then use a hair dryer to warm up the mixture on the leather until it melts and is absorbed.
> 
> It makes leather boots shed water like a duck's feather. It is absolutely incredible how well it works. Unlike silicon based waterproof, it doesn't just wash off in a day. It lasts a long time. Also, there are no solvents that tend to attack the glues in the shoe and shoe sole like other waterproofing.
> 
> I don't know why this isn't more popular.
> 
> Of course, SnowSeal is similar, but they changed their recipe about ten years ago and it has not been the same since.
> 
> The above recipe is really good. It is also very good on leather saddles. Give it a try."
> 
> This was found in a bicyclist forum. YMMV


I'm wondering if old candle wax, which I believe is paraffin, would work in place of the beeswax? Any ideas? :help:


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## Spinner

Leather needs to breath. Any kind of wax will seal it and cause it to become stiff and crack. The secret to preserving leather is to keep it moistened with a good oil, without sealing it from breathing.


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## wogglebug

diamondtim said:


> I'm wondering if old candle wax, which I believe is paraffin, would work in place of the beeswax? Any ideas? :help:


I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't chance it. Paraffin wax is a mineral-oil product, and mineral oil isn't kind to leather.


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## WIPPdriver

When I worked in the oilfield a few years ago, all the roughnecks, pulling unit crews, roustabouts, truck drivers, etc. always used motor oil to soften, waterproof their boots. Everyone wore Redwings, Georgia, Wolverines steel toed boots. We would tromp through brine water, acid, gell water, etc. and the motor oiled boots just kept going. I would get 2 to 2 1/2 years use out of a pair of boots. Everyone didn't baby their boots but worked them HARD. Anyway thats my 2 cents worth.

Marlin


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## diamondtim

wogglebug said:


> I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't chance it. Paraffin wax is a mineral-oil product, and mineral oil isn't kind to leather.


Thanks! Just wondering.


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## cougargnw

Find a product called "Sno Seal", its bees wax and works awesome.


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