how to preserve leather shoes or boots better.

[johnson1942]

as many of you know i like to pass on helpful hints frequently and receive the same from you. i learned this from a redwing shoe salesman many years ago and have been doing it since. spray you leather shoes or boots frequently with lemon pledge, let it soak in some and brush very well with a good horse hair shoe brush. ive done that for years and my leather shoes and cowboy boots last and last and always look good. they get softer and softer. lemon pledge is the same today as it was years ago.

[bullet maker 57]

Interesting tip. I will have to try it. Thanks

[Blackwater]

Wow! I can't help but wonder who discovered this. Did they just spill some on the shoes, and reap the reward? All too often, I'm afraid, we're sold stuff that's designed to limit the life expectancy of what we buy. That feeds our "throw away" mentality of today. In older times, folks tried to preserve what they had, and get all the use out of anything that they could. Now, folks buy stuff without any real need. Quite a change! No wonder we're not growing trees fast enough to compensate for what we're cutting down, and various other similar acts we do today! We're now (and have been for a while) looking at the trees in foreign islands, with an eye to harvesting them to make furniture and other wood products .... and of course paper. Remember when computers were supposed to produce a "paperless society?" Now, we have to have BOTH!

As Robt. Burns wrote so long ago now, "Ah but would th' gift to give us, to see ourselves as others see us!"

[lightman]

Never would have thought it. I'll remember this.

[jcwit]

Thanks a bunch for the tip, will get on it today with a couple of pairs of shoes that I really cherish!

[popper]

Be aware that Pledge can be water or solvent based.

[jonp]

People might or might not be interested but I leave a pair of leather boots at my hunting camp up north on the porch. -40 in winter and 85 in the summer or so with the camp all closed up. I always used mink oil and had good luck but a couple of years ago I started using Balistol on them to see if it would work. So far, so good but it will darken leather.

[nicholst55]

People might or might not be interested but I leave a pair of leather boots at my hunting camp up north on the porch. -40 in winter and 85 in the summer or so with the camp all closed up. I always used mink oil and had good luck but a couple of years ago I started using Balistol on them to see if it would work. So far, so good but it will darken leather.

Leather care was one of the original (ca. 1905) uses of Balistol. Gun care and people care were the other two primary uses!

[Tom W.]

I've melted beeswax and rubbedit into my boots. It worked well but was a PITA. I don't think I'll recommended it.

[54bore]

I use a home made concoction, small amount of beeswax, heavy bear grease (fat) and neatsfoot oil, keep an old stiff paint brush in the can, I learned this from my dad as a kid, he made the stuff and it would sit in an old coffee can under the edge of the woodstove. Working in the woods it's important to maintain your gear, a good pair of Wesco cork boots these days are 400 plus dollars

[William Yanda]

No longer have a wood stove, never had bear grease. Why does the lemon pledge work, silicone?
Bill

[jcwit]

Looked all over the house and wife had no Lemon Pledge.

So tried some Feed & Wax that I keep for other used. It took all the scuffs and marks right out of the leather and after waiting for it to dry/soak in overnight gave the pr. a poslish and they look as brand new.

Now have orders to dothe wifes leather shoes. Neither of us wear these sneakers or what ever you call them.

[dbarry1]

Wow - lemon pledge. I've always used mink oil - but I'll try it.

[GL49]

Yep, 54Bore is correct. The bear grease works great, get some if you can.

Warning: I have a buddy that says not to use bear grease unless you're fully aware of what might happen when you jump on an unsuspecting horse. If he's telling the truth, just mount up, but be prepared for the rodeo to start. Having had first-hand experience with this same horse when Mike and I tried to get it to pack out a deer for us, the above story may be true.

Lemon Pledge seems a bit safer, I wonder if it'll help waterproof a boot?

[dragon813gt]

I don't see lemon pledge helping repel water like mink oil does. Same goes for Ballistol. It's kind of a moot point w/ modern liners like Gore Tex. But every little bit helps when you're out in the elements.

[Bookworm]

I've been wearing Redwing boots for about 35 years, since 1982-ish. All that time, I have brushed the dirt & grit off, and painted the boots liberally with Redwing Boot Oil. Let dry overnight, wipe off the excess and go.

My boots last about 5 years, daily wear, except Sunday. What breaks down is not the leather, but the internals of the boot. It's impossible to find a good cobbler for repair work, as all the good ones are making 10 times the money making custom boots. At least around here they are.


Use whichever method you wish, to preserve your property. I see no reason to change what I'm doing. I dang sure ain't spraying aerosol furniture polish on my $200 boots.

[54bore]

Yep, 54Bore is correct. The bear grease works great, get some if you can.

Warning: I have a buddy that says not to use bear grease unless you're fully aware of what might happen when you jump on an unsuspecting horse. If he's telling the truth, just mount up, but be prepared for the rodeo to start. Having had first-hand experience with this same horse when Mike and I tried to get it to pack out a deer for us, the above story may be true.

Lemon Pledge seems a bit safer, I wonder if it'll help waterproof a boot?

LOL! Funny, but not. I have never thought about this til you mention it, horses have a tendency to go nuts over the smell of a bear. I dont own horses and i am never around them. Definitely something to think about

[GL49]

LOL! Funny, but not. I have never thought about this til you mention it, horses have a tendency to go nuts over the smell of a bear. I dont own horses and i am never around them. Definitely something to think about

That horse would allow two things on his back. (A)... a person, or (B)...a saddle. If you tried to put "C" on his back, or he's not sure that it's A or B, it ain't gonna happen. Mike and I hid in the trees until that horse got rid of that deer. Woweee. He didn't get the nickname "sonny" because of his disposition.

(Thread drift)

[gtrpickr]

I just might have to try lemon pledge on a pair of my boots and see how it does.

[Gewehr-Guy]

I've been using SNO SEAL for a few years, a good product. I think it's a beeswax base, with other ingredients to soften it. I just scrub off the cow stuff real good,put the boots on a piece of cardboard, and warm up in the oven. Then rub on Sno Seal till the leather won't take any more . Do this when wife isn't home.