Leather Care

Ratdog68

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Having done some leather work over the years, I enjoy learning more... and, have taken an interest in educating myself more in the "ok, now what do I do with it after making it" part. I'm amazed (at times) of what is often considered "high end" leather goods, once you see how things are constructed and what materials are often used.

Growing up, dad and I polished our shoes Saturday night, so they were presentable for church on Sunday. That was Kiwi and a brush. And, we didn't know about shoe trees... and had we known, those were luxuries for rich folk.

In my 20's, I learned that a better "spit shine" was achieved with Lincoln Paste Wax. But, hadn't yet learned about conditioners and creams.

Over the years, one learns more and more about the care of leather goods when you choose not to the $10 Wal Mart sneakers every few months routine.

So, for you young bucks, who've realized that the landfills are growing from all these $10 sneakers and are discovering the benefit of quality leather footgear which can be recrafted... and, no one ever taught you how to care for things...

NEW/FINE FULL GRAIN LEATHER

As in: dress shoes/boots, holsters, mag holders, wallets, etc. These goods can sit for months/years in a middle man's warehouse while waiting to be sold to a consumer. In that time, the leather will dry out. Leather needs conditioners and natural oils to remain supple and pliable. When it dries out, it's prone to cracking and soaking up moisture from the air/rain, etc. For smaller items in which you want them to look their best, yet not be greasy to the touch, I'm finding myself to've become a big fan of Saphir Renovateur as a conditioner (fine dress shoe care products), and their shoe cream for additional feeding/care, and in some cases, their wax products as well. This stuff isn't cheap, $20-$28 a jar (about an ounce), but tiny amounts is all that's needed, rubbed in with the finger tips. The conditioner and creams begin to melt from body heat on your finger.

Larger items, and areas/things which I'm a little less finicky about, like work boots, interior of holsters, slings, sheaths, jackets, even automotive upholstery... I really like a conditioner called "Bick 4". It's more in the range of a $1/ounce, does not leave an oily/waxy finish and does not darken most leather it's used on. It's just a GOOD creamy conditioner. A couple of shoe cobblers turned me on to this stuff.

Work boots, sheaths, slings, etc., products that I want to hold up to the weather, once conditioned, I've been a huge fan of Obenauf's HD (either liquid, or paste form), to provide an oil finish/protection for those goods. This is the go-to stuff for guys like smoke jumpers and such. The natural oils/waxes just plain work to keep the outdoor leather supple and protected.

HEAVY USE LEATHER

Things like work boots, which get loaded up with dirt/grime, etc. I think we all know how well saddle soap is for cleaning. For build up of waxes and such, I've come to like another Saphir product called Reno Mat. This stuff is just rubbed in by hand with an old towel to collect the old wax and finishes being scrubbed away before starting fresh with the conditioner and oil/wax products you like/use.

Acetone can be used for stripping it back down to the bare leather, removing even the factory finish on shoes, etc. This will considerably lighten the leather and dry it out. But, so long as the leather isn't cracking, conditioner/dye/creams and whatever else you use on those products will feed/nourish the leather.

I have a pair of Thorogood work boots that were all gunked up with layers of Obenauf's and sawdust. I had a time getting those well used boots back to being presentable again. I must say, having a pair of good (cedar) shoe trees while doing all that work on them helped a BUNCH in bringing them back into shape (literally). The moisture of cleaning/conditioning/drying while those were inside, made a huge difference.

SUEDE

Saphir makes a spray version of the Renovateur (conditioner) and a spray waterproofing that I'm a big fan of. They also offer a liquid shampoo product for suede and nubuck leather. Of course, the old stand-by suede brush is a must. Again, the Saphir products are NOT cheap, but, they work. My suede boots shed water very nicely after using these products. They also offer a spray which has a little pigment in it too, for colored suede products. Everything I have, I've just opted for the neutral version.

HOW-TO VIDEO

A really good cobbler has bunches of YouTube videos on how he brings back shoes/boots/bags/jackets, etc., which most people would opt to toss. His channel is "Bedos Leatherworks".

For the Saphir products, I mostly learned from a guy who's channel is "The Elegant Oxford" (YouTube). He does some amazing stuff with bringing back neglected shoes. Another cobbler channel I've enjoyed is "Trenton and Heath", as well as "Brian the Bootmaker" (again, YouTube).
 

lonepunman

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Excellent post, and a reminder to use that downtime when I'm involuntarily involved in jointly watching TV...

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Ratdog68

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Yeah, I've killed one jar of the Renovateur, and am at least 1/3 of the way through a 16oz. bottle of the Bick 4. I use a lot of that Obenauf's Leather Oil on my outdoor leather gear. It's got bees wax and propolis as part of the ingredients.

"Verdigris" is the term for what I was describing in the other thread... where the brass turns green and begins to fuse to the leather.
 
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