How to take care of quality leather shoes?

Fallbrook Forge

Fallbrook Forge

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Jan 1, 2006
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My Wife has a pair of Danskos Leather clogs she uses for work, she is an ICU nurse.

The leather is dark brown, and she wants them waterproofed, well actuall everything proof, blood, saline, water, alcholol, and bodily fluids. And is there a way to keep the leather from getting scuffed?

thanks in advance
 
I've had very good luck with Bick4 leather conditioner for all my boots, as well as saddles, belts and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. It won't discolor the leather and keeps it in great shape. May not have the best water resistance compared to some other stuff, but it does pretty good without being greasy or changing the color of the leather.
 
Judge Smails: Oh Porterhouse, look at the wax build up on these shoes I want that wax stripped off there, then I want them creamed and buffed with a fine chamois, and I want them now. Chop chop.

Smoke Porterhouse: Yes judge, right away judge.

Caddyshack (1980)
 
Nothing will keep leather from being scuffed but it can be well kept. I was in the military and during summer months I ran the rappelling tower at Ft Knox for ROTC cadets. My boots would get scuffed during the day but would look like mirrors the next, just took daily maintenance and lots of shoe polish. Now you don't have to make her clogs look like mirror like I did my Cochran's but 5 minutes a day with polish and a shoe shine brush with an occasional application of saddle soap will both keep them looking nice and waterproof, shoe polish is nothing more than a form of wax after all and wax does repel water. If she rams them hard enough into a fixed object to damage the leather there isn't much you can do. Leather will scar but the appearance of damage can be minimized again with polish and a bad scuff can be redyed if needed.
 
you left out the alchohol, which is to clean them after all the other stuff, she is an ICU nurse after all.

A question about the polish, she doesn't want them shiny so will using less polish or less buffing keep them from getting shiny?
 
Mink Oil has worked extremely well for me on my work boots and my hunting boots (full grain, brown leather). Handy trick I learned was to heat the leather with a blow dryer just enough for the mink oil to soak right in. After it all cools (a few minutes later) reapply and wipe off the excess. Lasts a long time anf fluids just bead up and roll off.

On my Dr. Martins I just use regular black shoe polish as they are like a patent (sp?) leather. Works well but doesnt last very long.
 
hmm, I think I read somewhere that mink oil is outdated and the stuff people use to cure leather now doesn't benefit from it.
 
I like the protection sno seal offers---and it lasts a long time. However, it sometimes changes the color of some of my leather boots/shoes. Furthermore, if you get aggressive with it (especially heating the leather to absorb more), your leather footwear will no longer breathe very well.

DancesWithKnives
 
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