Saturday, February 23, 2013

DIY Leather Dressing

My leather work boots are almost three years old and are still in good condition and water resistant thanks to the leather dressing I put on every month or so. Winter weather sees me using a lot of this so I am making some today. I have tried several commercial products and find this homemade version at least as good and a lot less expensive. At least part of the reason this stuff is effective is because it is inexpensive so I slather it on thick and often. I make up a large batch once a year. I make two versions, one with and one without the neatsfoot oil. The version without neatsfoot oil gets a lot of use too. I rub it onto wooden spoons, and other unfinished wood items to help protect them.  I also use it to coat steel items that are prone to rust when not in use. I rub down the column and table on the drill press and the table saw table. A very thin coat is all that is required to keep them rust free. This is basically bees wax with enough mineral oil added to make an easy to apply paste. The exact ratio is not exact!. About half and half, if that is too stiff add more oil, if it's to thin add more wax! I put the mineral oil in a pan, let it heat up, and then stir in bees wax. You should use a double boiler for safety. For the boot dressing,  I do the same thing except after I have removed the mix from the heat and it has cooled enough to start thickening I add in a generous dollop of the neatsfoot oil. Again, no exact recipe here, I just dump in a half cup or so in a batch that is about two cups. My work shoes used to fall apart due to rotten thread at the top of the sole. This stuff soaks into the threads and water proofs them as well as sealing the leather to make it shed water. They are still leather though so if you use them for waders you are gonna get wet feet!

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