Hard, dry leather

[Spokerider]

Got a pair of calk boots with hard dry leather. Looks like the owner never treated the leather. so it's pretty stiff and dry. What is a good product to apply to bring back the suppleness and oils into the leather? I have a couple coats of Hubbards boot grease on so far.............how about neetsfoot oil? Or?

[Ddog]

i dont know if the neetsfoot oil will work now that the bootgrease is on, the neetsfoot oil should soak in and penetrate.

[boxhitch]

Hubbards is a good product but a heavy layer laying on top won't penetrate much.
You'll have to apply liberal amounts of elbow grease to work it in, pushing it into the leather . the heat of friction helps too.
With all the rubbing , heat and manipulation they can be brought back.
Unless the leather is dry and rotten to the point of cracking , then you'll just wind up with oily rotten leather.

[Spy]

I use Dubbin, layer it on thick with a toothbrush, then use a hair dryer to melt it in.

[Cedar Cowgirl]

Coach-O-Line comes in a 1/2 pint paint type can. It's available at most tack stores, heat the boots in the oven, slather it on. Waterproofs, preserves and softens and won't rot stitching

[boxhitch]

You mean Ko-cho-line . Good stuff

[eastkoot]

Once you apply what you decide on, Ko-cho-line or...put them in the oven on a very low temp so it soaks in..Watch them carefully while in the oven!!

[keoke]

And when the wife comes home tell her you lost all your savings in bad investments and she is having roast boot for dinner.

[MFERGIE]

Red Wing Shoes leather paste, warm the boots up with a hairdryer and apply, I use it on all old and new leather....works great!

[RiverOtter]

Neets foot oil is a good softener, though short of the tongue area, it is almost too much of a good thing for regular use.

On my Viberg Caulks, I've used Hubbard's, Loggers Wax Oil, Nik-Wax, Sno-Seal and now Mink Oil. I find the MO hangs around a lot longer, so it is all I use now. Surplus Herpies had a shit tonne of it on sale for $3/jar and I hoarded accordingly....... :-D

[BromBones]

Bear fat. Turns to liquid at room temp and dry leather will slurp it up. Dont have to work it in, just paste it on and it will penetrate by itself.

Dont go overboard though, it can soften leather too much.

[Scuba_Dave]

I think Kiwi Shoe Products has something for dry leather. It will probably be a treatment that you have to leave over night to let it soak into the leather though.

[Scuba_Dave]

And yes...Its Mink Oil. Dont know how long you have to leave it on but it should do the trick real nice. Then afterwards your leather should be fairly waterproof as well :)

[Salty]

I had some leather roping gloves that I had gotten soaking wet and then misplaced them in the basement. When i found them they were as hard as the back of god's head, could hardly get them on they were so stiff. I was going to throw them out but spotted an old tin of Neetsfoot oil on the shelf and decided to give it a try first. I used it liberally and worked in like I was washing my hands, reapplying more goop a couple times. Wow, worked like a charm brought them right back to like new. Worth a try.

[Spokerider]

I had some leather roping gloves that I had gotten soaking wet and then misplaced them in the basement. When i found them they were as hard as the back of god's head, could hardly get them on they were so stiff. I was going to throw them out but spotted an old tin of Neetsfoot oil on the shelf and decided to give it a try first. I used it liberally and worked in like I was washing my hands, reapplying more goop a couple times. Wow, worked like a charm brought them right back to like new. Worth a try. That's what the boot leather was like.......hard and stiff, but not cracked. The guy must have put them away wet in his basement. Anyway, I put the rest of the Hubbards grease on, and slathered neetsfoot oil on the inside of the leather. It soaked it up like a sponge. They are 90 percent better now. Have some Ko-cho-line on order. It's good stuff I recall, as I had used it a long time ago on an old leather Harley seat.

[Salty]

Right on Spoke, def worth saving a good pair of leather corks. There's a couple good saw shops up here that carry high end boots. I lust after the high top Vibergs, but at 7 bills a pop my wallet hasn't popped out yet. lol If I worked in the bush though that's what I'd have fo sho.