Waterproofing Leather

[TickleStick]

Got some Baffin boots on there way to my house, wondering if you guys waterproof the leather upper with something....Sno seal maybe?

[Hawg Harness]

Use mink oil, buy at any good shoe store. Work it into leather with cloth, softens and waterproofs.

[Unclegillhunter]

Use mink oil, buy at any good shoe store. Work it into leather with cloth, softens and waterproofs.

X2
Keep it safe! JDL

[slipperybob]

I do this

Soft leather...mink oil
Hard Leather...snow seal.

[Jeffrey]

X-2 snow seal. I've got boots older than some of the folks on this forum 😏

[North]

When your wife isn't home, put your boots in the oven on the lowest temp you can get for a few minutes, just to warm up the  leather a bit...  when they are good and warm wipe on the sno seal...  the warm leather soaks up the sno seal like crazy!  You can repeat the process once or twice...  Works like a champ!

[Jkoht]

Is it SnoSeal or SnowSeal? Either way use that and a hairdryer to warm up the leather. Two or three coats and you'll be golden.

[darkeyez]

When your wife isn't home, put your boots in the oven on the lowest temp you can get for a few minutes, just to warm up the  leather a bit...  when they are good and warm wipe on the sno seal...  the warm leather soaks up the sno seal like crazy!  You can repeat the process once or twice...  Works like a champ!

As quoted, get the leather warm first, then apply sno seal for best results. I have used it for years on leather hunting boots, and just recently picked up another can of it at a local Ace hardware that carried it.

[429421Cowboy]

A note about putting boots/leather in the oven from a guy that does a bit of leather working...
Be careful when you do this, and only put your boots in once the oven is up to temp (as low as it will go) because a lot of ovens have wild temp swings when getting up to temp. IE 500 degrees full bore until up to temp, then it backs off as soon as its up to temp. Heat is one of the biggest killers of leather, and I'd rather not fry mine. I put my boots on a boot drier to warm them up, not sure I'd trust a $500 pair of Whites or Nicks in an oven that costs the same. But I do put knife sheaths and such in there to dry carefully after wet forming, but only after the oven is warm, I know from experience that a lot of ovens will cook your leather before the are up to temp.

On the subject of treating leather, I only use Obenaufs now, because it treats and rehydrates leather without rotting it out like a lot of things like Neatsfoot or mink oils. That's what I use on my Whites wildland firefighting boots, and what I use on the leather uppers of my Schnees. I don't like my leather to get all soft and rotted out by oil, because that destroys the support and also lets the stitching pull out or rot through. If you do a little research you'll find that things like mink oil and neatsfoot are actually worse for leather than anything.

[slipperybob]

Is it SnoSeal or SnowSeal? Either way use that and a hairdryer to warm up the leather. Two or three coats and you'll be golden.

Yes, there's no W

 

but there's a snow flake on the package

[tswoboda]

A note about putting boots/leather in the oven from a guy that does a bit of leather working...
Be careful when you do this, and only put your boots in once the oven is up to temp (as low as it will go) because a lot of ovens have wild temp swings when getting up to temp. IE 500 degrees full bore until up to temp, then it backs off as soon as its up to temp. Heat is one of the biggest killers of leather, and I'd rather not fry mine. I put my boots on a boot drier to warm them up, not sure I'd trust a $500 pair of Whites or Nicks in an oven that costs the same. But I do put knife sheaths and such in there to dry carefully after wet forming, but only after the oven is warm, I know from experience that a lot of ovens will cook your leather before the are up to temp.

On the subject of treating leather, I only use Obenaufs now, because it treats and rehydrates leather without rotting it out like a lot of things like Neatsfoot or mink oils. That's what I use on my Whites wildland firefighting boots, and what I use on the leather uppers of my Schnees. I don't like my leather to get all soft and rotted out by oil, because that destroys the support and also lets the stitching pull out or rot through. If you do a little research you'll find that things like mink oil and neatsfoot are actually worse for leather than anything.

Thoughts or experience with Snoseal?  Another a beeswax based product that seems more readily available and cheaper than Obenaufs.  I don't have expensive leather products like you so I've been using Snoseal quite a few years now on my leather gloves and boots.  Other than needing heat for application I really like it, but I'm curious what your take is on it since you seem really knowledgeable on leather care products.

[lynng]

Another vote for Obenauf’s. I changed from mink oil several years ago. It’s great stuff.

[RStock521]

Obenauf’s here as well. I apply it then gently heat it with a heat gun, being very careful to not get it too hot.  Just hot enough to kind of melt the product and rub it in pretty well.

[dogfish]

Sno-seal
Mink oil is great stuff for leather but over time it will eat away cotton stitching (one of those laws of organic chemistry - like dissolves like) so unless you are sure your boots have some sort of poly stitching holding them together beware of mink oil.

[icefishman]

Sno Seal here

[buzzbomb]

Dubbin or goose grease.

[flagup!]

 Yes stay away from animal fat products.... animal fats will rot the string.... mink oil etc.  Sno seal is good and all the other stuff made from beeswax.

[429421Cowboy]

Thoughts or experience with Snoseal?  Another a beeswax based product that seems more readily available and cheaper than Obenaufs.  I don't have expensive leather products like you so I've been using Snoseal quite a few years now on my leather gloves and boots.  Other than needing heat for application I really like it, but I'm curious what your take is on it since you seem really knowledgeable on leather care products.

Snoseal is great stuff too, I used to use it before I got a local source of Obenaufs. It also doesn't harm leather like the oils do, only reason I like OB's better is because its a little easier to work with (softer and soaks in easier). But Snoseal is a good bit cheaper and a good jelly. I do my hiking boots once a month with a double dressing of Ob's in the summer working in the Great Basin/desert Southwest doing natural resource work and firefighting in Mt since they are all leather. I usually get 3 years or so out of a set before they need resoled and have to go back to Whites. A lot of guys I know won't take the time to care for their gear and it shows in how long it lasts. My winter boots I do a few times a season because the wet from snow and ice actually sucks the moisture out of them, and before I store them for the summer. I use Ob's on my saddles, tack/holsters/etc...
You're on the right track with the beeswax based stuff, as others after me said any animal fat based product will eventually kill leather and stitching.
I like to use my leather gloves to apply Snoseal or Ob's to boots, two birds with one stone!
An interesting side note: neatsfoot oil is animal fat based because it comes from the boiled down shin bones of cows, because that fat is thinner viscosity than their internal or back fat. (How many cow shin bones does it take to make a gallon of oil???)

WHEW! I wish I had as much room for icefishing knowledge as I apparently do for useless information!

[fishercat]

SNO SEAL aka the original Bees wax waterproofing gets my vote. With previous mentioned hair dryer.

[missoulafish]

Obenaufs.
And an oven is great way to void a warranty.

[TickleStick]

I have a heat gun I will use.

I will see if I can find any Obenaufs locally.