Homemade Waterproofing for Boots- Easy & Natural
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- Опубліковано 7 тра 2015
- I was sick of my boots constantly getting soaked in the mud. None of the store bought waterproofing sprays worked for me, so I finally decided to make my own. This homemade waterproofing recipe worked so well that I want to share it with you.
A better recipe that I am using includes (1) beeswax; (2) a little lanolin; (3) turpentine and sometimes a drop or two of fabric dye (used on brown dress shoes). The whole is blended with a spoon after the wax has solubilized in the turpentine solvent. Occasionally, I add a bit of low melting point paraffin or carnauba wax to the suspension to create a harder surface after drying, but on work/hiking boots this is not necessary. Be aware that petrolatum jelly (mineral oil), while aiding in water repellency and solvency, is also "desiccating" to leather as it does not let the natural moisture of the humid foot environment keep the collagen strands of the leather supple. Leather, like our skin, needs not only water repellency, but also hydration to maintain the micro-architecture of the leather fibers and disulfide cross-bonding between protein molecules. Lanolin is ideal for both shielding leather fibers from excess water (and hence oxidation damage), but is also hygroscopic, allowing just the right amount of moisture in. Sometimes I use a hair dryer on LOW to marginally melt the waxes, allowing faster penetration. Caution must be used when doing this, as, should the heat be excessive, it can actually do damage.
I used the same kind of recipe with a little variation. insteed of Petroleum Jelly (in Germany also known as "Vaseline") I used pure pharmaceutical grade Lanolin. I also ended up with different amounts: I used 4 fl.oz. Lanolin, 2 fl.oz. of Bees Wax and 1 teaspoon of vanilla fraguent oil. Works really good during the cold and rainy seasons in Germany (and we have a lot of them).
Pre heat oven to lowest setting. Turn off oven. Insert boots. remove boots after about ten minutes one at a time to apply waterproofing mix. this opens the pores of the leather to allow deeper penetration of the mixture.
I used to pass this local beeswax goods store and i always thought "When in the world would I ever need beeswax!?" ...and now I have boots lol
Bees are so awesome.
i put wax on my boots it does not work for more than a day... you need something that repels water and soaks into leather... OIL in some form.
This recipe is perfect. I put my boots to the test today and im impressed. I used this method about a month ago and use my boots pretty hard. Today I was in the rain all day covered in mud, poultry poop, and water. These boots have been totally saturated on the outside all day and my feet are 100% dry, almost doesn't make any sense. Thank you for this water proofing method, 100% works!!
Heat, heat, heat is the key ! Really dry out the boots before you start and remove the laces so you can get right into all the crevices as boots often leak at the base of the tongue. Preheat the boot with a hairdryer, and keeping the dryer on, apply wax straight from the hot pot and spread it and keep applying till it stops soaking in and starts to remain a little wet on the surface everywhere. Keep the heat on and brush with a dry bristle shoe brush or paperhangers brush, Remove any excess with a canvas or cotton wad, burnishing hard. I use a 40/40/20% mix of Beeswax/Paraffin wax/Clear Mineral oil - totally waterproof and nice and flexible. - like the idea of essential oils - keep insects off and mask the smell of my feet ;<)
If you would remover shoelaces would do better job of waterproofing
Way to much effort man
Great recipes thanks, I used my product while still in liquid form, worked really well. It’s been three week now in snow and mud and it’s holding extremely well. Water and mud just runs of it and the boots stay shiny. Thanks again.
This is basically the same as I did when waterproofing my steel toe Caterpillar boots. I used and still use lots of Dubbin (I think also known as "saddle soap" which is basically same ingredients as your formula) and dark brown shoe polish. Only thing I would suggest is to first remove your boot laces when applying so that you can really get the formula everywhere needed. My boots are now 100% waterproof and water just falls off the leather.
A new manly cologne!!! You never know. I have done outdoor things for many years and your feet are one of the most important things to look after. Great video.
Bees wax toilet seal rings available anywhere toilet repair supplies are sold and cheap to buy. Use hairdryer to soak in waterproofing.
It also helps to heat the boots to open the pores in the leather. Great recipe.
As a budding beekeeper, this sounds like a fantastic idea, I always have these supplies on hand!
Just did this to my Timberland Earthkeepers, works amazing. Cooking it was fun and pretty self explanatory, and if you ever played baseball and had to break in a glove, working in the wax will pretty much be second nature. As you can see in the video there is some color darkening, but I like the color change. Anyway, awesome recipe.
You can use the extra beeswax to make spoon butter for your wooden spoons and other things like wooden cabinets and tools. 1/2 beexwax, and 1/2 olive, canola or another light oil from the kitchen. I use it on a lot of stuff!
Great project. Looking forward to seeing this cabin build.
Very nice video. I like where you put the side-by-side comparisons and before and after's