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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on December 15, 2010 at 7:19pm

1. How do I take care of my shoes or boots?

Clean leather with a conditioner/cleaner. Clean Cordura nylon with detergent and water.

Treat waterproof leather with a silicone product only. Treat smooth leather with a quality shoe polish, then buff. Full grain leather can first be treated with a boot oil or silicone before applying the polish.

Allow footwear to dry slowly at room temperature only, never by a heat source.

Keep the insides of the footwear dry and clean with powders and disinfectant sprays. Consider a second pair. This allows the one to dry out thoroughly while the other pair is being worn.

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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on December 15, 2010 at 7:24pm

This was takin from Nicks Boots Site.

First, get through the 80-100 hours with the alcohol and water break-in, then grease your boots with the only product we recommend - Obenauf's LP Leather Preservative, which Nicks private labels under Nicks name. Leather needs to breathe, and Obenauf's (Nicks) Heavy Duty LP Grease and the LP Boot Oil will keep the boot from becoming crusty, mildewed, or foul smelling. Obenauf's (Nicks) is a mixture of beeswax and propolis which provides a high level of protection to the leather, keeping it soft and supple, while resisting water and chemicals.

Regular Boot Maintenance and Care educational information

One of the biggest obstacles to getting long life on your footwear is knowing and understanding the proper care that is needed for your footwear.

Nicks provides the below information in the belief that if we can help you to properly care for and extend the life of your footwear (investment)... you may purchase our products and footwear and may even tell a friend. Making a sale is relatively easy, creating a customer is not. Thank you for shopping at Nicks.

Always treat leather, naturally. It is skin, with fibers and pores that requires proper natural lubrication and needs to breathe. We wear leather because it breathes and we stay comfortable. Never seal it off. When pores are sealed it cannot breath and you will sweat like when you wear rubber. Sealed leather is uncomfortable, stinks and body acids, bacteria and salt rot it from the inside out.

The key to extending the useful life of your leather is restoring it with the proper oils. But, not all natural oils are proper. Unfortunately, many products claiming to be conditioners or preservatives are not. They contain harmful chemicals, animal fats, mink oil, petroleum, pine tar, or alcohol to soften or waterproof leather. They soften by weakening or decomposing the fibers and they waterproof by sealing the pores. They are low priced but definitely not economical when you consider the damage done to the fibers, stitching and glues. They actually shorten the useful life of your leather. They also give no consideration to dry rot, mold, mildew, bacteria, chemicals, salt (sweat), water, cracking, heat, and loss of proper oils.

DRY WEATHER RUINS LEATHER
Leather is damaged more by dryness, loss of oils, than by water. True, water washes leather oils out fast and it dries stiff and hard, but not often are you getting your boots soaking, dripping wet. But leather oils also dissipate everyday when it is dry, even when not being used. Like your skin, it simply dries out. Wind, warm air (floorboard heaters) dust, chemicals, mud and normal wear (flexing) increase the rate of oil loss.

Dry fibers scuff easily, wear against each other, get brittle, and break prematurely causing cracks in your leather. Dry leather cuts stitching and is prone to dry rot.
SOLUTION: Do not let the fibers dry out. Keep them lubed with proper oils. Frequency depends on your usage, conditions, age and type of leather, environment you work in, etc. Get used to looking at your leather. If it appears dry and scuffing, it is past due. If it is going to get wet, oil it ahead of time.

Nicks leather preservative is the only industrial strength Leather Protection recommended and used by boot companies, hunters, firefighters, construction workers, loggers, horse and cattle ranchers, farmers and thousands of satisfied users. Natural oils are suspended in a Beeswax/Propolis formula. In the leather these oils gradually seep out of the Beeswax/Propolis as a time release lubrication restoring the fibers. If exposed to heat or constant flexing, the oils are released faster; so instead of getting parched, your leather gets oiled when and where it needs it most.
Propolis is a durable barrier against chemicals, and resists bacteria, most and mildew. It repels water better and longer than regular water repellents. It reinforces the surface against scuffing. Yet the leather still breathes.

In a nutshell... here are the basics for boot care....

Clean-When the leather feels dry or becomes muddy and/or dirty, scrub and wash it off with water and Saddle Soap, Ivory Liquid or Dawn. The dirt will draw out and remove the natural oils in the leather.


General Care - Approximately every six to eight weeks, grease your boots lightly. Increase, if in extreme weather and/or environment such as a very dirty environment.

Rub Nicks Heavy Duty LP Grease into damp or dry leather with your hands. It is natural and temperature sensitive so body temperature will melt it. Or, melt it first with a hair dryer or microwave for easier application. It will not separate. For maximum protection over a longer period impregnate leather with a double application of LP. Apply and go over with a hair dryer. Then do a second coating the same way.

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