It's wet weather again!

Normally I use dubbin to waterproof my leather boots. But dubbin leaves
a sticky gunky layer and it takes days to be fully absorbed.

Are there any modern, nicer-to-use compounds than dubbin which I can put
on boot leather that will PROPERLY waterproof them?

The boots are for general/leisure use.

Thanks.
Bill




PS - I don't mean anything like a Scotchguard Protector spray because
that seems to provide only a low level of waterproofing.

In article , Bill
wrote:

It's wet weather again!

Normally I use dubbin to waterproof my leather boots. But dubbin leaves
a sticky gunky layer and it takes days to be fully absorbed.

Are there any modern, nicer-to-use compounds than dubbin which I can put
on boot leather that will PROPERLY waterproof them?

Yes. It's based on beeswax & is called Sno-Seal. Get if from an outdoor
shop. If they don't have it go to another shop. My cousin Alice uses it
on her chaps and boots when herding cattle in Wyoming and (her present
job) tracking cougars through the snow in the Rockies in Colorado.

Lazarus Cooke

Bill wrote:
It's wet weather again!

Normally I use dubbin to waterproof my leather boots. But dubbin leaves
a sticky gunky layer and it takes days to be fully absorbed.

And IIRC it tends to rot stitching over time as well.

Are there any modern, nicer-to-use compounds than dubbin which I can put
on boot leather that will PROPERLY waterproof them?

Try Nikwax's leather waterproofing wax: easier to use and a much nicer
smell!. Though as with dubbin, you can still get wet feet in a pair of
treated boots unless you use an incredibly thick coat, in which case the
leather won't breathe and you've lost a lot of the point in using
leather. At this point invest in some decent wellies...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Following up to Bill :

It's wet weather again!

Normally I use dubbin to waterproof my leather boots. But dubbin leaves
a sticky gunky layer and it takes days to be fully absorbed.

Are there any modern, nicer-to-use compounds than dubbin which I can put
on boot leather that will PROPERLY waterproof them?

The boots are for general/leisure use.


Nikwax or if that's too thick, try Nikoil.

--
Tim C.

Bill wrote:
It's wet weather again!

Normally I use dubbin to waterproof my leather boots. But dubbin
leaves a sticky gunky layer and it takes days to be fully absorbed.

Are there any modern, nicer-to-use compounds than dubbin which I can
put on boot leather that will PROPERLY waterproof them?

LARD!

The message
from Peter Clinch contains these words:

Though as with dubbin, you can still get wet feet in a pair of
treated boots unless you use an incredibly thick coat, in which case the
leather won't breathe and you've lost a lot of the point in using
leather. At this point invest in some decent wellies...

Sorry, just don't agree. Modern boot technology has moved on a lot
and you don't need to spend a fortune on boots to have completely dry
feet all day long in any weather. My current, Puratex-lined leather
boots are 3 yrs old, get a lot of hard wear and are still completely
rain, puddle and sweatproof. I can walk or work in them all day in
complete comfort...dry feet at the end of it. I dubbin them with Gelert
dubbin (12 hours in a warm spot, then wipe off any visible surplus left)
about once a month, stitching still perfect. In between dubbinings, they
occasionally get a brushing to remove mud and salts. They cost £45 quid
in a builder/hardware merchants. Outdoor sports shops charge two or
three times as much for very inferior boots (they leak, the leather
tears on rock shards, stitching and lace-grips fail, etc).

Wearing wellies all day long will invariably end up with sweat-soggy
socks even in dry weather, and much tireder feet.

Janet.

"Bill" wrote in message
...
It's wet weather again!

Normally I use dubbin to waterproof my leather boots. But dubbin leaves
a sticky gunky layer and it takes days to be fully absorbed.

I've always used dubbin on my leather bike saddles. Both on top
and underneath. After being left on overnight in a dry place the
top polishes up a treat with no problems. The underneath can be
left as it is,

Carr and Day's Dales Dubbin is 45p a tin in Wilkinsons.

Alternatively you can but Brooks Proofide for around £4 a tin.

All the saddles are bought NOS (new old stock) on eBay as well. Natch.



michael adams

....


Thanks.
Bill

michael adams wrote:

I've always used dubbin on my leather bike saddles. Both on top
and underneath.

snip

Alternatively you can but Brooks Proofide for around £4 a tin.

I use Proofide: much more benign to apply than dubbin. However, a
saddle has a rather different job to a boot, and on boots I use Nikwax.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

michael adams wrote:

And what exactly does benign mean ? Nicer advertisements ?

Both Proofide and dubbin are organic grease\wax, the only differnce
being the amount of solvent used in the formulation. One being
harder than the other.

No, more benign means one is harder than the other, which makes it much
less messy in use.

However, a saddle has a rather different job to a boot, and on
boots I use Nikwax.

The only substances which can be applied to leather for waterproofing
purposes are either greases\waxes or synthetics such as silicone or
acrylic co-polymers etc.

And? Nikwax is a wax. And a rather more benign one to apply than
dubbin IME.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peter Clinch" wrote in message
...

No, more benign means one is harder than the other,


Okey dokey.

"Benign" Frankie Fraser.

I get the picture.


michael adams



Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch wrote:

And? Nikwax is a wax. And a rather more benign one to apply than
dubbin IME.

And just as ineffective IME (we've been all through this before, Peter)!

I've rubbed several tins of Nikwax into my boots by now. Each time I get
them warm enough to absorb the wax until the boots are dark - and each
time I go out they're soaked through after a few hundred yards of
brushing against wet heather. I don't know what happens to the tins of
Nikwax - it can't have soaked in otherwise the boots would be oozing in
it by now!

Jim Ford

michael adams wrote:

Okey dokey.

"Benign" Frankie Fraser.

I get the picture.

Apply soft goop, sit on saddle, find need to clean trousers. Apply hard
goop, sit on saddle, goop still on saddle.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peter Clinch" wrote in message
...
michael adams wrote:

Okey dokey.

"Benign" Frankie Fraser.

I get the picture.

Apply soft goop, sit on saddle, find need to clean trousers. Apply hard
goop, sit on saddle, goop still on saddle.

One word, four letters, first letter "j".....oh never mind.

You don't have to polish Proofide then ?

It's self polishing ?


michael adams





Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

michael adams wrote:

You don't have to polish Proofide then ?
It's self polishing ?

It needs to be worked in, but not to anything like the same degree as
dubbin before the saddle's in a non-laundry generating state.

And I trust Brooks on this one, they've been making leather saddles for
a century or so...

Pe
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peter Clinch" wrote in message
...
michael adams wrote:

You don't have to polish Proofide then ?
It's self polishing ?

It needs to be worked in, but not to anything like the same degree as
dubbin before the saddle's in a non-laundry generating state.


....

So you get more all-round exercise. Arms as well as legs.
There's just no pleasing some people.

....


And I trust Brooks on this one, they've been making leather saddles for
a century or so...

....

You've never suffered a broken rail by the sounds of things then.

Ever since the 30's to judge from their old catalogues, Brooks have
always gone in for more bullsh*t than other makes like the French
Ideale, who were just as prestigious and used to be sold through
Ron Kitching. Or in the UK Lycett or Wright, not quite as prestigious
but just as serviceable and now all equally defunct. As would Brooks
be by now, if they hadn't been taken on as a fashion accessory
by the Italian Selle Royale.


michael adams

....


Pe
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/