I found a fantastic leather water proof recipe in an old outdoor hunting book from the late 1800's.
You mix equal parts of beeswax and neatsfoot oil. I happened to have some beeswax and I got the neatsfoot oil from the Fleet and Farm store.
I melt the wax first so that I can measure it accurately. Then, you mix in the neatsfoot oil and heat until they melt together.
After the mixture cools, it is the consistancy of petrolium jelly.
You apply it to the leather with your fingers and then use a hair dryer to warm up the mixture on the leather until it melts and is absorbed.
It makes leather boots shed water like a duck's feather. It is absolutely incredible how well it works. Unlike silicon based waterproof, it doesn't just wash off in a day. It lasts a long time. Also, there are no solvents that tend to attack the glues in the shoe and shoe sole like other waterproofing.
I don't know why this isn't more popular.
Of course, SnowSeal is similar, but they changed their recipe about ten years ago and it has not been the same since.
The above recipe is really good. It is also very good on leather saddles. Give it a try.
The BikeForums Team
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I found a fantastic leather water proof recipe in an old outdoor hunting book from the late 1800's.
....and then use a hair dryer to warm up the mixture...
Wonder what kind of hair dryers they used in the 19th century... :rolleyes:
Cool recipe though, I might just try it on my boots. I once had these really thick leather mittens (non insulated). Those were old and beaten, but really good in the wet and cold. Not very breathable though...
Bekologist
The last couple of years I've been 'supercharging' my Obenauf's, Snoseal or Proofhide by emulsifying in a little beeswax to add better 'hold' or 'set' or 'durability' to my winter waterproofing mix, it works very well.
Bikepacker67
Bee's Wax is the Bee's Knees!
Great to melt a bit and paint the underside of your Brooks with a nice layer for any water coming up from the road. Then Sno-Seal (which is also beeswax) on the top.
Bees Wax also makes up part of my chain lube recipe.
linux_author
- good recipe! it's also one of the reasons i like Sno-Seal™ (http://www.atsko.com/snoseal.html) on my Brooks...
(warranty be damned!)
:-)
squeakywheel
Wonder what kind of hair dryers they used in the 19th century
Probably the 300 lbs cast iron type. Either coal or wood fired.
mike
Wonder what kind of hair dryers they used in the 19th century... :rolleyes:
Cool recipe though, I might just try it on my boots. I once had these really thick leather mittens (non insulated). Those were old and beaten, but really good in the wet and cold. Not very breathable though...
Har har. Good one, j3ns.
Now to prove I have no sense of humor, let me respond seriously... The book said to put the boots near the fire or stove to warm the leather.
I remember when I was a kid, my Dad had an old can of stuff called "Bear Grease" that really stunk. I guess it must have been from the 1950's. He used it on his leather ski boots.
It seemed like the same kind of stuff except it was a little darker and it stunk a lot more as if it had some kind of pitch in it. It is pretty nostalgic now that I think of it.
The suggestion to put the waterproof on the bottom of the saddle is a good one. I do that too, usually just because I get carried away with doing stuff, but the suggestion that it would protect your saddle from water and mud being slung up from the tires makes good sense.
Bekologist
That old Bear Grease, they still make it, I just had my hands on a can of it at Wilderness Sports in Ishpeming over the holidays. that and Hubberd's (in the can like snoseal) were too greasy and pitchy for bike saddles....I tried Hubberds' for a while and its too greasy. The pitch smell of these were great though.
Snoseal has beeswax in it already, like linux alludes to above, and Obenauf's has both beeswax AND propolis (did I spell that right?) in it.
I still like adding a little beeswax and melting it all together. I'm riding and parking outside with a renewed "Brooks are just Ducky" anti-raincover pledge in Seattle this winter.
mike
That old Bear Grease, they still make it, I just had my hands on a can of it at Wilderness Sports in Ishpeming over the holidays. that and Hubberd's (in the can like snoseal) were too greasy and pitchy for bike saddles....I tried Hubberds' for a while and its too greasy. The pitch smell of these were great though.
Snoseal has beeswax in it already, like linux alludes to above, and Obenauf's has both beeswax AND propolis (did I spell that right?) in it.
I still like adding a little beeswax and melting it all together. I'm riding and parking outside with a renewed "Brooks are just Ducky" anti-raincover pledge in Seattle this winter.
Thanks, Bekologist. I will make a trip to Ispemig just to buy some of that old Bear Grease. I just want to smell it to remind me of my father and the great adventures he brought us on.
GreyGoat
you can find it online.. here for example:
http://workingperson.com/products/85_101/1/974/Leather_Cleaner:_Bear_Grease_Conditioner_and_Waterproofing.html
mike
you can find it online.. here for example:
http://workingperson.com/products/85_101/1/974/Leather_Cleaner:_Bear_Grease_Conditioner_and_Waterproofing.html
WOW! That IS nostalgic. Thanks, Greygoat.
GreyGoat
the stuff is great.. and the smell is too.. I have a tub I have had for over 25years... it's almost gone now.. guess I'll be in the market for some more soon..
SteveFox
Bees Wax also makes up part of my chain lube recipe.
Whats your chain lube recipie?
and where does a person go to get neatsfoot oil? ive never even heard of it..sounds like somthing out of a health food store.
steve
mike
where does a person go to get neatsfoot oil? ive never even heard of it..sounds like somthing out of a health food store.
steve
Steve:
Neatsfoot oil USED TO BE made from boiling the oil out of horse hooves. Now, there is a synthetic substitute which is a lot cheaper. You can get it at a lot of hardware stores - especially stores that cater to farmers like Fleet and Farm.
fruitless
there used to be something called "beeseal plus" that was my favorite before leather climbing boots went the way of the dodo bird, I haven't seen it for years and now I use "nikwax". My grandpa used hubbards shoe grease but I don't think it was meant for most modern finished shoe leather. The coolest stuff I ever found was this ancient old tin of Austrian ski boot wax, really thick heavy stuff, I used to use it on my ski gloves back when I lived in the land of mid-station rain (BC).
GreyGoat
Whats your chain lube recipie?
and where does a person go to get neatsfoot oil? ive never even heard of it..sounds like somthing out of a health food store.
steve
also I think most sporting goods stores carry it as it is used to break in baseball gloves...