I have had lingering questions about oil and leather for years. Some people say that the first thing you should do with a new belt or wallet is oil them up. Other people say to use mild soap and water on leather to remove oil. Which is correct? I oiled up my belt and it has been keeping my pants on for the last 6 years, so that's nice. Humans have some amount of oil on their skin and this contributes to breaking leather in, correct? Maybe leather will age differently with or without oil? I have some of this black rock leather restoration stuff that I used on a chair. Works pretty good and looks nice. I think it is mostly carnuba wax but I am not sure if it is meant to remove oil or keep it sealed. Any other things I should know about leather finishing or restoration?
I That wax is good. If you do nothing to leather it will dry out and then start cracking and before long it then becomes worthless. 2 good products you should use ate Lexol Leather conditioner or Fiebings Care; a 4-way leather conditioner. You can find these at Tractor supply and any place that sells horse tack. Tandy Leather also has these and others. One more thing I use if leather is exposed to the elements and on leather shoes and boots is mink oil.
My first lesson in fine leather care was in Ft Leonard Wood. I apparently did something to irritate a Drill Sgt. "Get movin or I'll stick my boot so far up your azz you'll be smellin Kiwi for a week"
Fond memories, Dad gave me a tin of Mink Oil with my final (adult sized) softball glove. I'd oil it, put the ball in the pocket and under my mattress and sleep on it frequently till I had the ultimate formed pocket nothing could get by me with that on my hand. Wow, hundreds of games with that glove, and I still have it til this day. Those memories remind me of softball dad tree killer I guess maybe I should get a new tin, my husbands belts crack along the holes he uses eventually.
I should tell about the boots I wear that crack. They are Georgia Giants Romeos. I will wear out a pair in about 2 years and then it's time for more but I recently put on some leather conditioner and then wore them some more even after I bought new ones! It didn't fix them to all get out, not really the point to anyways but dang did it help keep them from shrinking every day. Took probably about a week for it to really seep in and moisturize the leather. I still prefer them over my new ones.
I wore a pair of justins western boots on a regular basis for a few years. I wore out the soles. I still love those boots. I did oil them up at one point but I think I just used lard or vegetable oil. I also used plenty of polish and conditioner. Mink oil would probably have been better.
I know there are the leather oils, but what about if the boots are just old out in the dirt work boots nothing pretty about them and just rubbing in a splash of 10w30. Does that hurt leather and break it down quicker?
It won't do much for them and probably does more harm than good. Folks who work around oil a lot tend to buy new shoes quite often. Also can't be too good for the socks and I wouldn't like it against my skin either.
When I was real young, just into wearing work boots, Mink Oil was the product we had in the house. Haven’t thought of it in years Thanks!
