Finally I amassed the basic essentials to "restore" my decade old boots and shoes. My
Georgia boots leather has been pretty much bone dry and on the verge of cracking if I were to leave them as is. The
Timberlands would probably join their deceased brethren in shoes heaven.
My weapons of choice for this minor restoration project are soap and lotion. It seemed simple enough but I had to wait for 6 months before I got them in the mail. I cleaned the shoes with soap, let them dry and then applied the lotion. Structurally the shoes are fine so it's not exactly a restoration other than reconditioning the leather.
Fiebing's Glycerine Saddle Soap.
I gingerly opened the packaging paper box and cut opened the plastic wrap. And there was this pristine rectangular bar of soap, in all its translucent 7 oz. orange glory. I wet a piece of rag salvaged from a flannel bed sheet, rubbed it against the soap and then rubbed it against the shoes. The lather wasn't particularly rich in part I guess I didn't really work it. But I felt like it was good enough. The soap had a very pleasant clean smell that's similar to that of my shaving soap, probably both are glycerine based with no scent added. Even though it says no scent added but I still smell something clean. Maybe next time I can use this saddle soap to shave. Or maybe not. I did this soapy thing late at night and I left the shoes and boots dry overnight in the basement where it's nice and cool.
I thought soap would normally dry out the leather. But I guess the answer is it really depends on the type of soap. For glycerine soap, it actually restores the leather and makes it supple. Good stuff.
Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP
Once the shoes were dry, I applied a coat of this stuff to the leather. I read that it doesn't have any scent but holy moley I think it has some natural scent that is light and appealing, almost like honey if honey has a smell. Maybe not artificial scent but it definitely carries some pleasant honey like smell. My fingers were all smooth, water repellent and smelled fantastic after applying Obenauf's to the shoes. Yes, I used my bare hand to apply the Obenauf's, showing a lot of love to my old shoes. I may just apply another coat.
I love my shoes and they love me back (the same cannot be said in other relationships).
