Taking Care of Rugged Boots for Fall

(This is part two. To read part one on Obenauf's LP and leather protection in general, see this post.)

Just finished polishing off my boots with a hearty helping of Obenauf’s LP. My can arrived over the weekend, and as per the the sites I linked to, I left them wrapped in a plastic bag all day to absorb whatever heat they could (it’s amazing how fast that hot summer went away). I also put the sack in my car trunk for some added insulation. The idea is to warm up the leather to better absorb the leather preservative. Working the stuff in with your hands has the same effect.

Here you can see a before and after shot of my boots. The pair on the right has had an LP treatment, the pair on the left hasn't. The boots have benefited greatly from some liberal application of leather conditioner since last winter, but I'm afraid the effect of the Obenauf's was a bit lackluster at first. That's no knock on Obenauf's though, as these boots have seen years of hard use with little to no protective care. The leather was so dry and cracked initially, I was concerned whether the LP would have any effect. But the boots clearly look better, even if you can't tell in the picture, and at the least the LP will protect them from the elements this winter. I will probably give them another one or two treatments to see if I can't restore these things to their former glory. It's a work in progress.

I also gave my Sperry Topsider loafers an application of LP as well. They were in fair enough condition before treatment, but I figured the LP wouldn't hurt, and again protecting the leather is always a nice benefit. 

I worked on my shoes around 5:30 pm, and by writing this closer to 8:30, both the Sperrys (or is it Sperries?) and the boots have darkened in color. The boots are now a nice rich brown, while the loafers are more of a burnished brown, much like the color of a cigar. The color adds a nice character to both pairs, and I'm excited to see what they look like after a night of drying. All in all, I think this was a good investment, and a nice way to kill 30 minutes before dinner.

Side note - I included this picture to show how little of the LP I actually needed/used. I'm not sure how this compares to other users, but for me it was more than enough for a liberal application to my boots, and a standard application (at least in my mind) to the loafers. This jar of LP should last awhile (so again, a good value).

Thanks for reading,

MD