I am looking to waterproof a pair of boots, shoes, and gloves.
I have heard of a weird method involving melting beeswax and spreading it with a cloth? how would such leather be conditioned afterwards…?
I have the product “Kiwi Camp Dry Heavy Duty Water Repellent” – would it work for this purpose?
Mink oil works great.
You should try to match the waterproofing the to method of tanning the leather. They are not all the same. Contact the manufacturer and they will tell you what they recommend.
If you can’t do that, there are several general purpose sealants out there. Sno Seal used to be the go to brand, but there are better products on the market these days that are more breathable and won’t make your feet sweat as much. I wouldn’t use Sno Seal on gloves.
Read and follow this; The guide to waterproofing your work boots - Workbootcritic.com
My preferred method is to use Lexol cleaner first, then Lexol conditioner, then finish up with two coats of Obenauf’s leather preservative. The Obenauf’s has beeswax in it. It’s time consuming but the results are great.
That’s good. Also SNO-SEAL.
Really though, leather is not going to be water PROF. Not meant to be.
Treating leather with this type of stuff is not magic. There are trade-offs involved - breathability goes down is the main one. Also, as far as I’m aware, the treatments are not permanent - you do need to keep re-applying.
100% real bear grease as the only ingredient.
Also needs reapplication.
The stinky smell means you are
a real bad ass.
But stinks to high heaven. I usually use Neatsfoot Oil in circumstances where I don’t want to use something super-heavy.
Neatsfoot oil - great stuff for conditioning leather