Sno-Seal: The sacred ritual of winterizing your leather boots
Every winter I apply a good coat (actually about five coats) of Sno-Seal to my L.L. Bean boots and any other leather boots or shoes I'll be wearing in the wet conditions that are to ensue for the next 4-5 months. I even Sno-Seal certain pairs of my boat shoes, as long as the finish of the leather will absorb it. To give you an idea how well Sno-Seal works... recently I had to wade in my Bean boots (fully submerged in water, for a long time) and because I had properly sealed the leather, the submersion in water had almost no affect on the leather.
The recommended (actually, the only) method to apply Sno-Seal is the "oven" method...as follows:
1.) Make sure the boots are clean and dry. There must be no dirt, films, or other polishes on the boots and they must be completely dry in order for this to work.
2.) Remove the laces.
3.) Turn on your oven to its lowest setting. This is a critical step. Depending on your oven, "low" or "warm" may be really, really hot. You are going to be putting your boots in the oven to make the leather open up and better accept the Sno-Seal. You DO NOT want to burn the soles of the boots. Thus, you may have to turn the oven "ON" to get it warm, then turn it "OFF" and let the temperature come down a bit. It does not take much to get the leather warm
4.) Put the boots in the oven.
5.) When the boots are warm, remove one of them and leave the other in the oven.
6.) Apply a coat of Sno-Seal to the warm boot. Be liberal with your use of the Sno-Seal. It doesn't matter if it "chunks up" a bit around the eyelets or seams. That's actually what you want. If you're concerned that the Sno-Seal will darken the leather, it will. So either test it out first, or just suck it up and realize that you are permanently going to change the color of your boots for the better. A pair of properly Sno-Sealed boots is a thing of beauty. Love it.
7.) Put the Sno-Sealed boot back in the oven; remove the other boot from the oven and apply a coat of Sno-Seal (a la step 6). You will notice a pattern forming here. While you are coating the one boot with Sno-Seal, the other boot is being warmed and absorbing the coat you have just put on it.
8.) Repeat steps 6 & 7 ad nauseam. You will repeat this cycle until your hands are so coated in wax you can no longer use them, or your spouse or partner has threatened to call the nearest psychiatric hospital, or your boots have absorbed all the Sno-Seal you can put onto them and have developed a chestnut hue so rich and deep that if you stare into it too long you fear you may fall in. Which ever comes first.
9.) Remove both boots, wipe off any excess Sno-Seal, and allow to dry outside the oven. It is very important to remember that, as you near the end of this process, you need to stop applying new Sno-Seal, and should just concentrate instead on wiping away the excess and wiping it into the boots. You will notice that the eyelets "weep" a bit [photo], this is because they catch extra Sno-Seal and it melts down onto the leather. You should try to eliminate this as much as possible, although in some circles the drip stain under the eyelets is a sign of pride. Depends whom you ask.
10.) Turn off your oven. This is a critical and often-overlooked step especially when one has indulged in adult beverages which often accompany the Sno-Sealing process.
11.) Don't forget the laces. If your boots have leather laces, you will want to do the same process with the laces. Again, be liberal with the Sno-Seal and do as many coats as necessary until the laces become supple. Personally, I put a lot of Sno-Seal on leather laces, like the ones on boat shoes, so they develop a really waxy feel that lasts over time. This will extend the life of leather laces, too, as they tend to get dry and snap off otherwise.
If done properly, this process will yield boots and shoes that are not only protected from wet weather, but beautifully darkened and supple in a way that no other product on the market -- in my opinion -- can produce. If your boots were worth paying hard-earned money for, they are worth taking care of properly. Sno-Sealed properly, the boots will stand up to whatever abuse you can put them to in a season and if anything wears out on the boots, it will be the soles long before the leather.
Comments