Happy with my new Alden's color at last!

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 10:44 am

I've only had my 405's for about a month. I wore them with out doing anything to them for about three weeks to break them in. They broke in VERY fast. This past weekend (actually starting Thursday) I started coating them with Pecard's Brown Polish Weatherproof Dressing. I applied this to them about four times, then did one round with Meltonian Dark brown, then a final Pecard's. They may not be perfectly colored, but I am quite happy with the results! Plus, I am now psyched to go splashing through puddles and mud....bwaaahaaaahaaaa......

.............Bruce

Hemingway Jones · Post by **Hemingway Jones** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 10:51 am

Pictures..?

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 2:24 pm

Hemingway Jones wrote:Pictures..?

I will try to get on it this evening........

...........Bruce

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:09 am

Here are the pictures of my Aldens in their current condition. What do you think?

http://www.speakeasy.org/~bcleader/aldens1.jpg
http://www.speakeasy.org/~bcleader/Aldens2.jpg
http://www.speakeasy.org/~bcleader/Aldens3.jpg

..........Bruce

ShanghaiJack · Post by **ShanghaiJack** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:21 am

They're lookin' pretty good Bclead! Now you just need to wear the heck out of them! On a side note, how waterproof are your boots after you treated them with the pecards? I have treated mine with pecards several times, but it just doesn't seem to waterproof them hardly at all. I'd love to hear your results.

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 1:57 pm

ShanghaiJack wrote:They're lookin' pretty good Bclead! Now you just need to wear the heck out of them! On a side note, how waterproof are your boots after you treated them with the pecards? I have treated mine with pecards several times, but it just doesn't seem to waterproof them hardly at all. I'd love to hear your results.

Hey ShanghaiJack:

I really have not had a chance to really give them a soaking, so I don't know.....but winter with it's crudy, slushy conditions is coming soon, so I'll get back to you when they've really been throught the ringer!

.........Bruce

Post by **Dalexs** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 5:26 pm

Hey bclead,

Nice looking shoes... but ShanghaiJack is right, WAY too clean looking!

And have great caution wearing them in NE winter weather, Aldens boots with smooth soles + snow/ice/slush= VERY DANGEROUS!

Post by **Ken** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 8:52 pm

Dalexs wrote:Aldens boots with smooth soles + snow/ice/slush= VERY DANGEROUS!

I lost count of the number of times I have almost ended up on my rear end because of my Aldens!

Ken

ob1al · Post by **ob1al** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 8:57 pm

Yeah, too true...

My Aldens are currently 'on ice' (no pun intended), with a healthy dose of standard Pecards in my closet.

The colour on my Aldens is a very dark brown - this was achieved with many coats of Kiwi brown and weekly Pecards, plus daily wear for a year. The boots still look great and even after a year of wear (notwithstanding snowy days) don't need a resole just yet.

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 10:09 am

Hey once I get them back in working order (see my post http://www.indygear.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10504 ) I'll just slap some crampons on and be good to go

! Actually, I would not be so naive, but I will be extra cautious in the foul weather - like perhaps wearing something more approprtiate like, say, my Iditarod boots

! Truly, though, thanks for the reminder. Knowing myself, I would probably have landed on my backside several times before that particular lesson sank in (shows you where my brains are!).

........Bruce

Hemingway Jones · Post by **Hemingway Jones** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 10:25 am

I think they look great. Great job!
I don't have Alden's, but I think, if I did, I would go and have Vibram bottoms put on them. Smooth bottoms are just too impractical. I don't even have smooth bottoms on my wing-tips for work!
I would also polish them and do my best to keep them polished. The boots I have now (LL Bean) polish really well and they scuff very easily. I polish them about three times per week and each time I do, I alternate between cordovan, brown, and tan, so they look very deep and interesting with the different polishes.
Personall, I am far too fastidious to walk around with scuffed shoes, so my footware will never be screen accurate!

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 12:31 pm

ShanghaiJack wrote:They're lookin' pretty good Bclead! Now you just need to wear the heck out of them! On a side note, how waterproof are your boots after you treated them with the pecards? I have treated mine with pecards several times, but it just doesn't seem to waterproof them hardly at all. I'd love to hear your results.

Well Jack.....here's the skinny. Yesterday was WAY rainy and wet, and I wore my Aldens all day, making a point to splash through every puddle I could find. I had approximately ZERO leaks! I must qualify this by saying that 1.) I had Vibram soles with a wee bit of traction put on the forefeet, and 2.) I did not stand in any one puddle for more than a couple of minutes while looking at a construction job. So, all in all not a bad outing!!

..................Bruce

ShanghaiJack · Post by **ShanghaiJack** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 12:54 pm

Hmm

, perhaps I am not letting the pecards set long enough to fully absorb, or maybe I am rubbing too much off when I polish the boots after the pecards has soaked in. Mine have definitely not fared well in rainy weather. I did, however, polish them with some nice shoe polish I found, so maybe that will help to keep the water out. Thanks for the info Bruce.

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:45 pm

Hey Jack:

I have now worn these babies through water, slush and mud, and I have not gotten a drop inside - They are awesome (and/or Pecard's is awesome). I did want to mention again that I had a slightly lugged Vibram sole put on the forefoot, and I really put doused the Pecard's on the topstitching around the sole. Good luck!

.......Bruce

ShanghaiJack · Post by **ShanghaiJack** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:17 pm

Thanks Bruce. Isn't it funny how it never rains when you want it too.

I haven't been able to test out my Aldens now that I have polished them, so I don't know if it has helped or not. I guess I could always put them on and go stand in the shower, as long as my wife doesn't catch me I should be fine! Maybe I'll go ahead and pecards them once more, but I am getting pretty tired of that. I've already given them three coats on different occasions and they're as waterproof as a sieve!

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 3:25 pm

ShanghaiJack wrote:Thanks Bruce. Isn't it funny how it never rains when you want it too. I haven't been able to test out my Aldens now that I have polished them, so I don't know if it has helped or not. I guess I could always put them on and go stand in the shower, as long as my wife doesn't catch me I should be fine! Maybe I'll go ahead and pecards them once more, but I am getting pretty tired of that. I've already given them three coats on different occasions and they're as waterproof as a sieve!

Hey Jack:

Did you put vibram soles (or something like) on the forefoot? I wonder whether that made all the difference with my 405's, because it covers over the stitching - maybe I'm wrong, but I wonder..........

.......Bruce

Post by **Michaelson** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 3:29 pm

I believe it had to. My 405's can leak like a sieve when I step into deep a puddle, and it comes in around the stitching of the sole of the shoe itself. I can see where your Vibram soles would not only raise the boot higher off the ground (if even by just a little), and just the material itself is water resistant. Regards. Michaelson

ShanghaiJack · Post by **ShanghaiJack** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 10:19 pm

Nope. No vibram on my Aldens, just the standard soles, but I'm thinking I might have to do something about that. How much did it cost to have the vibram soles put on your Aldens Bruce? Could you post some pics showing the place on the boot where the vibram sole covers the stitches on the boots? I'm haveing a hard time visualizing that. Thanks.

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:25 pm

ShanghaiJack wrote:Nope. No vibram on my Aldens, just the standard soles, but I'm thinking I might have to do something about that. How much did it cost to have the vibram soles put on your Aldens Bruce? Could you post some pics showing the place on the boot where the vibram sole covers the stitches on the boots? I'm haveing a hard time visualizing that. Thanks.

Hey Jack:

It cost me $30.00 to have the Vibram Soles put on. There are several different tread patterns that the cobbler had. I went for a bit more aggresive pattern for better traction (as you can see in the pictures). The following are two pictures of my Aldens with the Vibram soles.

http://www.speakeasy.net/~bcleader/alden4.jpg
http://www.speakeasy.net/~bcleader/alden5.jpg

...............Bruce

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:26 am

Jack:

I put the pictures of the Aldens with the Vibram Soles in the post above.

.......Bruce

ShanghaiJack · Post by **ShanghaiJack** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:37 am

Thanks Bruce. Those soles look pretty nice. I might have to get some for my Aldens too. From the photos it looks like the vibram soles were just placed on top of the standard Aldens soles. Is that correct, or is it just the way the boot looks in the photo?

I guess the stitches that were being covered were the ones on the bottom of the boots? I didn't even realize there were stitches on the bottom of the boots!

How many times did you pecards your boots and how long did you let the pecards sit before you wiped off the excess?

Thanks for the helpful info. If i hurry up I can get my boots resoled before the icey weather gets here.

bclead · Post by **bclead** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:58 am

ShanghaiJack wrote:Thanks Bruce. Those soles look pretty nice. I might have to get some for my Aldens too. From the photos it looks like the vibram soles were just placed on top of the standard Aldens soles. Is that correct, or is it just the way the boot looks in the photo?

I guess the stitches that were being covered were the ones on the bottom of the boots? I didn't even realize there were stitches on the bottom of the boots!

How many times did you pecards your boots and how long did you let the pecards sit before you wiped off the excess?

Thanks for the helpful info. If i hurry up I can get my boots resoled before the icey weather gets here.

No problem Jack!

The Vibram sole is adhered onto the existing standard Alden sole - it's a great process. I had it done on a pair of my son's R.M. Williams boots, and they have worked great also.

As for Pecards, I have put four coats on. The first three I let them sit for a bit under 24 hours each time. The last coat I put on and only let it sit for an hour (probably should have waited longer.....). Anyway, I still have not had any leaking (crossing my fingers!). Good luck.

...........Bruce

Post by **Michaelson** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:03 am

I will admit, I DID bring up the possibility of having Vibram soles installed on my Aldens the last time I was in at my shoemakers having them re-heeled, and he was absolutely HORRIFIED I was thinking about replacing a perfectly good pair of soles with another pair, even if they WERE different. Needless to say, he is of the 'old school', and believes if 'it ain't broke (or in this case worn out), don't fix it!'

I left well enough alone.

Regards. Michaelson