Club Obi Wan

I have a pair of LL Bean Gore-tex Cresta hikers. I have the Pecards boot oil, standard dresssing, and silicone dressing. I thought that the boot oil or standard dressing would be best, but the labels say not to treat with products containing wax, but to use silicone products. They say that the wax will reduce the breathability of the leather/gore-tex. Is this right?

Sorry about the OT question, but I thought this would be a good place to ask.
Thanks.

Sounds right. Follow their directions is my advice. Once you've applied the Pecards and the wax DOES cause what they SAY it does, it's to late to back up and fix it. Regards. Michaelson

Yeah, I have gore-tex boots and jackets (used to be an avid backpacker). You have to be really careful on blocking the breathability feature of gore-tex products. The patented membrane technology allows water to be blocked, but air to pass through. The best stuff I have found to waterproof your gore-tex boots is NIKWAX TX direct spray on. Your local camping store should have it or something similar.

Just my .02...
-Sergei

Does the Pecards boot oil have wax in it? I have some Gore Tex boots that I put some Pecards boot oil on once, just a very light application. Since they appeared to be oil tanned leather I thought this would be the best choice. They did not come with any warning against using an oil type product. I also have the Pecards silicone spray that I could use if it would be better for the boots. What do people mean when they say that if you use the boot oil, it is what you will be using from then on. The salesman suggested using a silicone spray, but then he hadn't heard of Pecards, either. Can I use Pecards spray on these boots now, or would it react badly with the boot oil. Also, the boot oil turned the boots slightly darker as I just swiped on a small amount, but in a day or two they were back to their original color. I went to the Gore-Tex website and found the following info:

WATER REPELLENT TREATMENT
Follow footwear manufacturer's instructions for treatment of external fabric and leather. Treatments will not affect the GORE-TEX® liner.

Pecards Leather Dressing and Boot Oil *does* contain wax. This won't cause gore-tex a problem as long as you don't apply Pecards onto the gore-tex. Just use the dressing or oil on the leather portions of the boot and you won't have to worry about clogging up anything. Pecards won't transfer to the gore-tex lining in the boot. You wouldn't believe how many people apply Pecards to things other than leather.

Eric, I've told them it makes a GREAT moustache wax, but they won't listen! High regards. Michaelson

Well, let me ask this as far as the statement that if you start using oil, you are stuck with using oil. Do other products react badly if you have previously used oil? My boots are an oil tanned leather but the tongue is suede. I was going to use the oil on the leather and the silicone spray on the tongue. I even thought of also using the spray on the leather of the boot. I was going to use oil this time, and next time use the spray. Then maybe just alternate products. Maybe, I would decide that I liked one of them better that the other.

Here is another rule of thumb or thumbs:

You can use an oil-based dressing or oil on any unsealed leather. Unsealed would mean that the leather doesn't have a micro-thin coating of plastic over it. Very hard to tell but 99.9% of leather jackets and boots don't have it but a good 50% of new furniture and auto upholstery does.

You should only use silicone based products on dry-tanned leathers. Examples are suedes, nu-bucks, rough-outs. Here is the kicker though...you can switch over a dry-tanned leather to oil tanned by using an oil based conditioner on it! It will give the leather a darker color and mat down the fibers but it won't harm the leather at all. Most people bought the leather for its looks though so they want to keep it looking the same as when they bought it. Once you convert over to oil based you can't *ever* use the silicone based conditioner again since it will be repelled by the oil now present in the leather.

You can use water based conditioners on sealed leathers and unsealed leathers. Doesn't last as long as the oil based conditioners but it doesn't change the color or feel of the leather.

Pecards oil-based conditioners:
Leather Dressing
Shoe/Boot Oil

Silicone conditioners:
Pump Spray
Silicone liquid

Water-based:
Leather Lotion
High-Gloss Lotion Spray

I hope this helps!

Loco

Since the leather dressing and shoe/boot oil contain the same stuff, what would be the advangated/disadvantages of using one or the other on boots/shoes?

I personally like using the Dressing over the Oil simply because I can't over apply the Dressing. The leather will only absorb as much as it needs. With the Oil you can over-saturate the leather and every time you flex it some oil will be squeezed out. Then again, some people swear by the oil because they can apply it easily every day by swiping a cloth with the oil on over the leather. Farmers who work in the barn every day and get their boots repeatedly wet like to replace the lost oils.

Loco,

Good to see you back.