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orange guy

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It's that time of year, let's go over how to maintain your leather boots and shoes to last until your feet fall off.

Your leather footwear does not have an infinite shelf life. It requires conditioning in addition to stuff like heel and sole replacement. I'm gonna go over the easiest way to take care of them and ensure you get your money's worth out of those spency boots you bought.

Remember: Take care of your shoes, and they'll take care of you!

Tools you will need

Shoe brush (easy to find at any shoe repair place or online)

Applicator sponge (i prefer the things they use to apply car wax, look for "wax sponge"):

Lint-free cotton rag (polish rags are perfect of course, buy a few extra, having dry clean ones handy is important):

Conditioners to use

Depending on whether you get your boots wet or not, you should choose the appropriate conditioner. Whenever you apply conditioner to your boots they will darken until they dry. However, over repeated conditioning they will take on a darker tone.

This actually looks really nice, and adds character to the footwear that you only get from years of breaking in, but just be aware that this will happen. If you have particularly light leather you don't want this to happen to then you're just going to have to condition sparingly and polish more.

Mink oil (this waterproofs and conditions, use this for leather footwear you plan on getting wet. I actually use this even for stuff I don't plan on getting wet because I like what it does to leather over time):

Leather honey (this does not waterproof, and it is the only non-waterproofing conditioner I recommend so stick with this brand. You can also use it for any other leather item you own):

DO NOT use seals or sprays on leather

Waterproof sprays/seals can work for suede but never ever use it on leather. You will ruin your footwear over time. Leather needs to breathe and dry out when it absorbs sweat and moisture. Creating a waterproof seal is not what you want.

How to condition your footwear:

This is pretty straightforward and easy! Only condition dry, clean footwear. Let wet stuff dry AWAY from heat sources.

Use the shoe brush to brush off any dirt/dust so you're starting with a clean surface. Try to clean out any lint or grime that gets caught in crevices like where the tongue starts

Dab a bit of conditioner on the applicator sponge, like a dime-sized amount.

Put bits of the conditioner on the sponge in a few spots around the shoe by dabbing it on the toe, sides, back, etc. Doing this first will make it a more even application

Use the sponge to work in the conditioner to the shoe in circular motions. If you need more, add more to the sponge a tiny smidge at a time. Don't go overboard.

Once you have it mostly done, use your finger (wear gloves if you want) to work conditioner into the crevices the sponge can't reach. The areas around the tongue and the eyelets (for the laces) experience a lot of wear and stress and you do not want to dry those out!

Wipe any excess clumps off with a clean polish rag. Let dry for at least 6 hours

That's it! Same process if you waterproofed them or not. Simple as. And you just gave your trusty leather footwear a spa treatment they'll love you for.

How often do I do this?

The answer, unfortunately, is "as often as needed". Excessive conditioning is bad. So you need to condition based on frequency of wear and the weather. The more you wear your footwear in shitty conditions, the more often they'll need to be conditioned.

I usually condition everything at least once a year before winter kicks in. Then, it's a matter of just checking the footwear occasionally. Is it starting to feel a little rough and dried out? Then it's time to condition. Does it feel like soft, supple leather? Then it's fine.

Danger Zone

These are sins against leather shoes and boots that cannot be forgiven

NEVER DRY YOUR LEATHER WITH HEAT

Sticking your wet boots by the radiator or vent seems like a logical idea to dry them out faster, but prolonged exposure to heat like this ruins leather. Use a towel to dry any excess moisture, then ley them air dry at room temp.

NEVER LET YOUR LEATHER STAY SALTY

In some places they use rock salt/other salts to melt ice during the winter. So many times I've seen someone's salt-encrusted winter footwear and I've felt the pain those poor soles (ha) are feeling. Salt dries out leather! It's a drying agent!

If you get salty slush water on your boots or shoes, as soon as you get home mix up 1 part distilled white vinegar with 5 parts water. Use a paper towel to apply this solution to the affected parts. Then wipe down again with a damp towel with just water, and let dry. This neutralizes the salt and gets it off. Too high a concentration of vinegar is bad, though.

NEVER WEAR YOUR HEELS AND SOLES OUT

Check the bottoms of your footwear regularly. Are the treads faded? Does the heel look like a doorstop? Take em in to be repaired. And by repaired I mean soles and heels replaced. If you have a shoe place that just glues a new plastic sole over the existing sole, you no longer have a shoe place. Find a good cobbler, it's gonna take research. If you're in New York, I know a guy. Never going to anyone else until he croaks. I love you Cesar.

Shoot me an ask or reply if you have any questions!

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RM for dazed korea

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Ash x msity||pokeshipping||day3||Amv ~enjoy

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what do you think of kakashi

uhhhhh

kakashi is a character i try not to talk about because i know his fandom is rabid and way too big but let me do an exception because i have an exam in a few hours and i need to get distracted

anyways. kakashi’s character is like sakura to me in which i like the possible scenarios i can create with them because i find them funny or interesting but as a character alone i cant really find anything interesting to like. and just like with sakura kakashi is one of those characters that the fandom has completely changed from how they are in canon than most of the fan content about them is unappealing to me because its like seeing a whole different character. he also gets the itachi treatment where people see them being bootlickers and go Well he was traumatized as a child and brainwashed by the system and yes sure thats true but, hes not a kid anymore. he’s a grown man a little bit of retrospection wont hurt him and yet…

that being said i like the fanarts.

also i enjoy thinking of his dynamic w sasuke (my enjoyment of everything is only through things i can connect to sasuke) but in the way they are genuinely in canon like “oh here’s another adult figure that failed me” and “oh here’s a child i care for but all my care is useless because i keep projecting myself and my traumas into him” < which is very fucked up and not the dad-son dynamic people give them in fanon but whats new

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hello besties 🦆 time for salt hours

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Hi!! Can you do a panel color in your style? 🙏💖

sure! I'll do another one sometime ^^💕

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Uchiha fam things (mostly my au junk)

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3x3 sasuke looking at naruto 💓

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sasuke looking for naruto

at 12 at 32

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“don't talk about sasuke like he's yours”

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just sasuke being a little jealous

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it’s funny because naruto made it in canon

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because you are my one and only

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good memories, sasuke… good memories

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naruto's head summed up in sasuke

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sasuke doesn't look happy seeing naruto married, he doesn't know how to hide it