WESCO-MRLOU-BLK - Wesco® - 10" Horsehide Pull-On "Mister Lou" Engineer Boot - Black

[goosehd]

As to kiwi boot polish, look for a neutral if you want the boots to show the patina of wear and tear. Black if you want to re darken them, or parade black for a mirror finish.

Just so you know that the mirror finish is a ton of work with multiple thin layers applied and buffed. The down side is that the leather doesn’t breathe as well.

[Ross]

@goosehd i've only done the parade ground shine one time, never again!

[Oaktavia]

I definitely want to keep the faded to brown and patina look with these, that took a lot of walking around to achieve. I will go for neutral finish or might use the Saphir cream again, which I used last time. I'll focus on the conditioning this weekend and go from there. @Ross I will nudge you when the boots are ready for the next step. Tomorrow is boot day.

[Tago Mago]

@Ross love the comprehensive answer. Excellent!

[Tago Mago]

@Ross the mirror shine is reserved for my „business“ shoes, i.e. a nice pair of oxfords or balmoral boots. I‘ve had good results with Saphir, but whatever is used it will be a pain

[goosehd]

@Tago-Mago The best thing for me ever, was when I was able to afford Cordovan Leather as it makes the mirror shine so much easier. Starting out with good leather is so much nicer than my military issued boots.

[Oaktavia]

Before photos above. I have brushed them with vigor and applied the Obenauf's leather oil. They immediately became supple and soft which I did not expect. Drying out now and will see tomorrow or later today if they need another round.

Edit: after photos below. The first photo is of one boot done next to one yet to be oiled. The rest are both oiled and supple.

Still some character showing though but I do already miss what was once there. I had a lot going on with these boots. But I know it's all still there and once the oil evaporates, I'll see it again.

Edit 2: Now that the boots have sat under skylights in the sun, they feel amazing. Buttery soft and smooth, much different than how rigid they once were. I didn't think they could get this soft so I am blown away. Supple is the word for how the leather feels. I can still see the brown shining through too where the black coating has worn off.

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia Epic.

[Davids_denim]

@Oaktavia beautiful work with these.

[pechelman]

Don't neglect that leather sole either. If you have some of the hd obenaufs hit that with a bit too.

Everytime I use obenaufs I find the boots breathe less good for a week and then seem to improve as the leather lightens back to its previous color and get some of its shine back.

Looking good though!

[Oaktavia]

Thanks guys, now I'm onto my brown CXL pair.

@pechelman I don't have any of that stuff at the moment but I see what you mean.

[pechelman]

The regular oil will do the trick too or really anything

[Oaktavia]

@pechelman yes afterwards I went ahead and did, figuring it would do the trick.

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia How did it go with your boots?

[Oaktavia]

@seawolf I ended up oiling both pairs again but only the bottom parts of them. They both drank up the oil quite a bit and ended up looking nearly the same as they did before treatment. Especially the black pair. I coated them again yesterday and wore the black ones today.

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia Well, now you know they're conditioned for sure. How does the leather feel?

[nrtphotos]

I’ve barely worn mine over the last year, the instep is really tight. Not sure how much I can expect them to break in

[Oaktavia]

@seawolf it feels quenched yet not oversaturated. I think I gave them just enough. The upper part of the boot above the larger buckle is amazingly soft and supple. Much different than before.

[seawolf]

@nrtphotos In my experience with Wesco engineer boots, that's a feature, not a bug. The boot stays on your foot because of how it fits around your instep. It'll loosen up a bit as you break them in. One thing you can do in the meantime is remove the insole until they're soft enough to not bother your instep any more. Once they're nice and soft, put the insole back in and you should be good to go.

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia That sounds ideal! Nicely done. Now you'll know for next time.