Wehrmacht Field Boots

[bytown]

I just purchased a pair of very dirty field boots.

Mud, dirt etc. been lying around for years.

Once I have all of the dirt and mud off the boots I'm going to try and restore them. I will remove the dirt by using warm water and a soft cloth or sponge.

Before for I try and polish the boots is there some type of leather treatment I can apply to bring the leather back? No doubt it's very dry.

There are no cracks or breaks in the leather.

Any advice is appreciated.

Wayne

[Napalm]

Bring them over to your local shoe repairer guy and he can tell you immediately your best course of action. Without seeing them I would be very careful with them as applying anything to them could be harmful. Where do you keep them? in a balanced tempratured envoirment? etc:...Good luck...

[bytown]

Keep them in the house.

More or less 20C all year round.

Thanks for the reply.

Wayne

[Paul R.]

From a conservators point of view. I would not directly apply a lot of water to clean off any dirt or grime. Instead brush off, or use a dry soft rag. Get as much excess dirt off this way first.
I would use a mix of rubbing alcohol and water in a 50% water 50% rubbing alcohol. You want to remove the water from the leather quickly especially on old leather you don’t want water stay on the old leather to long.
I would conduct a WAF site search to draw your own conclusions as to whether you want to treat your leather. This has been a heated topic for quite awhile. It’s best to draw your own conclusions.
Watch your humidity levels in the storage area. Both high humidity and low humidity can cause major damage to all items. Not just leather items.

[bytown]

Thanks Paul.

Wayne

[bytown]

I thought I should update this thread.

I received the boots about a month ago.

They were very dirty with the accumulation of 60+ years of dirt on the leather.

I went to my local shoemaker who recommended a number of products.

I first used a dry cleaner that evaporated as you cleaned the leather.

Next a black stain boot polish of the cream type to put the colour back.

A leather softening cream.

Finally Saddle Soap.

I have continued to apply the softening cream and polish the boots with a good boot polish like Kiwi.

The results were amazing.

Wayne

[Meisenhelter]

Nice Job

[Peacemillion]

You know, I like the before look more...

They oose character, uncleaned.

I dont mean to step on your toes here. You did do a good job cleaning them, thats for sure. I just like em better the other way.

Regards,
Stijn

[borodinenko]

superb job. leaving them as they were, they would have eventually deteriorated more, so good job

[bytown]

Originally Posted by Peacemillion

You know, I like the before look more...

They oose character, uncleaned.

I dont mean to step on your toes here. You did do a good job cleaning them, thats for sure. I just like em better the other way.

Regards,
Stijn

I can see your point.

If I had a mannequin depicting a combat soldier in full gear they would be perfect.

Wayne