Waxing boots - wax the rubber rand or not?

[Switch]

Hello all,

I can't seem to find anything on this. Meindl recommend using their sportwax on their boots however I can't see any mention of the rubber rand. After what I saw had happened to the rubber rand on my yeti gaiters recently (badly degraded with large cracks) when I pulled them out of the attic I'm anxious to avoid that happening to the rubber rand on my boots either through neglect or a product being used on them which might degrade the rubber.

If you were waxing boots would it help or be harmful to the rubber rand to be waxed with something like meindl/grangers wax?

Thanks,

Gordon

 

[baggins]

it depends on what is in the wax you use. I can't image modern waxes causing too many problems to the rubber rands but i only ever wax up tight to the rubber, no point in wasting good wax.

 

[John Fenna]

I just slap it all over ... it is hard to stop some liquid waxes from dribbling down the rubber anyway...
With my drysuit I started using a product to stop the seals from perishing but the seals failed anyway.
I find that, like with bike tyres, the best way to stop rubber perishing is to use it regularly, tryres, seals, boots et al - use of any "product" on them seems to have no noticeable effect, good or bad.

 

[Macaroon]

Get some silicone lubricant, don't spray onto boots but onto a cloth and then rub this liberally into the rubber before you wax the leather; wax on the rubber will stop the silicone getting into the rubber and you don't want the
silicone on the leather, either.

 

[Switch]

With my drysuit I started using a product to stop the seals from perishing but the seals failed anyway.
I find that, like with bike tyres, the best way to stop rubber perishing is to use it regularly, tryres, seals, boots et al - use of any "product" on them seems to have no noticeable effect, good or bad.

Thanks. You could well be right with use being the key factor. My yetis had been fine right up until this particular winter of neglect in the attic.

Get some silicone lubricant, don't spray onto boots but onto a cloth and then rub this liberally into the rubber before you wax the leather; wax on the rubber will stop the silicone getting into the rubber and you don't want the
silicone on the leather, either.

Cheers. I'll give that a try.

Thanks for the responses.

Gordon

 

[Janne]

Depends on what kind of rubber it is. Latex or synthetic?
I had a pair of Bally shoes, those with a Latex sole and a zip in the back. Made from a chamois looking leather.
The water proofing I used damaged the latex. Woided the warranty.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Just an interesting bit of info for you don't know if it's helpful.

During Army training we were issued the infamous "British High leg DMS" they were known for not being comfortable and soldiers tried all sorts of whacky ideas to soften the leather including saddle soap, wearing them wet and letting them dry on your feet(great for blisters), and even peeing in them. Nothing really worked, they were just bad boots.

Anyhow when it came to cleaning them we used polish same as you buy today. we would polish the the rubber to make it look clean on the sides but the underside was often polished too this didn't seem to make any differance to the durability though it would have kept dirt and water off more easily, theres a potential for leaving marks on carpets or floors.

We also used permanant marker pen to colour in scuff marks, cracks etc.

When finishing off the "spit and polish", or "bulling" focus polishing with a damp cloth (or spit) over the whole boot, this ends up with a very shiney boot, the final process was to run a lit lighter or candle over the whole upturned boot which melts all the previous 3-4 polish layers to fill all the minute gaps and gives that "infinity" wet look shine.

A handy tip, for that shiney look! add a layer of "ox blood"(dark red), black polish went over this, it somehow added depth to the shine.

The boots I used in training I'd bought 4 years previous to training, I did the above spit and polish cleaning for years afterwards, that pair of boots lasted around 8 years in total, they eventually failed on the side stitching, the soles were always fine.