Any "Downsides" of Neatsfoot Oil?

FrenchieBoy

Well-Known Member
I use leather rigger boots while out shooting. They are relatively cheap and hardwearing and I find them comfortable. However I do find that they can let dampness seap in and leave you with cold damp socks after a time - Not nice of comfortable during the winter months.
With this in mind I have been reading up on waterproofing and conditioning leather boots. Many places/people say that Neatsfoot Oil is a very good and cheap way of conditioning and waterproofing the leather.
Can any of you guys who use Netasfoot Oil on your boots give me any pointers on the best way and how often to apply Netasfoot Oil to boots to condition and waterproof the leather, and of course any possible drawbacks of using Neatsfoot Oil?

Edit: If members feel that Neatsfoot Oil is not the best thing to use for conditioning and waterproofing leather boots can you tell me why and what alternatives you would suggest please?
 
Last edited:
I use leather rigger boots while out shooting. They are relatively cheap and hardwearing and I find them comfortable. However I do find that they can let dampness seap in and leave you with cold damp socks after a time - Not nice of comfortable during the winter months.
With this in mind I have been reading up on waterproofing and conditioning leather boots. Many places/people say that Neatsfoot Oil is a very good and cheap way of conditioning and waterproofing the leather.
Can any of you guys who use Netasfoot Oil on your boots give me any pointers on the best way and how often to apply Netasfoot Oil to boots to condition and waterproof the leather, and of course any possible drawbacks of using Neatsfoot Oil?

Edit: If members feel that Neatsfoot Oil is not the best thing to use for conditioning and waterproofing leather boots can you tell me why and what alternatives you would suggest please?



I have changed over now to another product, I used it on my boots and leather tracking lines for a few yeas and had a problem recently with mildew on both the boots and the lines even though they were ( I thought) bone dry
dont know if they changed the formula but it does give rise to mildew on the bitsvive use it on.
 
I used to use it on all leather, jackets, trousers and boots, worked very well for many years.
But back to motorcycles after many years away and started to treat boots etc again and found it not to be
the oil it used to be, mildew was one problem, smelling rancid when warm was the biggest problem, never used to get that.

Neil. :)
 
Nikwax works well and leaves no nasty smell, and surplus goretex socks sort out any damp that finds its way through
 
Some time ago there was a thread on here about leather treatments. I think the concencus was against Neats Foot oil.
I must say I use Rempur on my boots but have an ongoing test where I am treating one boot with Rempur and the other with a home made treatment which was suggested in the thread( ? Beef dripping/Lard and bees wax + tiny ammount of olive oil) evaluation on going.

Prior to this if I ever needed to waterproof leather I have used Hydrophane which is very good no ill effects on my Scarpa Attak boots which are at least 20 years old.

D
 
I did go through a few of the previous threads about Neatsfoot Oil and that is what made me wonder about ant drawback.
It does (From what I have read so far) sound as if NikWax is quite a popular/better alternative.
I am open to suggestions for leather boot treatment in order to help keep my feet dry and comfortable.
 
I have always used Kao-Cho-Line. Tack shops sell it. It is also, or was, used in museums for leather items. It is pronounced as "coach o'line" like an Ireland rugby lineout trainer. Apologies, not meant to offend, just meant to make pronounciation clear.
 
I have always used Kao-Cho-Line. Tack shops sell it. It is also, or was, used in museums for leather items. It is pronounced as "coach o'line" like an Ireland rugby lineout trainer. Apologies, not meant to offend, just meant to make pronounciation clear.
This product (Kao-Cho-Line) does seem to be coming up a lot. Is it very easy/messy to use and how often would you suggest using it on Leather Boots please/
 
rub in with a rag ,leave it 24 hours to soak and brush like boot polish .it will darken light coloured leather .ive used it to soften my new boots and its worked a treat.just treat it as a boot polish its the same as shoe cream in texture so dont do it on the sofa as it will mess but doesnt drip atb
 
What you use on leather depends on several things:
What kind of leather
How it was tanned
Its use
What was used on it before. You don't want to mix some things.
The condition of the leather now.

The first thing to look at is what it is and what the manufacturer said to use. Hopefully, that was already followed.
 
Used it for a long time on my bike boots. Found it keeps boots supple but tended to encourage mould and seemed to rot the leather.
Iain
 
Back
Top