It's boot season and with it comes the reminder that even when boots are advertised as "waterproof," oftentimes, that's not the case.
Fed up with having to constantly buy work boots for his decidedly wet job at a butcher shop, Instructables member Ryan271828 came up with the ultimate waterproofing remedy. The secret ingredient? Beeswax.
Here's how it works:
Using a towel or cloth, apply the beeswax onto the leather. Make sure to rub it into the seams, as this is often where most of the water gets in. As you work, the wax should start to harden, which is completely normal.
Using a blowtorch, melt the wax again. This step ensures that the wax really seeps into the boot. After this step, you can rub more wax on trouble areas and torch it to add another layer.
Except for a little excess wax around the seams or on the boot (which can be buffed out), no one will even be able to tell what you did!
Ryan271828 makes it clear that although this is a tried and true technique for treating canvases, he isn't sure yet whether or not it has actually worked on his boots, as testing the durability takes time. But considering beeswax is an ingredient in surgical bone wax, we have a feeling his feet are going to be good and dry this winter!
