Evening Latte

All leather needs to be maintained and conditioned, especially if it’s routinely exposed to water or sunlight.

Shoes

I normally do an annual treatment of all my leather shoes in late summer to prepare for the Pacific Northwest rainy season, but I recently got some new shoes, so I did a few pairs today to get everything on the same schedule.

I use two products:

• For shoes/boots that I know will see more rain/mud, I use dubbin grease. My current one is from Moneysworth & Best, but it seem like a commodity product to me, so I have no specific reason to recommend that brand above any other.
• For dress shoes and others that I don’t expect to see as much hard usage, I use a beeswax-based leather conditioner from Cobbler’s Choice. I got this because it’s recommended by my favorite boot brand (Thursday Boot Co), and it’s performed well so far.

The process is pretty straightforward:

1. Apply a light coat of the product to the shoes, paying special attention to small creases and any potential high-wear areas (like the tops of the toe boxes).
   • Some products come with application sponges or recommend towels, but I prefer using my hands since my body heat seems to melt the grease/wax, which makes it spread better.
2. Allow the product to absorb and set for at least an hour.
3. Use a dry, clean microfiber towel to wipe off the excess product.

The left middle pair in the pic above is almost 15 years old, and I wore them comfortably for 8+ hours while being secondary photographer for an outdoor wedding a few months ago.

Vehicles

In contrast to the dubbin grease, I’ve tried a wide variety of vehicle leather conditioners, and I like Armor All Leather Care Gel significantly more than others. The consistently makes it easy to apply, the smell is pleasant, and (most importantly) the product works: while trading in vehicles over the years, multiple people have commented on the great condition of the leather pieces.

I apply twice a year (spring, autumn) using a cotton rag. It quickly becomes saturated and makes covering larger areas like seat backs easier than applying by hand. I apply liberally to all leather, then leave all the doors of the vehicle open for 2-3 hours while it’s in my garage. If that’s not an option, leaving all windows cracked or even taking a drive with the windows down should also work. I then buff everything with a microfiber towel.

The leather will be a little slick after application, but that quickly wears off contact points, and I’ve never had it transfer to clothing.