Mink oil

[md1486]

Hi,

I have bouht a new pair of Vasque St-Elias hiking boots made with Gore-tex and nubuck and I applied mink oïl on them without knowing that is was damaging.First, is this really damaging since I applied it only 1 time and wipe out the excess after 30 minutes? Second, can I do something to reverse the application of the mink oïl or should its would simply better off to do nothing and never applied mink oïl in the future? Thanks

[Tuckahoe]

From what I understand goretex recommends applying a DWR treatment.

I wouldn't worry too much about a single application of mink oil as it'll wear off soon enough.

[4eyedbuzzard]

You could try washing them gently with mild soap and water and a soft bristle brush. But the bulk of it has probably already penetrated the leather anyway and won't come out that easily, so it's kind of a done deal. I doubt you have hurt them badly, just maybe softened the leather a bit more than desired. The mink oil kind of wears off after a while anyway.

[Slo-go'en]

I wouldn't worry about it. The gortex is inside the boot and it's unlikely you used enough oil to seep all the way through it to the gortex liner. With an all leather upper you want the leather to be as waterproof as possible. Otherwise if it absorbs water it will shrink when it dries and that can be a problem. A few light coats of mink oil is probably better then the synthetic water proofing compounds.

[Butch_Lodi]

Yes, mink oil is damaging. It softens the leather and causes it to loose its shape over time. I would clean the boots with saddle soap or nikwax gel cleaner, let dry and then apply either snoseal or nikwax waterproofing wax. I recommend the nikwax over the snoseal but either will work. I have the exact same boots and really like them, but the leather definitely needs waterproofing periodically.

[Sirsnappy09]

The Gore tex lining should be fine but.use the nikwax mentioned above.

[md1486]

Thanks guys, I cleaned the boots with nikwax gel cleaner and a soft brush, and then applied nikwax waterproofing recommended for gore-tex/nubuck leather. Hope they will be fine.

[Butch_Lodi]

FYI, initially I used the nikwax nubuck waterproofing on these boots but it did a poor job. Went to the wax based product instead. Also, the first time I used these on a rugged trail I frayed a couple of the seams on the welt holding the toecap. Sealed with seam grip and have not had any issues since.