Leather boot care

Tips for the maintenance of the natural leather boots

Boots made with natural leather and, over all, with kangaroo leather, require a special maintenance:

  1. You must prevent the premature wear of the boot since it’s made with a delicate material.
  2. The efficiency of the boot can be improved since the skin is an organic material that can be treated to improve its state.

Therefore, we need to comply with some basic maintenance rules and work with one of the key elements for the care of our boot: the polishing balm.

Basic Maintenance of a Football Boot

  • internal lasts

    Put a last inside so the shoes won’t lose their shape and the material keeps the tension in the time the boot is in the bag (sometimes with quite some weight over it), in the locker or at home. You can easily find lasts in any shoemaker store, they aren’t very expensive and they can be used with many boot models. This is an element that shouldn’t be missing in any footballer’s wardrobe. There are lasts of different materials and they’re classified by sizes.

  • Remove moisture

    Dry Moisture up to prevent them from rotting. Once we arrive from playing it’s very important to dry the boots up outside and inside in case it has rained. Even if it hasn’t rained, just the foot sweat can cause moisture. The best thing to do is to take the insole off the shoe (in case it isn’t glued to the sole) and do the following:

    - If it hasn’t rained: leave them on a ventilated place and protected from sunlight with the lasts inside.

    - If it has rained: put newspapers inside so they can absorb water quickly, (approximately a day and a half) then take the paper off the boots and put the lasts inside.

  • Apply grease

    With uses, natural leather treated with polishing balm is at least twice as soft as when we wore it for the first time. However, if wrongly applied it can suppose a risk.

    1. Only apply the polishing balm when the boot is completely dry inside and outside. It’s fine if it’s two or three days after having used it.
    2. There can’t be any dirt on the outside. Once the boot is dry, clean any dirt with a moist cloth.
    3. Don’t put too much polishing balm, sometimes we smear the boot in polishing balm. Just evenly apply a thin layer.
    4. You can apply the balm with a special brush for this. 

    This takes some time but with a few uses you’ll have much better boots than the first day since its flexibility will be improved and its lifespan extended.