Mineral Oil, Carnuba, and Bees Wax

I was thinking that combination might be good for my Shooting bag as a leather conditioner. Any thoughts on this combination?

Icemanxxxv said:

I was thinking that combination might be good for my Shooting bag as a leather conditioner. Any thoughts on this combination?

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I make a similar combination but I would omit the mineral oil. Mineral oil doesn’t solidify too well, i would use bees wax, carnuba and some plain old olive oil or even canola. With the oil being the smallest part.

Olive oil will darken leather.

I have carnauba wax flakes and it is a very hard wax. I don't know how you would combine it with the other ingrediencies successfully. I think a softer wax would be better as a leather conditioner.

Rather than experimenting with some diy formula, if it is soft leather why not use saddle soap to clean it, then neatsfoot oil to soften and preserve it. That works very well for me on many leather items.

I just use mink oil

FlinterNick said:

....but I would omit the mineral oil.....

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ditto that recco

I just recently made a small batch of beeswax and bears oil as a leather conditioner for my shooting bags. I got the info on how good that is from Jeff 'Poor Boy' Luke, the excellent bag maker.
Ohio Rusty ><>

Wood workers use the same mix of bees wax and mineral oil to make wood finish wax. I used ballistol, bees wax, and carnauba wax to make some stock wax. I could have used a bit less ballistol, it's a hair too thin. But it works if I use a thin coat and let dry them buff.

Try a product called "Axe Wax"

What would substituting Neats Foot Oil for the Mineral Oil do?

Have used Pecard's for years with no problems.

https://www.amazon.com/PECARD-Leath...=pecards+leather+dressing,aps,186&sr=8-1&th=1

Here’s a recipe I found online by Scott Wolf on leatherworker.net; it works amazingly for all my leather goods and it’s packed with vitamin E which prevents rancidity. I’ve been using it for a little over a year now. Read all steps before starting.

1:1:2 (beeswax, cocoa butter, and sweet almond oil)

Step 1: Pot on the stove, low heat so it doesn’t burn. Drop entire block of cocoa butter into the pot and let melt, stirring/moving it around. After a 2-3 minutes it is all liquid.

Step 2: Add in the Beeswax and let melt until liquid. The beeswax melts slower than the coca butter so break up/ grate it before adding to the pot. Stir the whole time and monitoring the heat is important , as you might have to turn the heat up a tad to get the beeswax to melt quicker, but you want to be careful not to burn it.

Step 3: Once it was all liquid and mixed together, the pot was removed from the flame/burner. Almond oil was poured into the pot and stirred into the mix. At this point, everything is hot liquid, so you have to move fairly quick, as it will begin to set up. HAVE JARS READY

Step 4: Using a ladle and funnel to aid in filing the jars. If you use tins or another container, you may be able to pour it direct, but to reduce mess and loss, the funnel worked best. The liquid starts to cool pretty quick, so have everything prepped and on hand before you get to this stage. Once you've poured it in to all of your containers, allow it to cool and harden up.

Step 5: Clean up of pot and funnel,laddle. Do that right after finishing, as it will be semi hardened but hot tap water and some soap and it comes right off.

It’s a little expensive to gather all the ingredients but it’s well worth it, I’ve yet to find another leather conditioner that’s this effective AND completely food and skin safe

Thanks for the recipe.

SOLANCO said:

Have used Pecard's for years with no problems.

https://www.amazon.com/PECARD-Leather-Dressing-6-oz/dp/B0081SCR1S/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ZYZW4YZ03W6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XWvneaT2Co-8ppIvHdj6lX1GS6kq8PJZGbpBrZP6_WJCrurpP1tUclee7viXBCnHY01Myij9ZjuSaUszVPhXN9GKDJI2CPwhmSwYLwOPWfG8oDFH06yQALJ3fYdF9yJUqSFUr44khE6lCUcrkPL3tp1Jj8TRL7xQSzagX9SDFwIy_ZL9z36PSGG-Oj7_7ohHY-C7Gus-DkqeqtZSPodvbeltifVWUHewkuf_AXmqnxzonT-7D1VboIGrmJBSmko7uM8qVN-yHoL-l2HPFq0PfRucVoWSfa-W6c8Iomf_0yU.asd_LqpjfkrgvP03vZlj4FC9juitgbr8x8VoDaRsRf4&dib_tag=se&keywords=pecards+leather+dressing&qid=1719848017&sprefix=pecards+leather+dressing,aps,186&sr=8-1&th=1

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I gave the stuff a try and like it. I got it to freshen up some old military holsters and it did wonders. The leather flap strap on a 1918 WW1 Luger holster softened up to the point it can run it thru the buckle again. Put it on my 20 year old Harley tool bag flap that was dried from sun exposure and it's now soft and supple

Another recipe for home-made paste wax:
https://woodshopmike.com/how-to-make-non-toxic-paste-wax/

the leather work who made some of my leather gear said use SNOW SEAL and the old time farmers use

Neatsfoot​

bldtrailer said:

the leather work who made some of my leather gear said use SNOW SEAL and the old time farmers use

Neatsfoot​

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I've used snow seal on my boots for years. It will darken the leather. But it works very well.

bldtrailer said:

the leather work who made some of my leather gear said use SNOW SEAL

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When I do a leather project it gets a neatsfoot oil treatment. Thereafter it's SnowSeal.

This stuff works great. USA made, think it came from Tandy. Used it on a late 1940s elephant hide police motor officer jacket. Went from stiffer than roofing tin to water buffalo leather soft. Does not take much if the leather is warm when applying. Treatment lasted a good 6 months. BUT, it smells awful for a few days.