I have a pair of suede and nylon boots that need reproofing, i have used nikwax before but my boots leaked, my thinking now is, could i proof them with fabsil ? would this affect breathability, rot the stichting,perish the glue etc.
All opinions welcome please ;-)
Which Nikwax product did you use? It certainly shouldn't leak and the fact it did may suggest that there may have been a very rare problem with the bottle you used.
How old are the boots, where are they leaking. Most fabric and leather boots have a waterproof membrane that should last on average 2-3 years before leaking. Also which boot is leaking. Most boots are made with seperate production lines for the left and right so a fault in both boots would be extremely rare if they are fairly new.
are you sure it is not condensation.
Fabsil would certainly ruin the breathability and the solvent could attack some of the materials and glues used.
Hi dave,
i first cleaned the boots with footwear cleaning gel, then was advised in the shop to use - fabric and leather proof - nylon as the fabric, suede as the leather, i left the boots to dry for 24 hours, then after walking the dog in 4" wet grass for 40 minutes, both my feet were wet, what went wrong ?
What are the boots? On some boots and approach shoes the fabric areas are such an open weave that you physically can't proof them.
Matthew,
bought the boots 7th august this year from TKmax, both boots leaked, looks like they are going back.
Dave,
i used nikwax on my other boots, failed to waterproof them, thats why i didnt want to use it on these ones.
Richard,
they are Hi-tec Guanche, they have handled some heavy rain for a couple of hours and been fine, but at the weekend they leaked really badly just in wet grass.
i took the boots back to tkmaxx, i could pick another make of boot and pay the difference or have a new pair of the original boots, but i would have to pay an extra £8.00 as i bought mine in a sale, i said this isnt fair, they agreed that if i bought them at the dearer price and they were now on sale i wouldnt get the difference refunded, talk about having your cake and eating it.
now an EX customer of tkmaxx.
were you wearinh gaiters, I only ask, as could you possibly have got wet trhough the top and your socks?
Dave,
no, the grass was only 4" high, only the front half of my feet were wet, both boots failed at the front.
sounds to me that they should replace the product like for like regardless of the differance in price....
went with the lad into tkmaxx this afternoon, while he's looking at the shoes i took a seat and waited, as i looked around, to my horror i spotted the faulty boots i returned last week, they were priced and had tissue stuffed in them, found the manager on the way out and told her about them, she looked horrified and apologised for them being put back on the shelf, first a refusal to swap my boots, then trying to sell the faulty ones, i feel a complaint to head office coming.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote