I wanted to experiment with waxing roughout, but there are few posts and videos about it. So I told myself if I did a pair, I’d make a post.

I realize the shoes pictured are not boots, so I’ve included a pic of some Red Wing Weekender Chukkas seconds in White Sand Mohave I waxed a few weeks back—my first attempt at it. 

The shoes here are a pair of men’s Vivo Barefoot Sensus in Desert Sand. They actually appear to be roughout, which is a cool find in a sneaker. You love to see it.

I found them on sale, as I am looking for a solution to a little knee pain from an old injury. When they arrived and I saw they were roughout, I figured I’d use the wax remaining from the Red Wings on them.

I’ve pictured the tools used to apply the wax: wax, soft toothbrush, and a heat gun. I also used an old microfiber towel as a work mat.

Both pairs of shoes took about 3-5 gentle applications of the wax. I got in the flow and lost count. It took about an hour per shoe, soup to nuts, so roughly 15-minutes per application. That was my experience.

Here’s what I learned. Start with a clean hide and warm the surface a bit first, and \*not\* the wax bar itself. I say this because in the few YouTube videos I watched, they heated the \*wax\* and not the \*leather,\* which, to my eyes applied way too much. Others may want the heavier effect. That’s fine.

I found multiple light applications to be more through, though more time consuming. Put on a podcast or a playlist, sit back, and go into the zone.

For application, I used the wax bar face for most of the uppers; for areas like the welt, stitch down, eyelets, etc., I turned the bar as necessary to get near the edges and do more detailed work. Back-and-forth, or circular strokes both proved to be effective—whatever the surface called for. 

After applying the wax, I lightly massaged the surface with the toothbrush, paying extra attention to welt and stitch lines, or other hard to reach areas. This helped blend the wax into them.

Then I warmed the hide again at a distance, and repeated the process with the wax and toothbrush.

Now about the heat gun. This was my money maker. After a few rounds with the wax and toothbrush cadence, I at first figured I would just warm the wax to cure it. I knew that much going in. 

But fortune struck as I noticed that distanced heat was not curing the little wax gobs left in and around the eyelets and on welt stitching. So I moved the gun to within about a quarter inch of the gobs, and to my surprise watched as the wax bloomed then sank evenly into the hide. Euteka! This is key.

I’ve heard you can use a hair dryer for the process, but I don’t know if they produce enough intense, focused heat to get the wax to quickly bloom and set. You almost have to shock it with the heat to make this happen, while moving the gun slowly and deliberately along, watching for the effect. Good lighting was helpful here.

Some may ask if the heat gun damaged the leather. In this case it did not. There was no warping, cracking, bubbling, singeing, scorching, etc. No blistering or burnishing of the threads, eyelets, soles, or of the hide itself occurred.

A few takeaways. Throughout the process the wax appeared splotchy, which bothered me. The rhythm of multiple light applications and the toothbrush, along with the blooming-setting effect of the heat gun, thankfully remedied much of this.

Further, it took a week or a few days for the wax to fully cure. I know that’s vague, but I wasn’t tracking the time. I set them on a desk by a partially opened window, and after a few days noticed that any remaining uneven appearance had become uniform. Maybe it’s magic!

I’ve included a final pic of the Red Wings to show the above time-curing effect in contrast to the barefoot shoes, which I just did last night. They look great.

A few final thoughts.

So what effect does waxing roughout produce? Well, I don’t quite know, as I haven’t yet worn the shoes. But I have noticed that the waxed roughout, via minor abrasion and scuffing, easily reveals the lighter tone underneath.

This leads me to believe that more heavily worn areas will produce light spots, revealing the original color below. A sort of reverse patina.

This seems like a nice surprise, which may make for enhanced characteristics unique to wear—a thing we love about leather goods.

As for the procedure itself, there are of course also the added benefits of protection and conditioning from the beeswax and oils respectively, that are contained in the wax bar.

I would think that to care and maintain the waxed hide, a horsehair or suede brush will be all I’ll need. I think a suede eraser may be too aggressive.

That’s about it. I hope this post adds helpful information for others who might like to experiment with waxing suede or roughout hides, or other materials, like canvas. Just be careful with them when using a heat gun, as they are less durable and hardy as leather, and may get damaged by it.

Please share your experience, hopes, dreams, feedback, or insults in the comments. 

Thanks for reading along.

Take care.

(TLDR. Pics are: before, after, tools used, the day after in sunlight, and a pair of RWs I waxed a few weeks back.)

Waxing Roughout