How To Care For Black Leather Tactical Boots? | 4 Most Important Things

Clean, Condition and Polish are the three basic steps to care and shine any leather boots, including black leather tactical boots.

Besides, the way to preserve black leather tactical boots is also something you should be concerned about.

However, do you already know how to do it right? Today, we’re going to show the complete step-by-step guide to take care of your tactical boots.

How to care for black leather tactical boots? Let’s dive in!

How To Care For Black Leather Tactical Boots?

Unlike nylon fabric or suede tactical boots, leather tactical boots need more care, especially black leather.

There are 3 basic steps to take care of tactical boots: Clean, Condition, and Polish. Besides, you also need to learn how to preserve them.

Taking care of black leather tactical boots properly will help prolong the lifespan of boots, keep them new longer, maintain their comfort and restore the original color.

Here are the detailed instructions:

How to clean black leather tactical boots?

The first thing you need to keep in mind is to use specialized leather products to clean your tactical boots. This ensures the black leather tactical boots don’t get discolored, dry or cracked and stay durable.

Step 1: Prepare

Soft bristle brush and cleaning foam for fabric to clean the insoles and laces.

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Leather cleaner, horsehair brush, warm water spray and a soft dry cloth to clean the leather.

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Step 2: Clean the insoles and laces

First, take out the tactical boot insoles and laces for separate cleaning. You can use the washer to clean the insoles (if possible) and laces.

But if the insoles are not allowed to use the washer for cleaning, then use a cleaning foam for fabric and a soft brush to clean them.

Use a spray of warm water to moisten the brushes, insoles, and laces. Then apply cleaning foam onto a soft bristle brush and scrub the insoles and laces thoroughly.

Step 3: Clean the tactical boots

In case your tactical boots are muddy, wait for them to dry and remove the mud with a soft cloth or horsehair brush.

Then use a soft cloth to wipe tactical boots once and remove all large stains.

To deal with stubborn stains in areas where the tactical boots are difficult to clean, use a leather cleaner in combination with the horsehair brush.

Spray a thin layer of warm water onto the surface of black leather tactical boots, then take a leather cleaner and horsehair brush to remove stubborn stains.

Carefully clean the welt, tongue, and eyelid – these are areas where stains can easily hide.

Don’t forget to clean the inside of the tactical boots. If the inside of tactical boots is leather lining, keep going.

But if the inside of tactical boots is fabric lining, use the insole cleaning method we showed above. Use a soft bristle brush and cleaning foam for fabric to clean them.

Read more: How To Clean The Inside Of Your Tactical Boots?

Step 4: Dry black leather tactical boots

After you have completely cleaned the black leather tactical boots, use a soft, dry cloth to wipe off excess leather cleaner and water.

It is not good if the boot skin is in contact with water or moisture for long, it will reduce the quality of the boots (discolor, easy to crack…). That’s why we should keep them dry.

After you’ve thoroughly wiped the black leather tactical boots with a dry cloth, put your tactical boots in the natural sun and wind to dry them completely.

Hold on… Before you take your tactical boots out to the yard to dry them out, let’s condition them.

How to condition black leather tactical boots?

One of the most important steps in taking care of black leather tactical boots is to condition them.

Conditioning the black leather tactical boots properly will keep the color long and bright, the leather with the right moisture won’t dry out, prolonging the life of tactical boots…

In addition, some types of conditioners make tactical boots resist water and dust…

So, remember to use a conditioner to take care of black leather tactical boots.

Read more: How To Condition Leather Tactical Boots?

Step 1: Make sure your black leather tactical boot is clean and dry

This is important, you cannot condition tactical boots while they get muddy and dirty, so read on and go through the cleaning method above.

Then make sure the tactical boots have dried to an acceptable degree (a bit of moisture is acceptable).

Step 2: Apply conditioner on your tactical boot

You can apply the conditioner to a clean, dry cloth and then wipe it over the surface of the black leather tactical boots; or you can apply the conditioner directly to the boot surface and then use the cloth to spread it evenly. It’s up to you!

Thoroughly apply the conditioner onto the tactical boot surface for complete protection and care.

Step 3: Wait and dry

After applying the conditioner, wait for them to penetrate into the surface of the black leather.

Use a soft, dry cloth or horsehair brush to buff the tactical boots. The conditioner will nourish and protect the leather better.

You can use a hair dryer to shorten the conditioner’s penetration time into the tactical boots, but remember not to set the temperature too high.

Some conditioners might darken tan or light boots, but this minus point certainly won’t affect black leather tactical boots. So it’s no biggie!

That’s the end of the second stage to take care of black leather tactical boots.

Now, let’s come to the final step – make black leather tactical boots shine by polishing them.

How to polish black leather tactical boots?

Polish is one of the great methods to help black leather tactical boots restore their original color, make them waterproof, protect them from cracking, enhance durability, hide minor scratches and preserve them.

For leather tactical boots, especially black ones, you should polish them to a high gloss.

Prepare a shoe polish and…

Read more: How To Polish Tactical Boots?

Step 1: Apply a thin layer of shoe polish to the surface of the leather tactical boots

Moisten the soft, dry towel (or rag) with warm water, then dip inside the shoe polish jar to get a small amount and apply to the tactical boot surface.

Make sure you spread the shoe polish evenly onto the surface of tactical boots to create a base coat.

Remember to build a consistent polish base!

Step 2: Wait and continue to coat the black leather tactical boots with more polish

Wait 2 minutes and then apply another layer of polish to the tactical boots, make sure to spread them evenly over the surface.

Keep on repeating the above process until you have applied 3 to 4 thin layers of polish. At that time, you have got a thick layer of polish spread evenly.

Step 3: Continue using a soft cloth to scrub the surface of the black leather tactical boots thoroughly

Spend the next 15 minutes on one thing: using a soft cloth to scrub the tactical boot surface thoroughly in a circular motion.

This will ensure the polish evenly spreads, penetrates, and latches onto the tactical boot surface.

Step 4: Buff your black leather tactical boots

This is the final step to give you the perfect polish for your black leather tactical boots.

Keep your tactical boots between your knees and buff them with your soft cloth.

Done! Now, you get a pair of brand new shiny black tactical boots!

You can also find another cool way to polish tactical boots with a horsehair brush and heat gun here!

How to preserve tactical boots?

In order to preserve black leather tactical boots well, you need to keep in mind the following things:

Store your tactical boots in a cool, dry place

Please store black leather tactical boots in a cool, dry place and avoid putting them in humid or under extreme sunlight.

Another suggestion is to store them in a dedicated boots storage box.

Clean, condition and polish your tactical boots regularly

If you are one who wears black leather tactical boots regularly, you should clean, condition and polish them at least every 3 months.

But if you don’t really wear them much, you should also condition them every 6 – 12 months, which helps black leather tactical boots retain the necessary moisture without drying and cracking.

Keep tactical boots dry from the inside out

It is also important to keep them dry from the inside out.

You can use the boot trees to make sure the black tactical boots are dry from the inside, as they absorb moisture while keeping the boot shape.

But if you’re a hardcore fan of tactical boots and have too many boots at home to care about, you can use a boot dryer to dry multiple pairs of tactical boots at once.

Alternatively, you can use a shoe odor spray (or tea bag, baking soda) to spray inside black leather tactical boots for a pleasant scent.

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Keep black leather tactical boots in shape

After the clean-condition-polish process, leather tactical boots might get wet or lose their form. To prevent this, you should use boot trees or fill up your boots with toilet paper to help keep them in shape.

Or using a boot shaper to keep them in shape is not a bad choice.

Only use products specifically made for leather

You should use specialized leather products to make sure black leather tactical boots don’t discolor or reduce quality…

You can use household items to take care of boots, but you should use them in emergencies. We don’t recommend using them as often as possible.

FAQ

How do you shine black tactical boots?

After cleaning and conditioning tactical boots, you can polish them to a mirror shine.

Go to Amazon and find the best polish suitable for black leather (by reading user reviews).

Cover the surface of tactical boots in thin layers (3 to 4 thin layers), buffing them until they are evenly distributed to create a high gloss.

In addition, you can also make old black leather tactical boots shine by dyeing them (use the color dye self-shine kit.

And don’t forget to keep them clean, which is the basic step to make black leather tactical boots shine.

Can you wash tactical boots?

No, tactical boots cannot be washed in a washing machine at all or you will destroy them quickly.

Clean the tactical boots by hand, use a specific brush and cleaner for each material to clean them.

Use a leather cleaner and a horsehair brush to clean leather, a soft bristle brush and cleaning foam to clean fabric…

Rub and clean each part of the tactical boots to clean them completely (tongue, collar, eyelid…).

Be patient and clean the tactical boots properly, and don’t be lazy to throw them in the washing machine.

Conclusion

Knowing the four basic methods: clean, condition, polish and preserve means you now learn how to care for black leather tactical boots the right way.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask us in the comment below. Don’t forget to take a picture of your work and send it to us!

Good luck!