Red Wing Boots Care: The Ultimate Guide to Treating Red Wing Leather

Red Wing offers some of the best leathers I have on any of my boots. 

But I noticed that on the Red Wing site, they have the same exact care guides for all of their boots. I know we shouldn’t be putting mink oil on our roughout leather. 

So I wanted to share how I care for my Red Wing boots, including my Amber Harness Iron Rangers, Slate Muleskinner Moc Toes, and my Briar Oil Slick Sawmill’s (and I’ll also cover Oro Legacy). 

Each of these three leathers require different care products and different cleaning procedures. But before I dive into how to treat each individual S.B. Foot Tanning Co. leather, let’s start with the basics of how to care for any Red Wing boot. 

Basics of Caring for Red Wing Boots

Regardless of if your Red Wing boot has the Amber Harness leather or the Oro Legacy leather, there are a few things you can do to keep your Red Wing boots looking fresh.

In fact, this is true of all boots in general, so if you haven’t already, pick up the following:

• Horsehair brush
• Cedar shoe trees

With just these two items, you’ll be able to consistently care for your Red Wing boots. The main thing to watch out for is getting dirt and mud into the welt, and you also want to avoid letting the vamp sag. 

Because Red Wing boots tend to have a larger, more structured toe box, the upper can sort of “give up” and sink, while the toe stays firm and rigid. 

A lot of people say this makes Red Wings look like “clown shoes” over time.

That’s why it’s so important to use cedar shoe trees, especially with Red Wing boots. 

Brush your Red Wing boots with the horsehair brush once a week or once every two weeks if you want them to stay looking relatively new. You can bump that down to once a month or every two months if you want to develop more of a rugged patina on the leather. 

As for the cedar shoe trees, keep a dedicated pair ready to go and slip them into your boots when you take them off for the day. 

This will help your boots retain their shape for much longer and it’ll also help you avoid getting mold or mildew in your boots. 

Red Wing Amber Harness and Oro Legacy Leather Care

Red Wing’s Amber Harness, Oro Legacy, Ebony Harness, and Black Harness leathers are all oil tanned leathers and they also have a high wax content. 

Because of that, they’re really robust and easy to care for. I like to use a waxier leather conditioner for these leathers, and I always want to avoid darkening the leather. 

I stick with Venetian Leather Balm for Amber Harness and Oro Legacy leather because it doesn’t darken the leather, adds a bit of weather resistance, nourishes the leather, and it will still allow for a full, rich patina over time. 

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What You’ll Need to Care for Amber Harness and Oro Legacy Leather

• Saddle Soap 
• Venetian Leather Balm
• Horsehair Brush
• Horsehair Dauber Brush
• Clean Rag

Step 1: Clean with Saddle Soap (Optional)

Remove the shoelaces and clean the leather with saddle soap. I’d only do this step if my boots were muddy or very dirty and I wanted to do a deep clean. I usually skip this and only brush my boots with a horsehair brush to remove as much dirt as possible before conditioning. 

But I add this step here in case you want to go all the way with cleaning your Red Wing boots. 

Create a rich lather in your saddle soap tin with a bit of warm water, and use the horsehair dauber brush to suds the entire boot. Then wipe off the soap with a dry clean rag. 

Let the leather dry out after doing this step—this will allow the leather conditioner to fully penetrate the leather in the next step.

Step 2: Condition with Venetian Leather Balm

Dab a quarter size amount of conditioner onto your finger tips and massage into the leather. Continue to add more as needed, but avoid oversaturating any part of the leather.

It’s better to slowly add more and under condition than it is to pour a whole bunch on the toe and then try to spread it out quickly. 

After you’ve conditioned both boots, let them sit for about ten minutes. This will give the leather all the time it needs to soak up the oils and waxes. 

Step 3: Buff with a Horsehair Brush

Use your horsehair brush (not the dauber—the bigger one) and buff your boots. This will even out the layer of conditioner and will bring out the very subtle shine of the oil-tanned leather. 

Re-lace your boots, add in shoe trees, and your boots are all done!

Red Wing Briar Oil Slick Leather Care

Red Wing Briar Oil Slick is also an oil tanned leather, but I actually like to use Red Wing Natural Boot Oil more for this leather. 

Red Wing Boot Oil does darken the leather a bit at first, but because Briar Oil Slick leather is already so dark, I think it refreshes it in a really nice way—it makes my boots look more new. 

All the steps for Briar Oil Slick Red Wing boots care are exactly the same as the Amber Harness and Oro Legacy leathers. 

But when you get to the conditioning phase, use Red Wing Natural Boot Oil instead. 

Follow the same application method—starting with a little and then going back to get more. That’s even more important with boot oil because if you leave a glob on your boots, it’ll darken that spot especially for a few weeks. 

Red Wing Muleskinner and Rough and Tough Leather Care

Red Wing Muleskinner and their Rough and Tough leather need a completely different treatment than their oil-tanned leathers. 

I have the Moc Toe in the Slate Muleskinner, but the following is also true of the Hawthorne Muleskinner leather.

For the Copper Rough and Tough and the Charcoal Rough and Tough, there’s really not much you should do—it’s so resilient on its own, all you should do is brush it off with a horsehair brush occasionally. 

What You Need to Care for Muleskinner Leather

Muleskinner leather is a roughout leather, which is treated similarly to a suede. Because you’re not cleaning or conditioning the smooth part of the leather, you want to avoid creams, pastes, and oil. Those products will “smooth” over the knap of the roughout and just won’t look good. 

Plus, if you use an oil or paste conditioner, you’ll never be able to get that same roughout look again. 

So here’s what you’ll need:

• Horsehair brush
• Suede brush
• Suede eraser
• Saphir Rénovateur Suede/Nubuck Spray (neutral)

Step 1: Brush Off Dirt

Use the horsehair brush to brush off any dirt and debris from your boots. You should also remove the laces. 

Step 2: Use the Suede Brush and Suede Eraser

In one direction only, swipe the entire boot with your suede brush. 

A suede brush is different from a horsehair brush—the bristles are stiffer and will help restore some of the original knap of the Muleskinner leather.  

If there are any dark spots on the leather, rub them with a suede eraser in a circular motion. Then brush with the suede brush to remove the rubber. Repeat this step a few times if necessary. 

Step 3: Spray with Saphir Renovateur

Saphir makes a suede and nubuck conditioner that’s sprayable, and that’s the only product I use for roughout leathers (and suede and nubuck leathers, too). 

Get the neutral color—Saphir has black and brown versions, but since Red Wing only has the light wheat Hawthorne and grey Slate Muleskinner leathers, neutral is your best option. 

Holding one boot in your hand at a time, and holding the Saphir can about three inches away from the leather, spray the entire boot in short bursts. 

Once you’ve finished both boots, add in shoe trees, let them rest for 12 hours, and they’re good to go. 

Are Those New Red Wings?

One of the best parts of Red Wing boots is that they really don’t require much upkeep to stay great-looking. 

I keep my Red Wing boot care to a minimum—I rarely condition any more often than once every six months, but these boots could all easily go a year or more without conditioning. 

But each leather type requires a different product—Amber Harness and Oro Legacy look great with a waxier conditioner like Venetian Leather Balm. 

The Briar Oil Slick looks amazing with Red Wing’s Boot Oil. 

And the Muleskinner leathers mostly just need a good brushing, but a spray down from Saphir will keep the leather supple. 

As for Rough and Tough leather—well, it’s name says it all. I’d just brush those down with a horsehair brush and call it a day. 

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