Scarpa HS-12 Cream 200ml Water Proofer for Smooth Leather Footwear  £13.00

Scarpa HS12 Waterproofing Silicon Cream

New improved Scarpa HS-12 cream offers complete care for your leather* SCARPA walking boots.

*not ideal for suede as it will change the appearance.

Review: Perfect for waterproofing leather walking and hiking boots. My Scarpa SL Active boots are not Gore-Tex and this cream is recommended for them and it certainly makes the boots look good AND it fully waterproofs them too! I can vouch for this after several days in Welsh mountain bogs, streams and knee-deep snow and still my feet were kept dry! Of course, this cream will also prolong the life of your boots and will prevent them drying out and cracking.

Features:

• Durable, waterproof finish for smooth grain leathers
• New improved tub with easy application sponge inside lid
• Increased size, 200ml, better value for money
• New formulation, easier to apply to smooth leather

Scarpa Boot Care - Full Leather and Suede:

Your SCARPA boots are good to go straight from the box however, despite developments in technology, all of the footwear in our range requires regular aftercare to maintain the highest level of performance and durability. A boot upper is exposed to sucking mud, jagged rocks, wizened tree stumps, and the changeable weather elements. Over time and left unchecked this takes its toll, mud-laden and saturated boots are more prone to leakage and splitting as the acidic soil eats into the carefully crafted suede or untreated leather slowly dries out and cracks.

We recommend that you follow these guidelines to get the most out of your boots:

• After each use rinse off mud and dirt with clean water. Remove any stubborn dirt with a sponge, damp cloth or brush. If your boots are particularly dirty you can use a cleaning product such as Nikwax Footwear Cleaning Gel
• Dry your boots naturally over time in a cool, dry place with good air circulation (Never force dry your boots using heat, as this will damage the leather uppers)
• Regularly treat them with a suitable waterproofing treatment applicable to the type of boots you have (See below). We would recommend re-proofing the boots whenever they get particularly dirty or when water stops beading (turning to droplets) on the surface of the boots.
• Take care to apply treatments to tongues, D. rings and hooks. Do not over treat them as this can soften the leather and damage stitching.
• Never apply standard boot polish to leather, it will not nourish the leather it will only treat the appearance of the boot
• Scarpa HS12 Cream should be applied to clean dry leather
• Water based treatments such as Nikwax Fabric and Leather Proofer should be applied to clean boots whilst the upper materials are still wet

In this guide, we detail the best practice for cleaning and reproofing your boots. The two boots the featured in this guide are the Scarpa Ranger which has a full leather upper and the Scarpa R-Evo which has a suede upper.

1. Prep your work area get your equipment together that you will require:

• Clean warm water
• Nylon brush
• Sponge
• Water-based footwear cleaner such as Nikwax Footwear Cleaning Gel
• Water-based reproofer sush as Nikwax Fabric and Leather Proofer and/or dry wax/ silicon cream such Scarpa HS12 Cream​

2. Now that your work area is prepped and you’ve got everything together, grab your boots and you’re ready to go. Before you start, remove the laces from the boot. This will allow you to get into all areas of the boot including those high flex points which are prone to wear.

3. With the laces removed. remove all visible dirt with a nylon brush. Use a harder brush on higher quality and tougher leather (such as the Scarpa SL or Scarpa Ranger), and a softer brush on a softer leather and fabric boots (such as Scarpa Vortex, Scarpa Mescalito, Scarpa Mojito Trail and other approach shoes),

Use warm water when scrubbing and make sure to scrub deep into folds and covered areas.

4. To aid in reaching some of those small and hidden areas, after brushing use a sponge or cloth to get into some of those hard to reach areas.

Tip: Some of the key areas that are missed are: Eyelets, Stitching (particularly stitch lines under laces), folds in leather, and the flex point.

5. Now you’ve removed the visible dirt, your attention can turn to the dirt that can’t be seen.

Dirt and mud can seep into the upper and act as an abrasive from the inside out drying and cracking materials. To remove this silent boot killer, apply a water-based cleaner (such as Nixwax Footwear Cleaning Gel), all over the cleaned surfaces, use a dabbing motion to clean. The cleaner will remove embedded dirt particles and prepare shoes for re-waterproofing.

Tip: All the visible dirt should have been removed in the last 2 steps so if the cleaning gel brush is getting dirty go back a step and clean with a brush or cloth further.

6. When the cleaning gel is fully applied wash off with warm water.

Tip: Be sure to clean the linings of your boots with a warm damp cloth after each use as well. Salt from perspiration can pass into the lining rapidly destroying the leather making it dry and cracked.

7. At this point, if using Scarpa HS12 Cream leave the Leather boots to dry naturally. If using a water-based proofer, reproof straight away.

Tip: When drying naturally, the boots need to be dry to the touch. Make sure you dry boots in a well-ventilated airy location away from any strong heat sources.

8. Apply Nikwax Fabric and Leather Proofer to Fabric Boots when wet, dab in all the nooks and crannies you’ve just taken so long to clean!

Now back to the Leather boots, after they have been left to dry naturally, apply Scarpa HS12 Cream; again ensuring that you get into all those easily overlooked areas.

9. Have fun getting them muddy again! Cleaning your boots may seem like an arduous task, but this process will protect your boots. It will be worth it on that next adventure.

So there we have it, your leather or fabric Scarpa footwear is ready to face nature again, revitalised and strengthened.

We advise that for maximum effectiveness the frequency of the cleaning process (points 1 – 6)  should be after every trip. While reproofing must always be accompanied by the cleaning process above, it is only necessary when there are signs that water is soaking into the upper material and no longer beading on the surface.