did I buy fake neatsfoot oil?

[el_pipou]

Hi,

I recently bought two cans of oil advertised as pure neatsfoot oil.

However, I have worked with neatsfoot oil from other brands before and this one seems different in multiple ways.

I had used starwax neatsfoot oil, wich was nearly odorless, and stayed liquid even at about 10 degrees celcius, and saphir brand, wich had a bit of a smell but not a suspicious one and remained liquid too.

The oil I just bought is supposedly from a brand called P.Paulin, and not only does it have a very strong rancid smell, it does not stay liquid under Id say 20 degrees celcius. It is also cloudy while the other brands were transparent.

is this normal? is it just a different neatsfoot oil? or is it neatsfoot oil mixed with a great deal of tallow and such greases?

I dare not use it on any piece of leather, or even to lube machinery because of this horrid stench.

did I get scammed? or did I just observe non-industrial neatsfoot oil for the first time?

[dikman]

Sounds like it might be compounded neatsfoot oil, this is pure NF mixed with petroleum-based oils. It can be made cheaper because it's effectively diluting the NF with (relatively) cheap mineral oils. It will still work on leather but most leatherworkers prefer the pure stuff. If it's compounded it should mention it on the labei.

A google search for P Paulin doesn't come up with anything.

[el_pipou]

thank you for your anwser, Ill probably try to resell it or give it away regardless of what it is because I simply dont want my shoes smelling like this 😂

it was cheaper than most neatsfoot oil... (30 bucks a liter whereas other oils were between 40 and 55), so I guess it was adultered with something...

it does WORK very well though, perhaps a little bit better than the other oils, but the stench overcomes that fact.

I tried it on my meast favourite pair of boots and the stench didnt go away (yet anyway)

I guess Ill try to use another strong scented product to mask the smell like some shoe-wax or something

[kgg]

52 minutes ago, el_pipou said:

Ill probably try to resell it or give it away regardless of what it is because I simply dont want my shoes smelling like this

What country are you in?? A link to where you bought it would be helpful so someone else doesn't buy it by mistake. 

kgg

[fredk]

If it has stench I'd not use it at all, Something in it is 'off' and could affect the leather. Just dispose of it properly and write off its cost to experience

[Northmount]

5 hours ago, kgg said:

What country are you in?? A link to where you bought it would be helpful so someone else doesn't buy it by mistake. 

kgg

IP address shows Valenciennes, Hauts-de-France, 59300, France

@el_pipou You should put your general location in your profile.  It helps get info relative to your location.

[SUP]

If the oil has a rancid stench, I would not use it.

Normally, neetsfoot oil as well as the compounded mix last for a long time. The compounded oil has petroleum based products added,  which have an even longer shelf life. It does not smell rancid or of much of anything. So if the oil smells, there might be something else added to replace some of the neetsfoot oil, maybe another oil altogether, that is not petroleum based. It could be anything, from olive to coconut to palm oil to even linseed oil, all of which are cheaper than neetfoot oil, so could be adulterants. All would harden at cooler temperatures and cause the cloudiness.  All would also turn rancid with exposure to air, unlike neetsfoot oil. 

 

 

 

[dikman]

Oops, I missed the rancid bit - it's obviously compounded but as has been said they used something even cheaper than mineral-based oil, some sort of vegetable/animal oil that goes off. Definitely don't use it on leather (unless it's for someone you don't like!).

[TonyV]

There is a French website for P. Paulin, which is selling shoe polishing compounds and various cleaners and oils, including 'Huile pied de boeuf cuir '  Which I believe translates roughly to Cow foot oil (my mother would be ashamed of my lack of Francais).

Try what you have on some non-critical project or 3.  I bet it works fine.

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