Snakeskin Peeling

[yaklady]

A guy came walking into the store the other day with snake skin boots on. All the scales on the boots were sticking out, and would no longer lie down like they did when the boots were new. He has new snake skin boots at home, and does not want them to end up looking like that. Is there a conditioner or something to put on snake skin to keep it looking nice?

Yaks don't need conditioners.

[CitizenKate]

Roight! Especially when they're dead, eh?

Kate

Yaks don't need conditioners.

[whinewine]

A guy came walking into the store the other day with snake skin boots on. All the scales on the boots were sticking out, and would no longer lie down like they did when the boots were new. He has new snake skin boots at home, and does not want them to end up looking like that. Is there a conditioner or something to put on snake skin to keep it looking nice?

Yaks don't need conditioners.

The color is in the skins, NOT in the scales (which are transparent). What about either: 1) using a conditioner, such as bick4 or lexol, or care4, or some such?

or: 2) rub off the dry scales, apply appropriate conditioner & when dry, use clear paste wax & polish?

I've used neatlac to seal the scales on belt buckles, but I don't know if that would be appropriate for boots (I really don't think so). Supershene will not seal the scales, but neatlac will.

(A really stooopid question: if the customer realizes that the scales will rise up over time, why would he buy another pair?? just curious as to the thinking process involved)

[swivelsphinx]

I don't know if you asked the gentleman this, but what's he been doing for maintenence on his boots?

Exotics are no different than other leathers- if you want them to stay looking nice, they need some care. In fact, snake may require a little more babying than say, cow because of the delicate nature of the scales. If they get wet, they should be rubbed down gently with a clean absorbant cloth or 'shammy in the direction of the scale before being set out to dry. Occasionally, they may need to be gently cleaned with a leather treatment labeled "safe for exotics". Once in awhile, a conditioner or light wax might be applied too. Boot trees are often recommended when not in use, so they will be less likely to warp or get squashed in travel.

[kevinhopkins]

For what it's worth, there's simply no way to stop that on a snake skin. Some types of snake are less prone than others, but that's about it. It is what it is, and the scales are going to come up. Unless it's karung, then it won't do that, but karung looks more like lizard than snake.

Kevin