Care & Cleaning Tips for your McRae Military Boots

October 31, 2019

Your boots are as important to your safety and performance as any equipment you may be issued or that you may buy.  Keeping them in good condition not only prolongs the life of the boot but will aid in keeping your feet more comfortable for the life of the boots.  Below are a few suggestions for the care and cleaning of your McRae boots.

Suede Styles

Our suede styles (Coyote, Tan, and Sage) are actually reverse-out / full-grain leather.  During use, it is normal for the suede to accumulate dirt and debris.  This leather comes from our sources treated to be water-resistant and it is not recommended to put waxes or oils on the suede.  We recommend the use of a stiff suede brush on the leather parts and you can wash the sole edges with mild soap/water.  For tough stains (non-petroleum), you can lightly sand the spot with 60 or 80 grit sandpaper.  Just don’t sand too deep.  Petroleum stains penetrate the fibers of the suede, thus, are very difficult to impossible to completely remove.

 

Black Full-grain Styles

Our black boots (including the original Vietnam Era Jungle Boot) are made with full-grain (finish side out) leather.  The leather parts can simply be cleaned with mild soap/water (or even better – saddle soap).  Dry the leather with a cloth or paper towel and if your boots are not badly scuffed (in other words, not scuffed through the black surface finish) apply natural paste shoe polish (comes in the small cans) to the leather parts only.  If the boots are scuffed through the surface finish, then use black shoe polish (just be careful to avoid getting the black paste on any fabric parts).  Once the polish has dried, simply brush the leather parts with a shoe-shine brush to obtain a nice luster.

 

Fabrics

Many of our styles have fabric in the upper (quarter) areas. Those products with Cordura (nylon) fabric can be washed with mild soap/water and dried.  Our OD/Black Vietnam Era Jungle Boot has OD green cotton duck in the fabric area.  This can be washed with soap/water too but try brushing the fabric with a stiff brush first.  This may do the job for cleaning the duck.

The polishes, brushes, etc. should all be available at your closest exchange and, for sure, at any big-box retailer.

Thank you for wearing McRae Boots!

The McRae Team