How To: Repair Rubber Boots

2d but to my shovel, I count my large rainboots as my nearly essential thou piece of work possession. Ever since I got them as a gift in 2022, they've kept my feet dry as I've tromped through muddy backyard gardens, turned compost piles, and cleared some seriously weedy rows of peppers on a local farm. (They made a cameo advent on our commodity near digging a garden patch using only a shovel.)

Constant use has taken its toll on the natural rubber, though, so it was time to put into practice one of my favorite Depression-era maxims on frugality: "Use it upwardly, wear information technology out, make it practise, or do without."

Let's take a look at how I patched upwardly my leaky wellies.

Beginning, you demand a nice, clean surface. A quick wipe-downwardly with some hot, soapy water did the flim-flam.

Next, I identified the spots that needed patching. I focused more often than not on the areas where regular stress had croaky the rubber, that is, the places where the boot cloth bends the most.

(I also had to patch up a office of the toe that I accidentally stabbed with a pitchfork.)

I marked those areas with a pencil.

Next, I taped up the areas with painter'south record.

Optional stride: sanding down the surface area within the tape to give more texture for the sealant to adhere to.

Then it was time to patch with my sealant. I used All-Purpose Amazing Broth, which is a good full general synthetic polymer I chose for its flexibility. I squirted a line within the taped area and painted a thick layer on with an old paintbrush. (Annotation: though you should use this stuff exterior, I wouldn't recommend information technology on a breezy day in the 50's, because it dries pretty quickly. Also, be sure to utilize an old/disposable brush, because it will most probable dry in the beard before you're washed.)

Immediately remove the tape. (The Goop directions said to let it set up for 30 minutes, but it concluded upwards pulling up some of the edges of the sealant. In the end I had to peel information technology all off and start over.)

Let the broth cure for at to the lowest degree 24 hours before heavy use. Now you're dorsum in business concern!

Joel Selby is a storyteller and illustrator who lives with his wife, daughters, and cats in central North Carolina. His current side projects include renovating a humble ranch on a half acre in the canton and pursuing the perfect pizza. You can e-mail him for freelance[...]