What is it with Chomley and boots?

Having got rid of my two pairs of British boots last year I was all geared up to buy a nice pair of pukka Lennon boots as a nice replacement. However, with no impending game in which to wear them I instead bought a smart pair of Czech-made German low boots.

Then lo! An upcoming needs for British boots arose. Bugger. There is a six to eight week wait for Lennon boots (and I could have bought a pair at Stoneleigh ). So I decide to quick and cheap (cheap being a relative term) and since I was ordering from SoF anyway I added on a pair of the What Price Glory officer's boots. My previous boots were the 'new' WPG black ammunition boots which were fine for the price but the UK size 9 equivalent was a bit smaller than a 9 and thick socks were impossible (that's why I sold them, I'm a martyr to my feet). So this time I ordered a 10 in the hope there would be room for thick socks and comfy inner soles.

Well, lickety-spit they turned up a few days later and my first impressions were that these Indian made boots were solid enough but looked disgusting, covered in a horrible dog-poo-brown paint.

I could have tried to slap polish on them and tone it down a bit but they didn't look ermmm, leathery. So, having been down this route before I waited until wiflet was away fro the day visiting her parents then cleared the decks in the kitchen.
First, leather laces into a jar of Neatsfoot oil to soak for 24 hrs (vegetable oil would do I'm sure).

Next, out with the Nitromors. This is a messy business. I found the best way was to apply to a small area and scour away with a nail brush then wipe off straight away with a sponge. The goo has to be removed immediately as other wise it just sticks back to the leather. In other words, you can't to it like a window sill where you would apply to the area, let it bubble up, then scrape it off.

I have a feeling that cellulose thinners might work but had none to hand to test.
So, here we are, paint finish removed, revealing random leather colouration underneath - no wonder the spayed 'em brown!

Both boots now stripped, well washed in white spirit and now dried out.

Time to restore the oils lost in the stripping process, so many liberal coats of leather oil, letting it absorb in between coats.

Leave to dry overnight. Next morning I gave them a quick wipe over but all the oil had soaked in and so were dry to the touch. The leather is very patchy in colouration, definitely not the best quality pieces! So, the hope is now that polishing will even out the colour. I did have a half-hearted attempt at hot spooning the top cap dimples (heh, I used wifelet's iron actually) and this worked so I'll revisit this at a later date and do the job properly.
Here is one boot polished:

And here is the finished result. If I'm honest I'd have preferred the colour to be a bit more tan than tonette but it's OK and with more wear and re-polishing over time it should improve. By the way, I've used the splendid Cherry Blossom Regimental Gloss brown polish, the only boot polish to be made in the UK now and who deserve our support (the Kiwi product being made in Indonesia ).