Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, and today I’m going to show you guys how to do a Tuff Toe Boot Guard application on a moc toe boot or a moccasin toe, where it has this nice ridge of leather right here. So, I’m going to go ahead and do that. Hopefully, you guys have seen the original Tuff Toe Boot Guard demonstration video.
I’m just going to go ahead and concentrate on just the application of this moc toe. I’m not going to use everything, so I’m not going to do this by hand. I’m going to go ahead and use our handy-dandy Tuff Toe Boot Guard application gun and tool. I suggest anybody that’s going to apply more than one Tuff Toe Boot Guard in your life to go ahead and invest in this. It makes life a heck of a lot easier when you’re applying material.
So, there’s 4 standard tips to a perfect Tuff Toe Boot Guard. You’d want to follow the same steps every single time. Number one: You want to prepare the boot. Number two: You want to prepare the cartridge. Then, apply the Tuff Toe Boot Guard material nice and slow. And then, finish the boot. You follow those 4 steps, you’re going to get a perfect Tuff Toe Boot Guard every time. So, I’ve already started with a prepped boot. I have taped off the area. I didn’t come back too far because you’re just wasting material when you get way back in here.
Most guys are wearing the Tuff Toe Boot Guard out right there when they’re on their hands and knees, and they’re burning right through their boots. Tall guys, smart guys where they’re kicking the leather off their toe. So, as you can see here, I want to concentrate on getting it nice and thick in that red target zone. I like to use a one and a half or just the two-inch think tape.
A lot of guys use electrical tape, and that’s fine, but it’s less than three-quarter of an inch think, so I like a thicker tape, so that if it runs on you, it doesn’t run over the tape, but that’s just my personal preference. So, I’ve got that boot nice and prepped. I’m going to go ahead and prep the cartridge, which just means I’m equalizing the cartridge. Putting the Tuff Toe cartridge in our Tuff Gun application tool here.
Then we move the tip, and dispense material to make sure that A and B are coming out the same time. There we go. Once the tan side is more full than the clear side, so more tan came out, but now I know that A and B are equal here. I attached my mixing tip, and I do the exact same thing. I’m going to dispense a 1 to 2-inch line of material, making sure that A and B are reaching the tip at the same time.
Now, we’re good to go. Also, you’ll notice that I have marked the plunger of the cartridge at halfway, so when this alignment approaches the back of the cartridge, I know I need to be finishing up with boot number 1, so that I have enough material to finish boot number 2.
Also, I am going to let this material set-up for about 15 seconds, it’s going to help gel, and it’s going to help me on my first scored application for it not to run very much. You’re going to hold the boot facing towards you, and you’re going to start in this corner, and you’re going to go from welt to taped edge, just back and forth. So, here we go. I’m just going super slow. The slower I go, the more I’m able to control the flow and the thickness, and the final appearance.
So, just tape edge to bottom. I’m going to concentrate getting it nice and thick on that leather lip. So, I get to about a third of the way, and then I always turn the shoe over and let it run back into itself. So, I’m controlling it two ways. I’m letting this get thick, run back into itself, and I’m letting this set-up again in this tip.
Then, when I go back to apply it, I put the tip back into the material and start dispensing it. It’s called keeping the tip wet, so that you don’t get a cornrow effect, and I’m just going really slow. I’m going to make sure I get it nice and thick there because I’m getting into that red zone, where I would really want the tip to get thick or the tip of the boot nice and thick covered right here. I’m about halfway back into itself and pick up where I left off. Keep the tip wet again and concentrate on getting it nice and thick right here.
So, if you watch the original video, this is exactly how I did it in the original video. So, it doesn’t matter whether you’re doing a hiking boot, a cowboy boot, a mock toe, or a work boot, roller skates, ice skates, what have you. It’s the same method. You use the same method, you get the same results. Pick up where I left off, get the tip wet, then I just finish it off, down at the corner, done. I immediately want to remove the tape, so it doesn’t become a permanent part of the boot, and now I’m going to finish it up.
I’m going to rotate the shoe, letting it get nice and thick. I like to let it put a toe down, so that if it’s going to get thick, it’s going to pool right here at the tip. Now, we rotate. We do provide a popsicle stick where you could clean it up. You could use your finger or a rag. Also, you’ll notice that it cures with a gloss finish. If you want a matte finish, like this. There’s gloss, there’s matte. You wait about 40 minutes, and then just take your finger, and simply wipe the shine right off, it’ll cure matte. If you touch it and it is wet or tacky, then give it another 10 minutes, and go ahead and wipe it down. But, that’s how you do a perfect Tuff Toe Boot Guard. Thanks for watching.
