Repair of Custom-made Snake-Skin Cowboy Boots?

While on vacation in New York City I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a pair of hand-made custom snake skin (cobra) cowboy boots at a very upscale second-hand store. The craftsmanship is excellent, they fit great and from my best estimate, the boots were likely made sometime in the 70s.





There is some slight wear to the snake skin in several small areas. Otherwise, the boots are in very good condition.





My questions are:


(1) Where can I go to have the boots repaired? The scales are pealing around the scuffs, and I don't want the damage to get any worse. Can snakeskin boots be repaired? What qualifications should I look for in a shoe repair shop?





(2) What are some care tips that I need to know in order to make a pair of cowboy boots last the rest of my life?





(3) Can I treat the boots with leather water-proofing spray, or is there a better way to protect the boots from the elements? Is it safe to use any treatment on the snake-skin portion?





Thanks to anyone who can help!

Repair of Custom-made Snake-Skin Cowboy Boots?
Two things that are the hardest on an exotics are dirt and drying out...They need to be kept clean, and I would do what I did on a pair of boas that I had. I cleaned them carefully (don't moisturize them yet) and used a little spray adhesive to glue the scales back down...hold them down with your fingers until you know they aren't going to curl back up...then use the spray conditioner just for that purpose, exotics conditioning...that is all you can really do and all that you really should do to the skins...just keep them clean and moisturized with the right stuff. I even used a thin point, magic marker after gluing and before conditioning to fill in the right colors where it looked like none of the scales were missing...they don't look half bad.
Reply:you need to find a leatherware company that will fix them or just a local shoe repair guy (hard to find though--think it's a dying art). i don't know that they can be fixed, but you need one of those old local guys that have been around forever.


good luck.
Reply:any good shoe/boot repair shop can work on your boots however scales peeling are usually not repairable but if you keep them well moisturised they will last a long time without coming off..mostly you will need them resoled and again a good shoe/boot repair shop will be good..dont treat your boots with a waterproof spray!use a good quality boot butter with a clear polish or one that matches the color of the boots keep them clean and they will last you a lifetime
Reply:They will tare(sp?) REALLY easy if they are dry! You can get a boot spray for snake skin books. ONLY use the conditioner for snake skin boots. It is really hard to fix the snake skin if it is riped or peeling off. The key to keeping skinned boots is to keep the moisturized!! If I were you I would find some one who does snake boots not just a leather boot man. They are differnt in the fixing of the boot! If you are going to keep a pair of boots for life, you need to condition the boots once a month. If you wear them often then every few weeks. Not saddle soap or oil. The right condtioner for the type of boots that you own!



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