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CJ Kenney

Affordable Ski Gloves: How to Waterproof Kinco Work Gloves

/ 2 min read

ski

When traveling to ski resorts, you may notice skiers and snowboarders wearing the popular Kinco work gloves. Turns out, Kincos are a cheap and sturdy alternative to similarly styled, $100 gloves.

Materials

  • Kinco Gloves
  • Waterproofing Beeswax (Sno-Seal)
  • Oven
  • Baking Sheet
  • Tin Foil

Waterproofing Steps

Pre-heat your oven to 150°F

  • If your oven has a minimum temperature setting that’s higher than this, pre-heat the oven to the minimum setting and crack the door open a bit.
  • Sno-Seal recommends a temperature of 120°F. I found that heating the oven a bit more helped with absorption. Keep an eye on the gloves and be sure not to burn them!

Prepare your baking sheet

  • Line your baking sheet with tin foil and place your gloves palm side up.
Kinco gloves on baking sheet

Bake gloves for 5 minutes

Gloves in the oven
  • Warming up the leather helps the Sno-Seal soak in and provide a water-tight seal.

Apply Sno-Seal

  • Put on the gloves (they should be nicely heated, not too hot), and flex open your fingers to open the pores in the leather.
  • Take a healthy amount of Sno-Seal from the jar. Using a hand-washing motion, apply the wax to all areas of the gloves.
Dipping gloves into Sno-Seal Applying wax to gloves Applying wax to seams of gloves
  • Don’t forget the seams!

Place gloves in oven to set wax

  • Warm the gloves for 5 minutes to help the wax soak in and to prep for another coat.

Repeat process 2-3 times

  • When the gloves no longer absorb the wax, they are fully waterproof!
  • Buff excess wax with a clean rag.
Applying wax to seams of gloves
  • Have fun this winter with your new, waterproof gloves!