Regardless of treatment, I do my applications on a sunny, hot, July or August day by first placing the boots out in direct and very warm sunlight. Not the type of weather one is typically thinking of snow seal or whatever, but they really warm up then and absorb stuff.
Once had a distant neighbor insist black bear grease with the cat's ass for my Whites going so far as to do an application for me. Smelled like road kill for about 2 months. Never again.
Smell is one of my prime considerations in a boot treatment and probably why I like something with pine tar in it. My mother used to render goose grease and treated the leather boots we wore to school. Saying the smell was like road kill would be understating reality. Then, our school has heat in the floors. I'd sit there with the smell rising all morning and kids moving away like I'd just schidt my pants.
