Nikwax and Iceclimbing gloves...whoops

So, in an effort to not totally give up on my BD Punisher gloves, I washed them with Nikwax Tech Wash and then applied Nikwax Glove Proof when they were still quite wet. I noticed that I still had a few bottles of Nikwax TX Direct Spray On, so I gave them another layer of that afterwards for good measure.

They're dry now, and I'm realizing the folly of my ways (applying wax to leather...duh). I'm not sure how much different Glove Proof is in regards to preserving the tacky-ness of leather palmed gloves versus TX Direct Spray. The leather palms are quite slick now. I modified my Rock Rings to accept ice tools for a little indoor training, and I can barely hang on without the palms of the gloves slipping.

What can I do to renew the tacky-ness of the leather before I go up to Vail on Friday?

Thanks!

Sno-Seal is sticky.

I'll check it out. I was thinking of taking a stiff brush to the palms to try to work some of the wax out. Think that will help a bit or just ruin the leather?

I put snow seal on my BD specialists (leather palm/fingers) and it definitely made them noticeably more sticky/tacky. I would try it on one finger first and if it doesn't take then maybe take a brush to it and try again. If it does take then I would just do the whole thing without a brush.

If you put the gloves on, you can just rub them together to rub the snow seal into both of them at once.

OK, so it sounds like Sno seal is the way to go. I'll pick some up tonight! Thanks for the tips guys!

Granger's Paste Wax is another great alternative too. Used it on BD gloves as well as on my hardware store belay gloves. Adds some tackiness and sheds water like a pro. Plus it's nice enough stuff to condition the leather on my Nepals as well. Experienced the same thing as you with Nikwax, found this stuff and have never gone back.

My most grippy pair of gloves are a $10 pair of hardwear leather work gloves.
I put them on, had my wife man the hairdryer and I lathered the gloves in Snoseal and let the wax soak in well.
They are not very warm I only use them for temps above 25F, but they are tacky and stck well to the ice tools.

I would suggest using a solvent to remove any petro based application prior to applying a new layer. Whitengas, thinner, alcohol, acetone. Otherwise you will just be mixing good with bad

Start with a small spot using whatever solvent you have to make sure it doesnt have any other unintended effects.Stay away from fire as well.

Then apply the one of the suggestions above

PT

Been there... Put them on and wait til they warm up and wipe them down with a rag then go skiing in them or take em for a long easy day climb, they will dry out fast. The excess wax will wear off very quickly with use. Im not sure about how a solvent will affect the leather or synthetics.

Nikwax makes a waterproofing that comes in a big toothpaste-like tube and is wax-like. It does a nice job of conditioning and waterproofing the leather palms of my ice climbing gloves and makes the leather stickier too.

Thanks all! Just to finish of the thread, after climbing with them at Vail, I ended up coming home and heating up the palms to apply the SnoSeal. It seemed to have worked well. They are much tackier and I'm excited to see how the perform. Regardless, I think I'm going to hang these up to loaner duty and save up for some Alpine Alibi II's.