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Leather Jacket Cleaner / Conditioner

Never tried Obenauf. But in comparision to Pecard's, Erdal, Dymo, Mother's, Armor All (their leather conditioner...not the spray on stuff), Kiwi, and Lexol (along with a few others I may have forgotten), OK Oil comes out on top.
 
It's been said, but Saddle Soap is the easiest, most effective product to clean and condition in one shot. It's got some great ingredients like glycerin and lanolin. Secretly I want to try shaving with it, just to see.
 
Thanks for the advice, everyone!

On a whim, I Googled the company that made the coat, Brooks Leather in Detroit. I figured they were long out of business, but lo and behold, they still have a website and are making coats! I emailed the company and got a reply the next morning. The gentleman that emailed me said for this particular type of leather, he recommends saddle soap for a cleaner, followed by neatsfoot or mink oil to condition. He also said to try to avoid oils that contain petroleum additives, if possible. The silicone based cleaners work well, but he prefers natural oils. I guess YMMV, much like everything else.

I found some saddle soap and neatsfoot oil at a local western store. After an hour and a half of cleaning and oiling on Saturday, it looked as close to new as a broken in 40 year old jacket can get. Honestly, I didn't think it was that dirty/dried out until I saw the end result of the cleaning and oiling. If I can track down the battery charger for my camera, I'll try to snap a couple pictures and post them.
 
you all have mentioned some great products....you can also look at Pecards....they make a whole line of cleaner/condtioners....i use thier stuff on my shoes for waterproofing,,,its great....
 
I bought something a while back called leather honey. Got good reviews on Amazon and I used it on my leather coat with good results and also on my leather seats in the car. It is thicker, and needs to be used warm to be effective, but seems to do nice work and hold up well.
 
I am trying to make sense out of leather jacket care. Several years ago I came across a vintage Golden Bear Bomber style Leather Jacket, maybe from the 50's. It was a great jacket. I had used Obenaufs on other items with great results so used the leather oil on the jacket. It was very supple and maybe a little greasy. I had cause to send it to Arrow Fabricare in Kansas City for repair work and I get this call from their chief in the leather department wondering what the hell I put on the jacket. Claimed it was very bad and had to be cleaned off. What do I know about any of this? I listened to this guy. He said leather jackets do not need any special care or oil treatments. Just send it in for periodic cleaning and conditioning. Well, there were a few other repairs to be done after that and each time it was cleaned I swear the leather became stiffer and drier. Eventually normal use would create cracks which became tears and finally I threw the jacket away. I got this nagging feeling that the cleaning process does no favors to the leather. Maybe dries it out. What has me most confused is Arrow Fabricare is very respected in the leather industries. They do great work for repairs thats for sure. So now, I found a replacement leather jacket and I definitely want to baby this one. I have read in other places that anything with petroleum in it is bad, minks oil is bad, and neatsfoot is not good enough. Whatever treatment is used must allow the leather to breath and must not harm the stitching. By experience I am feeling that the cleaning process does more harm to leather jackets then good.
 
Ok, I emailed with a rep from Pecards and his reply was:
--The product I would recommend for the care and treatment of an A 2 Flight Jacket is our Antique Leather Dressing. If the leather is dirty I usually just suggest using a damp cloth or sponge to wipe down the surface of the leather to remove any surface dirt. Application of the dressing is done using a clean soft cloth, apply the dressing in light coats allowing plenty of time for the leather to absorb the dressing. If all has been absorbed apply a second or even third application in the same manner. Remove any excess and gently buff the surface to a soft sheen. Follow up treatments can be done two to three time a year depending on wear and usage of the jacket. This is a petroleum based product. It contains a combination of USP grade (good for incidental food contact) petroleum product along with a combination of waxes one of which is bees wax. We do not use and animal byproducts in our formulation of our dressings. The beauty of using the dressing over an oil is that the leather will only absorb what it needs, You can’t over saturate the leather. In my experience with treatment of leather anytime you use a cleaner or form of saddle soap as a cleaner on leather you have to recondition the leather after cleaning, the cleaning process removes the oils from the leather. After it’s cleaned have to restore lubricity back into the leather to keep it soft and supple. --
Pecards is mentioned on many leather care forums and recommended by some fine leather retailers. I like the idea of the dressing (paste). I have tried Obenhauf's oil and it does make for a very supple leather and it is very easy to over saturate as well. Maybe Arrow Fabricare was remarking on that aspect. Anyway, the rep from Obenhaufs said concerning their product --
it allows breathability and it is fine on stitching, it has natural ingredients and will not harm leather.--
I did notice that US Wings, a site that has a focus on military leather jackets recommends
[FONT=Times, Times New Roman]Blackrock Leather 'N' Rich. It is a paste too. I ordered some but may hold out and order the Pecards anyway.
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luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I've been using saddle soap on my leather jackets since I can remember. Never had any issues. My jackets always were soft and supple. It's easy, it's simple and it's inexpensive.
 
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