how to take care of leather?

[cigarmonkel]

Hi everyone!

So my uncle passed away awhile ago and he left me with some of my grandfathers WWII stuff including his original leather bomber jacket along with a remake of it down to the stitching and inside tags of the jacket. I however, have no idea how to take care of it; if i need to put a special oil on it? keep it in a dark cool place? how often should i oil it if at all? any help would be much appreciated as I would HATE to see my grandpas original bomber jacket dry up and die.

Thanks in advance!

[Jasonw560]

Find out what kind of leather it is. If it's authentic, it's probably sheepskin. Find a good saddle soap, amd clean it with that. As long as it's compatable with porous leather. Store it in a cool, dry place on a padded hanger. There's lots of home recipes for making stuff that should protect the leather. Or ask someone who deals in leather what's good.

[cigarmonkel]

awesome thanks!

[themoneycollector]

I would condition it with lexol or leather honey conditioner every 4-6 months. Just put some on a soft cloth and wipe it down.

[Weelok]

Sounds like some good advice above. For car leather, you definitely need to oil it and I do so about once a month. If you don't, it will fade and crack. It's apples and oranges as a comparison I grant you as cars get exposed to sun and high temperatures. Also, the leather in my car I wouldn't really call leather so it's not near as durable as real leather.

My take away would be periodic gentle cleaning using a micro fibre cloth and a good leather conditioner would be appropriate. You could probably get what you need on Amazon. I can't recommend a conditioner as I'd be hesitant to use the ones I use for my car, Meguiar's Gold Leather Conditioner, unless you get some real leather expert to OK it's use.

[Col. Kurtz]

Drop a note to the Smithsonian and see what they recommend. IIRC, they use Ballistol...

[Weelok]

Here are some forum posts that seem to say you may be fine with Meguiars
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?21233-Leather-Jacket-care

Test a small section first as one post complained his leather turned greenish on Amazon.

[cigarmonkel]

awesome thanks for all the help guys! My grandfathers jacket will definitely stay in good condition now thanks to you all!

[fencefixer]

Just make sure you do a little bit at a time more often and not cake it on thick at once. It'll take a little bit of time until it's all absorbed. I personally use beeswax leather conditioner but YMMV.

[markem]

Call or write Langlitz leathers. They make about the best leather products around and are often involved in restorations and the making of movie gear.

http://www.langlitz.com/