Leather Care
- Thread starter Epoxy7
- Start date
Great leather care guide! I was wondering if you have ever had any experience with "303 aerospace protectant?" I've used in on the leather in the truck, but haven't tried it on anything else.
http://www.303products.com/shop303/index.cfm/category/65/303-aerospace-protectant.cfm
http://www.303products.com/shop303/index.cfm/category/65/303-aerospace-protectant.cfm
- Location
- Tucson, Arizona
Propert's saddlers wax.
I agree on neets foot oil. not good.
I agree on neets foot oil. not good.
According to the Smithsonian Institute, the only thing you can do with leather, is to retard its decay. You may be able to retard it for a prolonged time period but it will continue to decay, no matter what. They knew that, when they went into WWII. Its been a constant source of irritation for governments for thousands of years.
There was a program on the history channel. It was hosted by a curator from some huge militaria museum, with access to warehouses of pristine weapons and accesories. He commented on leather. One of his comments that stuck in my mind was that the tanning fluids used, actually encouraged deterioration. His expample of this, was a hermetically sealed holster. Even though it was as new, when put into a sealed, nitrogen filled glass display case, without any direct lighting, it was still deteriorating and had visibly changed, since it had been sealed in almost 80 years previous.
There was a program on the history channel. It was hosted by a curator from some huge militaria museum, with access to warehouses of pristine weapons and accesories. He commented on leather. One of his comments that stuck in my mind was that the tanning fluids used, actually encouraged deterioration. His expample of this, was a hermetically sealed holster. Even though it was as new, when put into a sealed, nitrogen filled glass display case, without any direct lighting, it was still deteriorating and had visibly changed, since it had been sealed in almost 80 years previous.
Thanks for the advice! Appreciate the ability to learn something new every day
Gerald, one of our bygone hobbies was digging around in old dumps for whatever relic, usually glass bottles, we could find.
We were always amazed at how well old leather shoes stood the years. We were usually in dumps that were about, or just short of, 100 years. In almost every one, we could find old leather shoes. The leather would, of course, be hard, but still tough and still there. Certainly nothing special to preserve them would have been put on, prior to throwing them away, but they still stood the years, out in the weather, until they were often covered by 100 years of build up on top of the heap.
We were always amazed at how well old leather shoes stood the years. We were usually in dumps that were about, or just short of, 100 years. In almost every one, we could find old leather shoes. The leather would, of course, be hard, but still tough and still there. Certainly nothing special to preserve them would have been put on, prior to throwing them away, but they still stood the years, out in the weather, until they were often covered by 100 years of build up on top of the heap.
I'm going to give this a try on a Mauser leather action cover I just got in. The leather is in decent condition while the strap is cracked in places but still usable. The biggest issue is the action cover smells like it was dropped (and left?) in a pile of cigarette ash. Do you think your process would remove or at-least stem the stench ?
Thank you for your thoughts.
Thank you for your thoughts.
