how do you care for your leathers

[deathlucky]

ok so today i left for work not a cloud in the sky. 4:00pm rocks around and its pissing down rain and i brang my brand new leather jacket that i got the day before. So i was not sure if its ok to get them wet, so me being the idiot i am i didnt wear it. So?

1 can you get leather jackets wet?
2 how do you clean leather jackets?
3 do need to put any thing on the leather to keep it good?

Thank you.

[Cal Price]

A natural leather jacket is not waterproof, I have a couple, they resist rain for a good while but when they get wet they get very wet and heavy but are ok for most weather, depends on your local climate.

A lot of modern leather bike jackets are laminated to make them waterproof and these just need a wipe over if they get mucky, this should be clear from garment labels etc,.

Natural leather (in my humble oppinion) looks better and develops a roughy-toughy lived in look. You can treat it with waterproofing sprays but I only use these on my textile jacket and trousers. If you must test a small bit first as it is possible to discolour the leather. A more satisfactory way of keeping the leather subtle and preventing cracks as well as giving the leather better waterproofing qualities is to use "Dubbin" 

That's the stuff that your dad probably used for his soccer-rugby-cricket boots years ago, it is still used mainly for walking boots and golf shoes, it looks like old fashioned shoe polish but does not dry to a gloss and applies in a similar way. It comes in standard shoe colours and a nuetral option which may suit you best. This can be a painstaking process but will not need a lot of doing depending on climate and use, once a year before your wet season might be enough, perhaps if you have hot dry dusty summers twice a year for preservation. Again try a hidden area first.

[MarkusN]

Yep, good ole leather grease. There are also more sophisticatd products containing wax and silicones. But basically it comes down to keeping the leather greased up and avoiding it to dry out.

Water apparently is not so bad if you grease up properly afterwards, as I have heard that some folks even soak their leathers in the bathtub when they get too sweaty-

[hmmmnz]

as these guys have already said
i use a wax based one,  if your jacket gets wet it will start to salt,(white stuff will come through the jacket) its just the stuff they used in curing it
keep it waxed or greased up and a jacket will serve you a lifetime

[rangerbrown]

so if i put my pants and jacket in the washing machince that is bad right?

[MarkusN]

If they are leather, I'd say so, yeah. (Especially with the American garment twisters. Sorry, coulnd't resist)

[rangerbrown]

if you havent seen those your missing out  to the girls the wear that

[Wrecent_Wryder]

[q2

[OhDot]

Joe Rocket offers their "leather protection cream" but I am not sure if it is any good. They say that it is just a cream that you apply with a cotton cloth from time to time.  You can try checking that out. I don't know if it seals water out completely but it may be worth a look.

[Cal Price]

Good point from Wrecent_Wrider, splits are everywhere nowadays, they allow the industry to get a lot more surface area of "hide" that's why leather funiture and "fashion leather" has got so (comparitivly) cheap these days, if you are buying new, subtle but thick is the ideal and if you are going to treat it with a preservative don't wait a year, start straight away, it makes it easier to wipe the dead bugs off too!

[My Name Is Dave]

Get some Kiwi Saddle Soap to clean it and Kiwi Mink Oil to treat it. Cheap and easy, IMO. Just how I like my women.

Dave 

[makenzie71]

I don't typically worry too much but I generally just wipe my gear down with dust spray...if I have some particularly difficult bug splatters I'll spray the spot in scrubbin-bubbles and then go over it with pledge...not the lemon pledge, though, just regular pledge.

Works great.  When my gear does start getting rank, though, it goes in the washer. Even with our "garment twisters" it does a good job without harming the leather, but I do prefer going to the laundry matt and using a front load machine.  This does cause the color to fade a little, though, but I wear solid black...it's easy to dye.

[scratch]

I was told by an old biker to, "treat it like $#i+, and it'll treat you great right back".

I treat my leathers like $#i+.

[ryusan]

I just bought some Lexol Leather Cleaner and Conditioner from Pepboys this weekend and was satisfied with the results.  My A* Stage jacket looks brand new and is now 20% softer.  Only thing I was not happy with is that my jacket now feels a little looser (I like my jackets tight and snug?).

Anyways, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

[Leon78]

+1 on saddle soap and mink oil 

[werase643]

Koala poo is great for water protection....

[Wrecent_Wryder]

[34

[SeriousGeorge]

Motorcycle Consumer News did a comparison a couple years ago that's worth looking at. I've been using Lexol which they really liked. It's pretty inexpensive and available just about anywhere unlike some of the more exotic stuff. I like it.

http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval.asp

[MrDan]

So ... i got caught in a damn monsoon yesterday.  Any thoughts on how to care for my Cortech leather jacket and Sidi boots?  The boots have those awesome wind scoops to keep your feet cool ... and let ALL the rain in.   

[Cal Price]

Wrecent_Wrider's point about dubious skins from afar made me smile, once in a far distand land, under the influence of too much vino, I bought a leather item from a street market vendor, quite cheap after much theatrical haggling, it was camel hide and it was tough and subtle, great untill it rained and then it smelt like camel sh*t.

Another twopenny worth, linseed oil is good and generally freely available.