Leather restoration/preservation

[tbonesmith]

Hi all, I've just bought a very good all be it very dirty Ankara 8mm with the intention of giving it a thorough cleanup, the wood is really nice and free from big dings, and the metal work is in good nick with only very very light surface rust in places but mainly very good bluing and familiar grease/oil gunge. And these are no problem for me, but...
it appears to have the original sling on it, leather and about 3/4" wide, too short to use as a shooting sling and perfect for carrying. Any who, this sling is a bit stiff and mouldy, but as yet uncracked and I'd like to restore it to usable condition without cracking it. Anyone know about this stuff???
Many thanks

Information

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[bigduke6]

tbonesmith,

Think were in the same boat , am looking for the same info myself for the following Boer war bandoilers i recently bought on ebay, the top one is very hard and has cracks , the bottom one is realy nice.
The top one has been covered in something recently and smells like sun tan loation. want to remove whatever it is then begin to try and soften/clean etc.


looking on the net found this site,

The Reenactors Guide to Leather Care in the 19th Century

as I wanted to use old and tried methods as opposed to new stuff, after searching a few sites seems water, saddle soap, neat,s foot oil and animal oil (tallow) come out on top.

[gunner]

Hi,

if we get old leather in our company to clean up we use a mild detergent and water with a smooth sponge and clean the leather careful in several steps as long until it is clean. Cleaning old leather didn´t make it looking like new!Than we use a Swissmade Leatheroil from Effax and depending on what it is, let it soak the oil in different ways. One is to apply the oil with an piece of cloth and apply it as long until it dont soak anymore, or to stick it in an oilbath and let it soak for several hours. The leather must be full of oil before you move it to make it soft, otherwise it is possible that it will break of at the surface. There are some different steps between and sometimes it is necessary to renew the stitching but the results are great. The last time i made it with my Grandpa´s officer boots and they are looking good. Before they were hard and now i could wear them if my feets weren´t to big

Regards

Gunner

[dt1950]

Gentlemen, I've used "Pecard" on my US leather goods for decades. It won't darken the leather the way that neatsfoot oil will do. Years ago I applied neatsfoot oil to a new condition M6 Scabbard and it promptly darkened it. Not the result I was looking for. Regards, H.T.

[JBS]

The only one ! Hope you can find it outside the U.S.

Welcome To Pecard - Your Number One Source For Quality Leathercare Products * Treatment, Preservation & Weatherproofing of Leather * Since 1915

[gunner]

Good link JBS, but i dont like the silicone in it. Its good for to protect the leather against water but it closes the surface and the leather couldn´t "breath" anymore. Make sure that the leather has no water in it from cleaning and use it than. I prefer the natural products. If you use them they will darken the leather a bit, but only as long as they dryed a bit, than the colour is getting lighter again.

Regards

Gunner

[JBS]

I should have specified the Antique Leather Care Line

[gunner]

Ahh, OK! Thanks JBS.

Regards

Gunner

[Johnny Peppers]

You can restore most of the suppleness to old leather, but you cannot restore the original strength. If it is the original sling I would not depend on it to perform like new leather.
I have used the Pecard's Antique Leather Dressing for about 30 years with very good success. If the leather is really dry, it will soak up water like a sponge, and will have a tendency to dry out stiff. A heavy coat of Pecards rubbed back off with a soft cloth will do a good job of cleaning the leather. When you treat the leather with Pecards use very thin multiple coats rather than heavy coats. Don't use the sun or artificial heat to speed up the process, but let the Pecards work at room temperature until you can feel no more on the surface. Then you can repeat thin coats until the leather is treated.

[gew8805]

Quote from Johnny Peppers: "You can restore most of the suppleness to old leather, but you cannot restore the original strength. If it is the original sling I would not depend on it to perform like new leather."

The best thing said so far. You can not expect an old dried out piece of leather to regain it's like new condition.

As far as what to use, avoid at all costs anything with petroleum products or silicone. While some Pecards products have silicone and others do not, ALL contain petroleum and should be avoided on antique leather products that you wish to preserve for posterity, this includes their so called "Antique Leather Care". This holds true for almost all modern "convenient" leather preservatives. If you are going to grease up a pair of work boots, Pecards and so-called mink oils are fine, but not for old leathers that you want to preserve.

The best thing for archival leather items that you want to preserve in original condition is - nothing. Wipe down with a soft, dry cloth to remove loose dust and dirt and leave it as found. Store it in an area where the humidity is a constant 60% and the temperature is strictly regulated. Also avoid direct and prolonged exposure to sunlight.

If you find that you need to use something to restore the oils that have been lost, use a light coating of PURE neatsfoot oil. Yes, it will darken the leather but not too much and certainly no worse than when neatsfoot oil was used on it the last time in military service. And be careful, at all costs avoid the cheap, commonly available neatsfoot oil compound, as I said above, use only pure neatsfoot oil. The compounds are cut with petroleum and mineral oil and will damage leather.