BC Sport Bikes Forum banner

How do you take care of your leather gear?

4K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  SnoDragon 
#1 ·
I had my nice jacket for 2 seasons, it has seen a couple of rains, also the straps of my backpacks have whitened and faded the shoulders.

I ended up painfully applying mink oil on it which I bought when I bought my RS Taichy suit, with a rag wrapped around my hand. As per YouTube.

It looks great now and feels greasy and healthy instead of dry and on its way to cracking. Are there any other things I should apply before or after mink oil? Is there a better way to apply mink oil? Maybe an applicator?

Or maybe there is something better out there than mink?

On the picture, mink oil applied on the left. Right is the before.

Thanks
Art
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#3 ·
I throw my leathers in the washing machine at the end of every season. If its a top load machine, lay down a couple towels in the bottom first.
Hang dry
Then hit it with OK oil, which the sell in a few places, but for sure sell at Dayton Boots. Great stuff and offers a bit of water resistance as well.

Other than that, during riding season, warm water, a microfiber cloth, and a soft bristle brush, lay the leathers out on the deck, give em a good scrub where all the bugs are caked on, wipe, rinse, hang
 
#8 ·
I've used Danier Skincare leather "Renewal Lotion" a few seasons. This seems to do a decent job, but is expensive. Mink oil works well ("Original", from 3 Vets, or Dakota Duracare brand - not sure where I got that), but I find it a bit stinky. I'm now using Neatsfoot Oil (also 3 Vets - ten bucks for an 8 ounce bottle).
Same as others above, water wash first to remove grime and bugs, altho I just do that by hand with a sopping rag, not machine.
 
#11 ·
This is a post from an expert race leathers shop...with some minor grammar/punctuation edits.

Most leather suits can be cleaned in a heavy duty washing machine. Hey it's just dead skin isn't it? What do you wash your skin with ? Soap and water.

Strip the armor and removable padding out of the suit. In some suits this
requires opening a seam in the lining if an access opening is not provided. Turn the suit inside out while it is washing. after the spin cycle lay the suit on a flat surface . don't hang it up for it will stretch a mile. As the suit starts drying out start turning it inside out. Usually, once or twice a day and before it is dry start applying a leather conditioner. Any lanolin based hand lotion will work fine for this (don't get caught using your wife/girlfriend's expensive imported brand on your suit, she will know where it's gone from the smell and you will pay dearly afterwards). Just get the cheap generic kind from Wal-mart .

Figure this cleaning process taking a least a week. Don't get rushed and put the suit up before it is totally dry and keep the suit stored where it can get good air flow to prevent mildew and mold ( very bad). Be forewarned that some suits with red and white combinations can bleed . Do a test sample on these first. they require hand cleaning.

All suits need cleaning at least once a year if nothing else than to remove the sweat salts from the leather . It's a real leather killer so get it out of there. That's about all for the cleaning process. Hope it helps. The best to all

Barnacle Bill and Darethea
barnacle@kyol.net 859 336 7375
 
#12 ·
I've done what CDG states for years. I use Mink Oil instead. I'm about to do my suits again for the start of the season in 2 weeks
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top