hi,
a few days ago I aged my wested. I think it looks good. after I showed it to my mom she was kind of shocked ;-) She said: "how could you do something like that to your 250 $ jacket ?"( but after I explained her why I did it she thinks it looks good). Anybody else with a story ?
About 10 years ago I had a Wilson's jacket that was a hybrid A2/Contemorary cut. I took a plastic scrubby to it and worked that baby raw. It was a 2 month old jacket that suddenly looked 50 years old. It looked awesome for about a month.
Then, the belly of the jacket started to get shinny and dark brown and just looked odd. So I gave it the plastic scrubby again. Didn't treat it with Packard's or anything, just some goop made from Bee Wax and Formaldehyde (I guess). And it looked awesome for about a month.
Then, the belly of the jacket started to get shinny and dark brown again, and just looked even worse. So I gave it the plastic scrubby yet again. using the same goop made from Bee Wax and Formaldehyde (I guess). And it looked awesome for about another month.
Then it occurred to me that the as I was wearing the jacket when I was taking out the garbage at the restaurant I was working in and the filth and the moisture was causing that area in the jacket to rot.
I ruined a perfectly good jacket 10 years ago cause I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing or where and when I was wearing it.
From now on I'll never prematurely distress a jacket.
.....and follow the directions. Of course you didn't have the advantage of my special acetone martini. You harmed the leather. Some hides you can remove color giving the appearance of age without damaging the leather.
I am trying remember that adage about foresight and hindsight, but I am coming up dry.......Oh well.
I am going to uni in a month so I am waiting till then before attempting any distressign methods on my jacket - my mum was annoyed enough that I even bought a Wested so I dont think she would be too pleased if she thought I was deliberatly trying to destroy one.
Whoa whoa whoa.... calm down before you get your fedora in a bunch! And please dont tell me how sure you are of my intentions. I seriously didnt mean anything by it. I was simply making a statement, which I have changed. I really enjoy being a part of this community and would never purposely do anything to upset my fellow
Indygear - ians!
I am sorry!
It's my vauge humor and exaustiion of staying up with a two month old... The Coppertop Kid kept me up all night talking about taking my hat, getting on the boots his Grampa gave him, saddleing up Noel and chasing down Bandits till 2AM.
I love my jacket so much I can not take a chance on ruining it. I am thinking of getting a new one and distressing it so I will have two. Then when I go to a convention for three or four days I will start off in my new jacket and switch over to the old one half way through. I just got back from Dragon Con and all I could do was take off my jacket to look more rugged. It just looks too nice for the whole entire adventure.
That was me. I am new at this whole costuming thing. Were you Marion? Sorry I am so bad with names. Everyone was telling me about this site so I am checking it out. I haven't found anyone else I know yet. If you want to see my pictures you can go to my site.
nope, I am not Marion. Burns showed us some pics from Dragoncon of the 4 Indys. I do want to work on getting a Marion outfit together. I have an Indy outfit right now.
Not at all. In fact, after six weeks of careful acetone aging, then a three-month rest period, I decided to complete the process. I was watching Last Crusade a few nights ago, and when I came to the famous tank chase, I couldn't stand it. I located a few sheets of ultra-fine sandpaper and set to work highlighting my acetone work. I referenced a half-dozen production and publicity stills, as well as freeze-frames from the movie, and used a light, random circular rub to achieve the exact look of the large wear areas on the back of the jacket, as well as the front, upper shoulders, and arms. I finished my work with a good coat of Letap conditioner, and the result is awesome beyond words. Harrison could put this jacket on and you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. I'm very pleased with my work, and I do not regret it for a minute.
-Dale
P.S.- According to the latest Star Wars Insider, Indiana Jones IV has been officially announced by Lucasfilm.
Okay, but it may take awhile, as a family member has gone out of town for a few days and taken the digital camera. Please be patient. I should have some new pictures by next week.
Okay, I finally got our camera back. I had several shots taken of me outside, in natural lighting. This displays the jacket best in its natural state. Please follow the URL below for comparative shots of the jacket before and after distressing. Enjoy!
Thanks! That really means a lot coming from you, since you're the resident expert in such matters. Believe it or not, the sandpapering didn't really hurt the jacket. I'm a fervent believer in making gear last, so I worked very gently, taking care not to damage the leather. There is definitely a difference between destroying a jacket and meticulously aging it. I worked with very fine sandpaper, highlighting my previous acetone work. It really makes a difference when you have a pre-established guideline to go by. I found that, with acetone distressing, I needed only to apply minimal pressure with the sandpaper to bring out the correct "look" of the jacket. My only regret is that I can't offer clearer pictures for everyone to see, because it really is a sight to behold. And before anybody accuses me, I'm not bragging. The whole jacket turned out fantastic, beyond my wildest expectations. I wish that I could "pass it around" for everyone to examine firsthand, because it very closely resembles the jacket in Last Crusade. I'll try to get some better pictures for the group. Hopefully everyone can see why I'm so pleased with my work.
Nicely done! One of the things I notice that these pictures really show is the variations in what the jacket looks light under different lighting conditions. Its one of the hardest things to pin down. But you look at that jacket outside and then look at the flash pictures and what a difference.
Not my intention KING!
High regards. Michaelson
Call me dumbo #2 for not getting the joke! 
