Thanks everybody for VERY good advice! I will probably do nothing until I have a chance to talk to Paddy at Real McCoy's. I am not sure of the finish, and I love the jacket so much I would be crushed if I screwed it up!
Get yourself the Pecards "Jell". This is the one that DOES NOT CONTAIN
THE BEES WAX! You can also get their leather lotion too, which is what
some refer to as the motorcycle lotion. This lotion is safe for all colors,
even white leather. It is not harsh, and is also a good basic leather
cleaner as well.
Also, get yourself a small can of brown shoe polish, and a bottle of
Woolite cleaner, some Q-tips, and some cotton cloths.
The outer finish of the sheepskin is indeed a lacquered finish. This was
done to keep water, gas and oil from penetrating the hide. It will also
keep any leather treatments from penetrating as well, so any thing you
put on it will not sink in and do anything to protect the shearling.
The elbow sections and all the cover stitching sections are horsehide, and
the buckle straps and side adjustment belts are all cowhide.
You can use the Pecards Jell on the horsehide and cowhide parts with
great results. The use of this will darken these parts slightly, but the
darkness will fade back to the original color after while.
Apply the jell with your fingers, sparingly, to the horse and cow hide
parts by rubbing it in small circular motions, letting it dry, and absorb
over night. In the morning, use a soft, old cotton cloth or tee shirt to
remove any that remains. You can use the Q-tips to apply the jell to parts
that you can't reach with your fingers.
You can use the lotion to do a basic cleaning of the lacquered parts of the
sheepskin, and to keep the jacket looking good. You can apply this with
the cotton cloth in circular motions, and buff it off right away. You don't
have to wait overnight, as it will not soak into the lacquered parts. You
can remove it a few minutes after you apply it.
The sheepskin parts of your new beautiful B-3 will start to get cracks
in them as you begin to wear the jacket. This is inevitable, and all B-3, B-6
and all other lacquered finish jackets get them. Its the nature of the finish.
This is a sign that you bought an authenticlly finished, WWII shearling jacket.
The cheaper versions do not have this outer finish, and only the better
quality made shearling jackets will repel the gas, water and oil.
When the cracks show up, you will see the white hide underneath. You
can apply just the Pecards Jell to them to protect the hide from actual
damage, and leave the white showing, as this is what gives the jacket the
worn, vintage look that the originals have that you see. The pecards
will treat the hide, and keep it from drying out at the cracks.
If you want to hide the cracks from showing when they appear, you
take a Q-tip, and apply some of the shoe polish to one end of it.
Take the shoe polish, and rub it into the crack. Now, take the other end
of the Q-tip, and use it to apply some of the Pecards Jell over top of the shoe
polish, but do not rub too hard. You want to just apply the jell over the
shoe polish in order for it to mix with the shoe polish.
Leave this on over night, and in the morning, use your cotton cloth, and
LIGHTLY buff the area.
Your crack in the outer finish will now be hidden, and the hide will be protected.
For cleaning the inside wool sections of your jacket, mix up a bucket full
of the Woolite per the bottles specifictions.
Now, take a cotton wash cloth that you would use on your face, and
swirl it around in the Woolite bucket in order to whip up the suds.
Take the washcloth, and wring it out so its just damp, not soaking wet,
and use it to scoop up a handful of JUST THE SUDS from the bucket.
Use the suds to clean any dirty or soiled parts of the wool. Do not get
the wool too wet! You don't have to rub the wool parts too hard either.
Let the suds do the work. Just use the washcloth to gently scrub the outer
surface of the wool.
You may have to do this several times to get really dirty spots clean. You
do not want to get the wool too wet, you just want it to get clean. If
you see that the wool is getting too wet, use a dry towel, and BLOT the
wool. Remember, your cleaning this jacket, not beating the #### out it!
Let the wool parts dry before you wear the jacket again.
Some other things you will want to get to keep the jacket looking good
are a scarf to wear around your neck to keep the oils on your skin from
getting on the wool, and making it get soiled over time.
You should also get a small, fine tooth comb to use on the wool if it
gets flattened out or matted down from wearing, which it will, around the
bottom hem, the edges of the neck, and the ends of cuffs of the sleeves.
You use the comb to re-fluff up the wool if you want it to keep looking
good. Don't beat on it with the comb. You just want to fluff it, not yank it
out.
You should also get a bristle brush attachment for your vacumm. This
should be a soft bristle brush attachement that you will use to clean off
the jacket at the end of the season, at the beginning of the season to
remove any dust from the wool and other parts of the jacket, and just
to keep it generally clean between wearings if need be.
And finally, DO NOT HANG THIS JACKET ON ANY HANGER THAT IS NOT
AT LEAST A 1.5 INCH WIDE WOODEN HANGER!!! Did you get that? Let
me stress this point one more time, DO NOT HANG THE JACKET ON
ANYTHING BUT A VERY WIDE WOODEN HANGER!
Why? Because if you do, you will put a lot of stress on the shoulder areas
of the jacket, and because these jackets are very heavy, you can stretch
the shoulder area, and it will leave stretch marks, and ruin the hide in
this area!
And, try not to hang the jacket on even the wide hangers except for
short periods of time. I only use my wooden hanger for when I hang my
Aero Redskin B-3 at work. At home, I lay my jacket down flat
on the bed in my spare bedroom, or on a chain in my livingroom. You
may want to invest in a few of the wide wooden hangers to keep at places
you visit alot, so you can have your own hanger when you go there. Does
this sound weird? Maybe, but you just put down close to a thousand dollars
for a jacket, and you do not want to ruin it by using a 10 cent hanger!!!!
The absolute best thing to do, is keep the box the jacket came in, which
should be a very large box, and store the jacket in there when your not
wearing it, and its being put away for the off season.
When the season is over, vacuum the jacket with the bristle brush, clean
any dirty spots with the Woolite, apply the jell to the horse and cowhide
parts, and do the shoe polish/jell treatment to any cracks you see before
you store the jacket for the off season.
This will ensure that when winter comes around again, your beautiful
B-3 will be ready for the harshest of climents!!
Flathead
. What do y'all suggest?
. I also agree w/ Tony about contacting Real McCoy and getting their recommendation. Your B-3 is simply gorgeous :!: 
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