Hello all, I was out last night and got caught in a trully mean downpour . My new (to me) Wested lamb was completely soaked through. The water dripping from it was brown and I assume that I was looking at the runoff of leather dressing. My shirt even stained brown .
So now i'm freaking out that my lining may somehow be damaged as well as the leather. I've had jackets get wet in the past but this was as if I went swimming in it. What is the best way to dry out my jacket? do I hang it or should I lay it flat? I'm not sure what is the best approach
Thanks,
Soulman
Hey Soul, sorry to hear about your drenching, but I think your jacket will be ok, if not better than before. Alot of folks say that rain helps the fit and look of the jacket. I would try to dry it with towels as much as you can, then hang it to dry. I wouldn't use a hanger, but maybe hang it upside down from a clothes line. This way you won't stretch the shoulders (because of the water weight)during the dry time. Just be sure to use Pecards on it after it is dry, so it will re-moisturize the leather. Let us know how it comes out.
'Blues
Sound advice Blues! I'm on it. I knew it was going to rain but it was supposed to be just "scattered". Well, it seems that the rain scattered all over ME unbelievable. Like I said, I have had wet jackets before but this was unreal.
Blue Skies, (man I need 'em now)
Soulman
I recommend zipping it up and laying it flat -on towels is not a bad idea - until it is just damp, then hanging it on a padded hanger until dry, still keeping it zipped. If you do not, you get funky curls. I have actually got rid of "death curls" by wetting the jacket and letting it dry zipped.
I had my Wested Lamb in similar shape last january in Yosemite. We visited a very full Bridalveil falls IN a rainstorm.
The jacket was soaked to a dripping, soaking through the lining point, and even my Akubra started shipping water through the crown.
The jacket stiffened up a bit as it dried, but wearing it off and on while it dried seemed to help. I hit it with some Pecards after I got home, and the jacket was fine.
I'll be up at Yosemite next week (not this coming week, but the following) myself, but haven't made up my mind what jacket is going due to the weather up there at the moment.
Right now it seems to be o.k. there are quite a few wrinkles and it is getting fairly stiff but I think that once it is dressed that it should soften up. The wrinkles are not too offensive and give the jacket a well worn appearance. At present I have it on one of my wide jacket hangers that has had a beach towel wrapped around it to sort of simulate my own shoulders. I hope that this works. Thank you so much! i'll let you all know how it comes out and will post pics. Which is of course what I had wanted to do before this.
Blue Skies,
Soulman
lol I PURPOSELY wore my wested goat in the rain the other day. Ive been trying to shrink it up some. I did alot of soaking it and putting it in the dryer. At first i was careful, but after a while i was drentching the thing and putting it in full heat. Goat does take a beating. The dryer wears out the edges of the jacket nicely. I eventually took some rubbing alchohal to it, and it took off some shiner. I used some sandpaper to ruff the edges more too on pocket flaps and such.
Basically for the rain i didnt care. It held the water off pretty well. Eventually after a bit it took in some water, and i could tell that night the leather felt slightly damp. After balling it up and letting it hang around on a chair for the week, the jacket feels amazing. Today when i wore it on my drive home from school, the leather felt softer and thinner almost, not so stiff like goat anymore. There are more noticeable wrinkles to the leather as well. The jacket has shrunk a bit, and its really comfortable now, more than ever. I love how the rain worked, softened my baby up. Ive never pecarded my goat and i probably wont for a while, i enjoy geting it beat in.
I took a couple of showers (yep, the bathroom kind) in my Wested some time ago... need to get them ToD sleeve wrinkles going, so I decided to gove it a good hose-down. Afterwards, I wore the jacket while it dried, and pulled the sleeves up above the elbows. The collar was shaped a bit more in the process too... did wonders for the "Indy" look!
I'd need to use the camera self-timer in order to provide you with those pics, VP... a bit too much of a project. So I guess you'll have to settle for pics of the jacket. Please.
Here's a few pics of my jacket one week after being waterlogged. It has become awesome! I was truly worried at the start, but now, the fit is great and all the before mentioned stiffness has gone. I put a good coating of Lexol on it and it's a thing of beauty. The only part of the jacket that stayed wrinkled was the right pocket as you can see in the pic. And even that is by no means a let down. I think it looks kinda cool.
Blue Skies,
Soulman
There was indeed no need to worry, soulman... a downpour or two just adds to the jacket's character... and you're right, the right pocket does look cool!
That jacket IS a beauty. Heck, if I would have drenched it, it may have still fit me, lol.
Congrats, it looks great,...and just look at that back panel seam. Flawless!
'Blues
Sorry for the bump, but I had to add my thoughts on my recent experience with my Wested Horsehide and water. For those who don't know, horsehide is naturally water repellant, if not water proof. Well, last weekend that was put to the test. Big Time. In Louisville KY, I was in and out of my truck all day Friday during work; there was a steady down pour all day. My jacket got wet completely 5-6 times that day with maybe 5-10 minutes of exposure in the rain, each time air drying on its own. Later that night, I went to a high school football game in Cincinnati where my brother-in-law is an assistant principal, and the rain had let up for the most part, a steady light drizzle. The jacket was getting wet, but the water was just running off. About the start of the 4th quarter, it started pouring again. No where to go, open bleachers, no umbrella etc. The game went into triple OT, and it poured the whole time. I stood in that down pour for a good hour and it took another half hour to get back to my truck. After the game, we went out for a few beers. The jacket dried in about 20 minutes sitting on a barstool. It didn't feel damp at all. It softened up a bit, too. All that time in the rain and not one drop soaked through the leather. The lining wasn't even damp. My head, pants, and boots were all soaked through, but the rest of me was dry. One more reason to get the horsehide.
so guys how wet is to wet? my mom's place just got 12 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. so think my gear can hold up to that kind of abuse? ...hmmm think i'll put the wested away for a couple days and wear my a2...my poor fed looks like a drowned rat just from walking from the front door of my office to my truck (about 50 feet).
hope the others here in oregon and washington are managing to stay a bit dry.
Yup, my Wested goat is two years old now and its been wet I don't know how many times, but I'm yet to soak it through. No Pecards yet and its finally starting to show some minor wear along the storm flap and cuffs.
I wore my goatskin Wested today, as we're getting frog strangling rain. No problems.
Remember, it's not meant to be a raincoat,. The leather is resistant to rain, but the seams can leak. For those dashes from the car to the house, it works fine.
. My new (to me) Wested lamb was completely soaked through. The water dripping from it was brown and I assume that I was looking at the runoff of leather dressing. My shirt even stained brown 
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