Plynck wrote:
And, after visiting the Pecard's site, I am also a bit confused as to which product to use with which hide, and at what age of the hide.
Plynck wrote:After revisiting the Pecard site, it still leaves a little bit of confusion in my mind, but I'll try to call them in the next week or so, and post the answers here.
I just got off the phone with Eric at Pecard's, very nice and patient with my questions. I hope that I got this right, please jump in Eric if you see any egregious errors.
They stock many items for many uses. All comments here are really only applicable for Pecard's used with jackets. The principal Pecard products that might interest the Indygear folk here are:
Classic Leather Dressing, Leather Lotion, Jell, and (to a lesser degree) Boot/Shoe Oil. I'll address them in a different order.
-Boot/Shoe Oil: Not called Boot/Shoe/Jacket Oil for a reason
The most penetrating of the above group, so a jacket can easily become oversaturated with oil. The only real use for jackets would be if an older hide lost a lot of its natural oils, and needed to be replenished. It should be LIGHTLY applied to a clean cloth, and then swiped on the hide. Once replenished, switch to Leather Dressing.
-Leather Lotion: Water based, with polymers. Lighter in weight than the Leather Dressing. You would use this if you didn't want the use of this product to change the look of the hide. Can't be applied if you have already used Leather Dressing (see below).
-Classic Leather Dressing: An oil based product with beeswax. A clear product, but it is also available tinted Black and Brown. This can darken and add a sheen to a hide. It will add more weight to the jacket than the Leather Lotion. It will repel water, so if you use this you will probably NOT be able to apply the Leather Lotion later (because the lotion is a water based product). However, if you started with Lotion you can later switch to Dressing.
-Jell: A mixture of the Leather Dressing and the Oil. More penetrating than the Dressing (but less than the Oil), it will absorb faster into the hide than the straight Dressing. You would use this to "loosen" a stiff hide. This can also be overdone (as referenced above with the Oil), so once it is absorbed, switch back to Dressing.
So, which hides should be treated with which product?
-Lambskin should probably be treated with Leather Lotion, because of it's lighter weight.
-Cowhide, Distressed Cowhide, Lambstouch Cowhide, and Goatskin: Your call of Lotion or Dressing. Leather lotion will yield a lighter (weighing) jacket, won't change the color of the hide, and my take is that it isn't as weatherproof. Leather Dressing will make the jacket heavier, possibly darker, and (again) my take is more weatherproof. And once you start with the oil based Dressing, you should continue with it.
-Horsehide: Jell or Dressing. If the horsehide is stiff (as they can be sometimes, oh yeah), loosen it with Jell, then switch to Dressing.
In general, Pecard's would chiefly recommend Leather Dressing for most jacket uses.
I'm sure that Eric at Pecard's will give you more (and probably better) advice when you call, but this is a good starter on what to look for.
If anyone can use this as a basis to compare and contrast other products (such as Lexol? or Letap?) it would be most welcome.
Best to all,
plynck
