Bullwhip stain removal?

AVbat · Post by **AVbat** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:03 pm

Ok so I have 10' Strain Indy whip and the last several feet of the whip have accumulated a sort of stain on them. I have tried a number of things to remove the stains but nothing works. One thing i have not gotten is pecards so i will do that, but will pecards remove stuborn stains like this?

Post by **BullWhipBorton** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:13 pm

Avbat, what sort of stain is it? Grass? Dirt? Blood? Dye? A good saddle soap and pecards may help, but it depends on the problem.

I need more info, got a picture of the whip? Is it a natural tan whip? The last couple feet especially on a long whip will normally darken up pretty quick as its used outdoors, is it possible that that’s whats happening?

Dan

Sergei · Post by **Sergei** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:25 pm

Unfortunately, saddle soap and pecards is about all you can do, safely...

AVbat · Post by **AVbat** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:34 pm

BullWhipBorton, here are some pics. of the whip in question. A friend of mine decided he would attempt to use it on a blacktop like a parking lot one day so i am assuming that is what the stains are from as they are sort of black and i take better care of the whip that to use it on a surface like that. I was hoping to return it to its original color or as close as i could come to it.
P.S. me and that particular fellow arent friends any longer. lol. a

any suggestions would be appreciated

Post by **BullWhipBorton** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:54 pm

It’s not that bad, it just looks like it was well used.

Get some Fiebings saddle soap paste, either the white or yellow. Follow the directions and clean the whole whip, lightly scrubbing the plaiting with soft cloth and a toothbrush. Let it dry completely and then give it a coat of Pecards. Allow it a day or two to soak in, then wipe the whip dry with a clean lint free soft cloth.

After a good cleaning and coat of leather dressing those dark spots your concerned about should blend in and become much less noticeable. I don’t think you’ll be able to restore the whip to its original color, as the whip is darkening up on you form its original natural tan and that’s normal.

Glad to hear your taste in friends has improved

. Also I’d suggest tying a new popper onto the fall as well, if you need help with that let me know.

Dan

Sergei · Post by **Sergei** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:46 pm

Those are good instructions Dan. AVbat you mentioned you don't have Pecards yet. Make sure you have all the ingredients in hand before you clean your whip with saddle soap. Saddle soap will dry out the whip. So I wouldn't let it be in that dry state for too long.

AVbat · Post by **AVbat** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:48 pm

thanks Borton!!
Pecards is on the way and saddle soap is next on the list, and hopefully this puppy will be looking good in about a week and a half, or so. I had just taken the old popper off before i too those pics and a pile of new ones are ready to go!
Thanks by the way for the friendly advice it is greatly appreciated!!!

classicbullwhips · Post by **classicbullwhips** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 6:23 am

I have to agree to disagree with BullWhipBortonbeing as fellow michigander. I have been a whipmaker for over five years and there are some things that I will agree with and others I will shake my head at. The first is that your whip does not look that bad, it looks like it is a whip that has been used rather then a show whip (Not that thats bad, this can be done from one days hard cracking). Another I will agree about is the Pecards Leather Dressing. But where I disagree is the saddle soap paste, this material and process of using a tooth brush and rubibng can be very abrasive on your whip, yes it will help to restore some of the original color but it will hurt your whip in the long run. I recomend using a damp cloth DAMP, DAMP (also use a white one so you can see what you take off) Whipe off the part that is dirty (DO NOT OVER DO IT, I SAY AGAIN, you will never get that part of the whip to look like it did before, EVEN WITH THE saddle soap) SO ACCEPT IT. After that let the whip dry for about 15 to 30 min, the whip should feel a little cold and bairly damp if any, then rub a fair amount of Pacards Leather Dressing on your whip, after about a half hour your whip should feel as if you just rubbed moisturisure on your shin, if there is extra wipe or rub the extra into the whip. Go crack your whip for about 5 to 10 min and you should be good to go. From now on crack you whip on a soft surface like grass. If you or anyone else has questions please feel free to send me a PM I will be happy to answer your question.

Post by **BullWhipBorton** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:10 am

James, You may have been making whips for 5 years but I’ve been using them and taking care of them for nearly 25 years so I have a bit of seniority

. Besides how long have you been making them out of kangaroo?

Anyway, There are as many schools of thought on how to look after whips, and how to clean them up so I wont say I totally disagree with Nylon, using a damp cloth is fine, but I’ve never hand any issues with saddle soap or a light scrubbing with a soft toothbrush when needed and I know many respectable whip makers and users who would agree with that. Primarily you are doing this to remove any tar or chemical residue & grit that might have been left on the leather on from it scraping across the blacktop, its not to try to scrub the color back to the way it was. I prefer the leather to be completely dry before applying any leather dressing too it. Even if its just damp, any H2O left in the leather will leave less room for the leather to absorb the dressing as well as and trap the moisture in the leather for longer then needed, no big deal but its how i do it and it works.

Btw what ever happened to your bullwhip forum you made?

Dan

Sergei · Post by **Sergei** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:56 pm

I backup Dan too... anytime there is dirt, grit in between the braids there is going to be potential damage to the leather. The point of cleaning this whip up is not get rid of the stain, in my opinion is to dislodge, safely anything that was picked up during a whipping session on a top layer of macadam.