As a lifelong Indy fan (IMO Raiders is the best film ever made. end of story) I decided to make an Indy costume in time for Halloween this year, not one for making do with a cheap plastic and badly fitting costume I wanted to do it right, having looked on ebay and coming THIS close to ordering a Wested I decided on a Todds for the price and the fact I mean to distress it,i do plan on getting a Wested for normal wear though. I'm going for the Raiders look so from what I've read on here it seems a good start, now i just need to ask, in people experiences is it better to distress on purpose as with conditioner, a pen knife or sandpaper or just go out and batter the jacket by kicking it around in the dirt? I want the naturally worn look and it seems like itll be more fun to do it that way
Tie a rope to a truck and have a buddy pull you behind it in the dirt.
Seriously, I use sand paper on my leather stuff to weather it. I mostly use a wheel on a drill to get the job done faster but I don't recommend it if you don't have much experience in it. It takes a light touch or its ruined.
Welcome aboard! Todd's standard makes a great first Indy jacket. As far as distressing...go ahead and experiment.....that's half the fun! Most people here had good success with light sand-papering or by using other abrasives.....or you could go all-out and have a little fun by dragging the jacket tied behind a car or a bike! ...Follow that by using a little Pecards and you'll end up with a great-looking jacket!
Alex wrote:Tie a rope to a truck and have a buddy pull you behind it in the dirt.
Seriously, I use sand paper on my leather stuff to weather it. I mostly use a wheel on a drill to get the job done faster but I don't recommend it if you don't have much experience in it. It takes a light touch or its ruined.
See now thats what i meant by fun, i figure i borrow my dads jeep and let one of my friends drag me around a dirt road,while the Desert Chase music from the soundtrack is blaring out of the stereo, should do the job nicely
I'd do it the "natural" way by taking it outside and rubbing it on the pavement a little, throwing it around, brushing up against concrete or brick wall, etc. Then just wear it a lot. Still a few months till Halloween!
I saw that in the other thread, its hard to believe its the same jacket as he one shown on the Todds website, Indy jackets just aren't mean to look, well new lol, I'm scared of making look too distressed if i do it with a knife though I'll probably just kick it around a bit, thanks for the replies I just stumbled across this site and now I've gotten the bug
There are some techniques to it... You have to sand it while you are wearing it... If you want that natural distressed look, you gotta get as many creases and folds as possible... Yup bend your elbows and bend your torso forward while sanding... The result will be awesome!! I guarantee you that!! Just don't sand it too hard though... go over it multiple times with finer sandpaper... Hope this helps.
Yay I got my sales reciept email from Todds, anyone know how long international shipping takes? said 1-2 weeks on the site so hopefully in a fortnight I'll be distressing my very first Indy jacket
I just ordered one today too!! I also ordered a bag strap that's on back order so mine will ship out around the 30th of this month. No big deal, as long as its here in time for Dragoncon.
PSBIndy wrote:Welcome aboard! Todd's standard makes a great first Indy jacket. As far as distressing...go ahead and experiment.....that's half the fun! Most people here had good success with light sand-papering or by using other abrasives.....or you could go all-out and have a little fun by dragging the jacket tied behind a car or a bike! ...Follow that by using a little Pecards and you'll end up with a great-looking jacket!
Try Lexol www.lexol.com sold at your local autoparts store. This will protect your lambskin and make it darker too.
I'm a newbie, too. Just getting my first hat (Keppler) and although financially I'm getting ahead of myself (the wife is starting to wonder if I'm nuts) I'm starting to think about jackets.
What are the big differences in Westeds versus Todds? Is one more SA - better constructed? What?
lpa53 wrote:I'm a newbie, too. Just getting my first hat (Keppler) and although financially I'm getting ahead of myself (the wife is starting to wonder if I'm nuts) I'm starting to think about jackets.
What are the big differences in Westeds versus Todds? Is one more SA - better constructed? What?
If price is a big factor, Todd's standard Indy jacket is a good way to start. For a more customized fit (and for a little bit more money), Wested's custom Raiders jacket is hard to beat. (And Wested made the original Raiders jacket). Todd's custom and Magnolia's jackets are good bets too but are even more money.
My first gear was Todd's standard jacket, about 3 months ago. I actually just needed a new jacket to replace a 13 year old leather (nothing special) and since I was a Indy fan, started shopping, came to this site. I don't believe the Todd jacket will last me another 13 years, however I am very impressed with the look, feel, drape it has. Very light weight and will last me a few years. My wife especially likes the way it looks, which is a plus. As far as distressing, mine will come naturally. I guess when it looks distressed, just have to replace with new one Then I will have the best of both looks, old and new.
Am still waiting on my Todds standard, ordered it June 13th ( i think) altohugh i did order a bag strap as well and read somewhere else they're not shipping until early July so hopefully it turns up in the next few weeks, cant' wait to take it out on a dusty road and distress it (although dusty roads are a bit hard to find in this part of Ireland given the weather at the moment, wet roads however are plentiful )
Just wear your jacket and forget about getting that overly distressed look... before you know it one day you'll pull the jacket out of the closet and go, "Wow.. this thing looks pretty darn good." And the best part is you did it naturally. I realize that for a lot of people it's all part of the hobby to distress their jackets.. but I'd hate to have someone ask me how the heck my old, beat up jacket got so scuffed up only to tell them it's really a week old and I kicked it down the driveway and then sandpapered it.
I waited nearly a month for a bag with the strap. I would guess they are busy with the movie being out and new interst in Indy. Give them a call they are really nice and helpful.
Then I will have the best of both looks, old and new. 
