Here's my new Gibson & Barnes Goatskin Expedition after it's been through a full warm water wash cycle in the washing machine. I washed it with my regular clothes and a full cup of Woolite. After it came out I blotted some of the water out with a towel and then threw it in the dryer with 3 large bath towels and put it on low heat for 70 minutes.
It was still damp when it came out so then I wore it all that night, slept in it and wore it all the next day and slept in it again so it basically dried on my body. I can safely say that it's broken in now.
These pictures were taken today by my 6 year old son. Some in the shade, some in the sun.
Thanks guys, the difference is night and day. I wouldn't try it with any other jacket. The G&B is built to take some real abuse. This jacket is proof of that. Not one loose stitch anywhere.
I'm really impressed with the construction of this jacket.
I'm 5'10" and about 172. My G&B is a 42R.
The jacket did shrink a little which is good, that's what I was going for. I was surprised at how loose the fit on the jacket was so I knew that if it shrunk it would fit better which it does now.
The sleeves seem to have shortened about 1/2" which is also good as the sleeves were a bit too long.
That jacket really does look great. Looks like you took the shine right out of the leather. Overall it only shrank a little. That is amazing after washing and drying it.
I wonder if Peter over at Wested does the same thing to achieve the "matte" look of his washed goats....i.e. running the regular goats into a big commercial washing machine. The leather of my washed goat looks so different than my G&B goat, that they look like they came from 2 different species of animals!
Your jacket looks much more matt in your photos. Is that real or is it the photography/light? I really like this matt finish if your washing process achieved this.
The jacket is very shiney when it's new. I gave the jacket a rub down with denatured alcohol first to dull the shine a little and then washed it.
After it was fully dry I gave it a very light treatment of Pecards as best I could. That stuff is like Vasoline. I thought the Pecards would make it shine again, but after a few days it had the matte look once more.
No, the jacket was damp but not wet. I did have to change my t-shirt twice when I first started wearing it, but then it was dry enough. It's not very comfortable wearing a wet/damp leather jacket but it gives you the best results.
Your jacket is fantastic TM!(one of the nicest I've seen on COW) ,it looks supple but rugged- like it will last a life-time..just shows that you don't have to rub sandpaper on a jacket to get great results.
,it looks supple but rugged- like it will last a life-time..just shows that you don't have to rub sandpaper on a jacket to get great results.
