Moderator: Dalexs
Indiana Strones wrote:Holt, you had any sleeve shrinking?Indiana Holt wrote:warm water.not boling hot.in the shower.soak it.air dry it.wear it.finished.shine off. ;-)
with my long lanky arms that just won't fly.... 
Thanks so much for the tip! I will definitely do that and post some pics. My poor fiance is already confused enough as to why I have two seemingly (to her) identical jackets and will be even more put off when I sit around in it wet in our apt.Raider S wrote:Wear your jacket, zipped up and try to keep the liner dry) in the shower in warm or hot water. Give it a good soak - this will take a few minutes. Towel off the excess water. Now wear the jacket as long as you can while it dries. While wearing pull and shape the jacket to your liking. Depending on the leather, how long it soaked, and the conditions you wear it in, it will take anywhere from a few hours to a couple days to completely dry. When not wearing hang it from a sturdy hangar or throw it on the floor.
If you put it in a heated drier you very much run the risk of shrinking it! Try the above method first as it's the safest.
Michaelson wrote:Well, what ever you do, go slow. Remember, once done, many times results can't be reversed, so if you think there's a better time and situation to try this, I'd recommend you wait until you're sure.
Regards! Michaelson
Kind of like when you reacted to all of the uproar against the TN Raiders by saying something like "just wait a couple of weeks and people will be singing a different tune." When you look at the jacket forum now do you sort of feel like saying "told you so..."?
and this is why I did not do the HOT water thing..as I said in my first post.warm water..not boiling hot ;-)Indiana Blooze wrote:NO HOT WATER
My first Wested Lamb shrunk a full size when I used hot water. My second one I used cold water. To dry them, I wadded both up into a ball and threw them into a corner until they were dry.
These are both sized 44R. The top is OTR, the bottom is ROTLA Special. The ROTLA was slightly longer in the body to begin with, however, the sleeves were almost identical in length before the water treatment. The shrinkage caused by hot water is very obvious.
I haven't been into Boston since they started The Big Dig. They used to have laundromats though.indyrocks wrote:Unfortunately I live in Boston in an apt building and don't have a no-heat option on the building's dryer. We'll see what happens!
Much appreciated Rick. I am in fact trying to keep shrinkage to a minimal, although I wouldn't mind if the body shrank. Just not the sleeves. It looks good though, I wore it in the shower and then around the apt for a bit and now it's crumpled up on a towel drying. It's definitely been a dulled a bit which was my intent, and has some great wrinkles too.rick5150 wrote:I haven't been into Boston since they started The Big Dig. They used to have laundromats though.indyrocks wrote:Unfortunately I live in Boston in an apt building and don't have a no-heat option on the building's dryer. We'll see what happens!
indyrocks, you stated that you do not want it to shrink much. Does this indicate that you do want it to shrink a little, or that you are accepting the fact that shrinkage will probably occur and you want to keep it to a minimum? If you want some unsolicited advice on shrinking a jacket, read below. If not, stop here...
Shrinkage is caused be a lot of different factors. What worked perfectly for one person may be a disaster for the next. The fact that I am on Wested No. 8 may indicate that I have some experience in shrinking leather. The first 2-3 times were unintentional. After that it was playtime.
I have had the best luck with warm water and a gentle laundry detergent. The detergent allows the warm water to penetrate faster as it breaks the surface tension of the leather. (Heavier leather jackets like a Vanson cowhide, I actually used a triple dose of fabric softener.)
If you are trying to shrink the jacket, still use warm water, not hot. You can control the shrinkage WAY better in the dryer. Medium heat and for short bursts - a couple of minutes at a time at most. You really want to watch the jacket carefully to see if it is shrinking uniformly. For instance you may wind up with one sleeve slightly shorter , or the body may get shorter, but not narrower as you may have hoped. Or the other way around. Or the leather may shrink more than the lining which will be sticking out everywhere. I have had all these things happen to some degree. (Thank God for the thrift store leathers!)
When you use the dryer, slow and in short bursts will be way better. Once the jacket is about where you want it, tumble it on 'no heat' setting until it is just damp. Then wear it until it dries...
No laughing matter! I have not personally used that, but have heard of it. Maybe I will try it on the next jacket. I have used a myriad of personal care products just to see what happens. Remember using shaving cream on a baseball glove when you were younger? I used that on a jacket. Just like shaving cream (with lanolin), Nutrogena hand lotion, Maguiars Foaming Leather Cleaner (We cannot all get LeTapsKt Templar wrote:Rick, quick question, have you ever tried using shampoo and conditioner on leather?
(Ok, after the laughing has died down)
It's been mentioned elsewhere I just wondered if you'd ever heard of anyone using that? It's supposed to have softening effects on the leather.
BTW is there some probs with FJ?
), WD-40 and so many other goofy things, I cannot tell you. Many because folks swore by them. How brave are you? You can try only wetting the body and giving it a little heat. Without seeing it, I would recommend that you hold off and try this first: Put some vertical wrinkles in the body of the jacket and it will give it a slimmer look. Note the left side of Ford's jacket:indyrocks wrote:I am in fact trying to keep shrinkage to a minimal, although I wouldn't mind if the body shrank. Just not the sleeves.
Saddle Soap?Kt Templar wrote:Rick, quick question, have you ever tried using shampoo and conditioner on leather?
(Ok, after the laughing has died down)
It's been mentioned elsewhere I just wondered if you'd ever heard of anyone using that? It's supposed to have softening effects on the leather.
BTW is there some probs with FJ?
;-) 
