Hi everyone,
I just wanted to add to what Tundrarider has already chronicled by sharing my own experience as well... not only with using
Pecard's Leather Dressing, but also in specific regard to how it worked on a Jacket made with TNO's
"Dark Crystal Skull Cowhide"
I hope some Members here might find the details of my experience helpful as well... although, I suppose it'd be prudent for me to say that this is not an endorsement to do what I did, nor am I suggesting anyone else do it... use caution, proceed at your own risk, etc, etc...
I first received my TNO Last Crusade Jacket from Riley Barrie on October 20th. In every regard this was an
exceptionally well-made garment with craftsmanship that honored the precedent begun by his Dad...but I was immediately struck by how much
LIGHTER the leather looked to my eyes than what I was expecting.
You see, way back when I first mentioned ordering one of these jackets, I'd told - and written - Tony (and later, Riley) that I wanted
"a Last Crusade Jacket similar in style to the LC Jacket made for Michael (Tundrarider) in 'Dark Crystal Skull Cowhide'... I'd also like the same wonderful LC-style distressing job done on Michael's jacket"That's word-for-word what I wrote in e-mail after e-mail to Riley (and before him, Tony)
Later, when I had placed my order with Riley I'd also included several photos of Tundrarider's LC Jacket as well as Han Jones' LC (in Goat) and wrote of it:
"THIS is the kind of overall look I'm hoping for..."
But when I held my new jacket in my hands - no matter what kind of lighting (indoor/outdoor/artificial lighting/natural lighting/shade/direct sunlight) - it just seemed VERY light... a sort of soft, pastel caramel color.
It's also worth mentioning that the texture was surprising, too... very soft and like a very thick suede.
This is a photo that shows how the jacket looked when it first arrived.
On the left WITH flash... on the right, NO flash.
Here's an except from the e-mail I sent Riley on the night after it had arrived:
"...Many thanks for this wonderful jacket!
Riley, please don't take the next thing I'm going to write as any sort of criticism of the jacket... because it's not... just a request for some information about what options might be available to me:
The color of the jacket surprised me... it seemed quite a bit lighter than I was expecting and although I knew there would be some "orangey/tannish" undertones (especially around the more distressed areas) on the jacket, I'll admit that the overall color of the leather seemed more in the neighborhood of orange than I thought I'd seen in other Last Crusade Jackets produced by TNO... the texture of the leather surprised me, too: I almost thought it was suede at first, it was so soft and luxurious!
So my question for you:
As someone who's regularly worked with these kinds of leathers, is there anything you think I can do to darken this jacket even a little bit? A process like wetting the jacket... or perhaps applying some kind of dressing, like Pecard's or some other product... would that have any sort of lasting effect?"
I didn't hear back from Riley immediately, so the next day I began to once again look at photos of Tundrarider's LC Jacket as well as Han Jones various LCs and those of other C.O.W. Members...
Wow, my jacket was looking lighter and more "orange-y" the more I was looking at other jackets made - presumably - from the same leather!
Then I was surprised to see a photo of a TNO Jacket that
DID have leather that looked pretty similar to the jacket I had in my possession: it was used to make a jacket for Han Jones daughter.
So, I wrote Han Jones and asked
"Your daughters jacket from April 2009: What kind of leather is that? Is it Crystal Skull Cowhide? If so, the 'darker' hide or the 'lighter' hide?"
Han very kindly - and quickly - wrote me back:
"It is the lighter color. What Riley has now is darker and perfect for LC if that's what your asking"
So, now I was more puzzled than ever
I wrote Riley:
"Since getting the jacket last night I've now been able to look at it in various types of light and I'm sorry to say that this leather just keeps looking more and more unlike the leather used for either Han Jones' OR Tundrarider's LC Jackets... but it looks a LOT like the one made for Han Jones' daughter's jacket (which he said was the lighter stuff)
Riley, is it possible I've been sent a jacket in the wrong kind of leather?
Everything else about this jacket - the fit, the dimensions - is perfect... but the color is really bothering me. I'm worried there's been a mix-up"
Riley wrote me the following response:
"Michael used an after care product, I believe it is called Picards Leather food....I've never used the stuff. The leather is one of the darker skins, the problem is the under color, when it gets distressed the lighter under color shows, that is the nature of the leather.Again, to achieve the look of Michaels you need to use the oil he used, possibly he can give some insight, as I have no familiarity with those products"
The funny thing here is that I had never actually seen
THIS Thread that Riley referred to and that Michael had started (nor was I aware that Michael used a treatment on his jacket)
When I had said that my jacket was far lighter than his I was referring to the photos he had taken BEFORE he had put Pecards on the jacket... which rather reinforces the point I was trying to make to Riley: Even if Tundrarider treated (and darkened) his jacket AFTER he got it, I was comparing the color of my jacket to photos of the his leather BEFORE he darkened it... and my jacket seemed to look even lighter in color than his did BEFORE his had been treated.
So once again I sent Riley an e-mail that asked
"when I look at (Han Jones') picture of (his daughter's) "Light CS Cowhide" all I can see is the jacket I have here... Are you saying you're certain it's the DARK Crystal Skull Cowhide I have here?" But it was beginning to occur to me that regardless of his response, I now needed to ask myself what I want to do next.
I quickly realized that it felt like my plan should be to get some of the same Pecard Product Tundrarider had used to work on my jacket as well... perhaps apply it only to certain areas and keep some looking lighter (and therefore more distressed) to see if that would produce the desired effect I was looking for...
So I contacted the man who so many of us know to be so generous with his time and advice:
Tundrarider.
I gave Michael a re-cap of my story and then asked him if he could tell me the name of the name of this product he'd used.
First, Michael confirmed that the jacket I'd seen pictured in the "You nailed it, Tony!!" thread WAS right
"out of the box." No treatment.
He also shared with me the story of how when Tony himself had seen photos of hiss Jacket he'd written back that
"IT"S TOO LIGHT!!!" and that he'd said Michael should go walk in the rain to darken it up (this was very re-assuring to me as I'd already been wearing MY jacket and gotten caught in a downpour not once, but twice)
Michael also gave me peace-of-mind by sharing that his jacket was also distressed in places to where the leather appeared to be "suede-like."
He then confirmed the name of the Pecards Leather Dressing and even gave me a Link to the Website.
To say that Michael is a great Friend to a Gearhead just doesn't say enough!
I was now feeling feeling reassured (and in good company) by having him confirm some similarities between my jacket and his in terms of it's lighter, more distressed areas as well as the "suede-y" feel to this leather...
In writing back to Michael I thanked him and asked that he please understand (I knew that he already DID) that I meant no disrespect towards Riley or lack of confidence in his work... but the fact was, the leather of this jacket arrived already looking "scrubbed" into a much lighter color than what I'd seen previously (and what I was expecting)...
It was now becoming clear to me then that Riley simply has a somewhat different technique than his Dad did: In distressing a jacket, Tony seemed to pick specific areas to focus on more than others... this seemed to create a more SA type of pattern (as an example, the backs of some of the jackets I'd seen seemed to be a bit lighter and more worn down in the shoulder blade areas, suggesting wear & tear over the "fictional" years) whereas Riley had simply chosen to leave fewer areas of this jacket looking "UNdistressed" than Tony chose to... the resulting overall lightened look of the jacket simply caught me off guard.
It became obvious to me then that I simply had a little bit of my OWN work left to do on this jacket: to darken certain areas and possibly to leave specific areas LESS conditioned in order to maintain the interesting pattern of (more vs less) WORN areas that give the LC jacket such a distinctive look.
I ordered the tub of Pecard's and began writing a note of apology to Riley.
Below is an excerpt:
"I've taken a little bit of time to re-read some of what I've written to you over the last few days and I have to say, I'm less than impressed with the way I 'sound' when I read what I've written.
And I want to apologize to you if I've come across in a way that's less than representative of my normal demeanor.
I'll admit being surprised by how unexpected the lightness of the leather was to me, I'll admit that I was worried - VERY worried - that this LC jacket had been made with a leather other than the one I'd requested... and I'll admit that I wanted some reassurance from you that this was not the case...
But when I read through the e-mails I've written you it also sounds like I want to return this jacket... and Riley that's simply not the case.
Since sending you the e-mail from earlier today I've been in contact with (Tundrarider). While he did confirm that the photos I'd sent you WERE from before he applied any sort of leather dressing to the jacket, he also provided me with a good bit of information and instruction as to how I might be able to do likewise with my LC and get a darker tone from the leather. It amounts to some additional cost on my part that I hadn't anticipated, but it IS a route that it seems will give me what I'm looking for.
When Michael was describing the leather of his own LC Jacket it also became clear to me that this may well be the same leather, but one that looks so different because of what I think must be the somewhat different approach to the level of distressing that you used. Talking with Michael certainly made me feel reassured when I heard him confirm some similarities between my jacket and his in terms of it's lighter, more distressed areas as well as the often "suede-y" feel to this leather in the areas that had the most distressing... and that seems to be the point:
It's clear to me now that perhaps you simply have a somewhat different technique than your Dad did: Tony seemed to pick specific areas to focus on more than others... this seemed to create what I consider to be a more screen accurate Last Crusade type of pattern...whereas your method seems more inclined toward leaving fewer areas of this style of jacket looking "UNdistressed" than Tony chose to... the resulting overall lightened look of the jacket simply caught me off guard.
...Once again, Riley, I want you to know how very impressed I am with the excellent construction and fit of this jacket... it was only the light tone and color of the leather that had me wondering if some wires had gotten crossed...
But it looks like I can pursue this other avenue to get things back to where I wanted them.
Thank you for giving me this amazing jacket to word with"
A few weeks later my Tub of Pecard's Leather Dressing arrived.
By now my jacket had gotten rained on a few times and air dried, resulting in the hide "firming up" and "tightening up" a bit.
Once it had thoroughly air dried I spread a layer of garbage bags across my kitchen table and popped open the tub of Leather Dressing... following the method I mentioned earlier (I'd even made myself a little "map" of the front and back of the jacket that looked like a page from a coloring book), I began to treat only certain sections of the jacket (again, because of how it seemed that some areas of the LC Jacket had a some areas looking more "worn" than others...)
Soon I was having some success: The treated leather seemed to be darkening right away (it wasn't suddenly DARK brown, mind you... but definitely a few shades darker in tone)
And as I'd hoped, applying the dressing to certain areas (the sleeves, for example) DID seem to make them look richer and LESS worn...leaving some smaller sections untreated (the edges of the pockets and seam of the windflap, for example) DID seem to make those areas look like the more distressed areas.
And just as Tundrarider had told me HE'D experienced, the "exposed" suede-like areas stunk up the dressing and became softer, richer and more supple as opposed to "fuzzy."
I was amazed (and am STILL amazed) that in spots where I'd seen so much nap the Pecard's had seemingly created this beautiful patina out of nowhere!
Amazing stuff this Pecard's!
But would it KEEP it's color and still feel this way as time went on?
I let everything dry ("sink in" would be a better term) overnight and the next day tweaked a few spots that I'd missed initially... some nooks & crannies of the jacket.
The jacket still looked the same.
Cut to a week later and the jacket still looks the same... I've seen no change that's discernable to my eyes.
Anyway, I'll end this Post with some photos... Once again, I hope some Members will find them find them helpful... interesting in the very least.
It's been well recorded in some other Threads, but I'm crazy about how this jacket looks and feels...
It's exactly what I was hoping for in the first place.
This picture shows the front of the jacket PRIOR to applying the leather dressing (on the LEFT) and AFTER
putting on the Pecard's (on the RIGHT)
Several pictures showing this jacket BEFORE (Left) and AFTER (Right)
The picture below (on the left) is probably what - to MY eyes, at least - is the truest capture of the look of the
jacket's leather before treating it.
This is a Link to a shot similar to the one above, but showing the OTHER side of the jacket in profile.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... ison06.jpg
THANKS for reading / taking a look!
Mitch
