Club Obi Wan

IndyBlues wrote:I'm dying to see some pics, AND some sizing info. What size did you get? How does it fit, etc.
'Blues

Michaelson wrote:You know things are slow when you start quoting yourself.

Regards! Michaelson

Smokey wrote:I do need a Mustang, and I saw one that would have been perfect while I was out and about today.

Is there a leather treatment recommended for the jacket? Peter Botwright (Wested Leather) recommends Leather Groom by Letap. It is available through him, and is sold by the can. Michaelson

The Leather Groom is not available for international purchase due to the pressurized nature of the cans.
Michaelson is keeping an eye out for a stateside alternative--in the meantime, he recommends Pecard & Lexol as a suitable treatments. Indiana John

I'm going to address this mainly toward my knowledge and experience with the wonderful Wested products, as that is what I have and owned to date. We must break the information into two categories, though...the Wested lamb SKIN versions, and the lamb HIDE version, or any HIDE version that they make. I must admit that I have just recently become a Pecard leather dressing convert, as I have had difficulty finding this dressing to be the fix all as described, and to be honest, it really hasn't been my experience with this product. Once again, I stress, this is in MY experience. If you have had nothing but wonderful experiences, good for you! I must state that I do NOT find this dressing to be particularly good on the lamb skin finish, since it has a beeswax base to it, it takes much longer to soak in, if indeed it soaks in at all. If you have sanded the seams for your own jacket distressing and got just a LITTLE to deep to suit you, this is great for refinishing the highlighted leather, preserving the leather and actually darkening it down to the color you want. I would not advise using on a new or relatively new non-distressed lamb skin jacket. It seems to remain tacky and does not totally soak into the leather. I used some on a jacket a couple of months ago, and to date it still maintains it's tacky feel. If you are fortunate to have access to the Letap leather groom that Peter Botwright sells and recommends, now you're talking turkey! This is EXACTLY what this leather loves. It goes on as foam, but immediately liquefies and soaks into the leather. After drying overnight, you lightly buff with the good old clean dry cotton tee shirt, and you're good to go until the next season, or even a typhoon storm. This is great stuff. We're in the process in attempting to find a source here in the US for this product, or a like product that we can recommend. Products like Lexol are excellent too, but the lanolin seems to take a long time to soak into the leather. I have heard from many folks who swear by the Lexol products, this is all that I used on my whips. This research goes on, so stay tuned for updates. Now Pecards on the hide jackets, man you're now talking about a completely different experience! If you have a pre distressed Wested, you no undoubtedly have seen how quickly the surface continues to "break down", for lack of a better term. Take a look at the picture that Abner put up on IndyGear of his Last Crusade predistressed jacket. Now if you like this look, you're in business. I have access to one that came to me, not in Abner's coat's shape, but getting on the band wagon and going in that direction. Though I liked the look, I did not like the direction that the surface was going. On recommendation of our good friend _, I applied a generous coating of Pecards dressing to the entire surface of the jacket. I then hung the jacket on a good strong hanger and allowed to dry overnight. In the morning I could NOT believe my eyes. The surface had obtained almost the same color of a new Raiders lamb skin, but maintained the character of the distressed pattern in the deep brown surface. It had a healthy sheen to the leather, and the
To finish the jacket.... The Pecard's dressing will also waterproof the jacket, so be sure to completely coat the entire jacket as described. Michaelson

For a predistressed jacket, I HIGHLY recommend a good coating of the Pecards leather dressing. This not only restores the moisture to the jacket, but it will make your jacket shiny again, as well as giving it a good rich dark coloring that you're looking for. I know, I've done it to mine, and am tickled to death with the results. The Pecards also weather proofs the leather, so you're doing three jobs at the same time, darkening, restoring moisture, and water/weather proofing the leather. I only recommend Lexol on the non-distressed lambskin. This is my personal practice, so I know it works. Michaelson

Since it's my first leather jacket I'm trying to figure to figure out which Pecard's Leather product I need to order. Got any Ideas? The treatment you use really depends on the material you've chosen for your Wested new finish lambskin, new finish cowhide, or pre-distressed cowhide. The cowhide products respond well to the standard Pecard Leather Dressing. The lambskin seems to respond best to products offered by Lexol - separate cleaners and conditioners. Indy Gear has links to both companies sites, but I've enclosed them below. Also checkout the FAQ under the jacket section, where Michaelson gives an excellent narrative on the subject. The Lexol products actually work well on either material, however the Pecards has provided remarkable results on my pre-distressed cowhide. It REALLY works well on this material. No not, however, use it on the lambskin. It will take forever to absorb, if it does at all. Depending on your climate, treat once or twice per year. If the climate is unusually wet, you may want to condition a little more often - 3 or 4 times per year. _

Smokey wrote:Thanks for the information Michaelson.