Club Obi Wan

OK all,

I know I haven't been around in a while, but now I am here to post a grievance. Today it was raining to beat the band in L.A. As usual, I have errands to run and they are within walking distance. Since my GT burns the fuel, I decide to walk. Grab the Wested and the Fed and go. No biggie, right? I don't mind rain, and I don't melt when wet.

Walk a few blocks in the downpour, looking generally dashing in the fed and jacket. Get back to apartment, remove jacket and fed for drying. Walk by mirror - SEE HUGE BROWN STAINS RUNNING OVER BACK OF MY SHIRT!

To the best of my ability, I determined that the dye from the Wested had seeped through the lining in the rain and stained my shirt! Now, this doesn't make sense because this is A: Not a new Wested. It's almost four years old and B: It's been through TWO Syracuse winters with the rain, snow, ice, etc without anything like this happening.

What ***** doubly is the fact that the shirt I was wearing at the time is a now discontinued triple-stitched REI travel/field shirt in the Indy color, and I've owned it for almost six years! Up until today, it still looked brand new, even with all the wear I put it through.

I am extremely upset with Wested right now... This is poor craftsmanship if the jacket's dye leaks in rain onto the clothes it is supposed to protect. What's more, it didn't do this in three winters and multiple rainstorms. Why now?!

A soon-to-be Flightsuits convert,
IndyFrench

That is a real bummer. I can tell from the tone of your post you are not a happy camper. It takes a lot for you to make that kind of statement. Which lining is it, cotton or satin? I recall reading a while back that someone else experienced the same thing.

Hmm, seems odd - Was it the leather, or the lining that caused the stain? And have you tried washing the shirt a few times, maybe you can get it out?
Good luck -
Regards
IJ

If you have any Spray and Wash or Shout Stain Remover, spray that on and wash in warm water. Spray on one side of the garment (not both sides or the stain will tug in both directions and stay there).

Sounds natural to me. I would expect any leather to bleed if soaked. I might be more worried if it didn't. Natural dye is the way to go, and as far as I know, it leeches out. Still, that's bad news IF. Good luck. Fedora

Something simular like that happened before if I can remember correctly so you're right MK.
How this could happen is a big questionmark for me. Maybe we should ask Peter how such things are possible.

Kind regards

DJ

Just to throw a monkey wrench into the works, did you consider that it might have been dye from the hat? I've had my PB drip brown water off the brim when it has gotten good and wet. Could it have been the Fed?

Just want to make sure you have the right culprit.
Indydawg

Indydawg wrote:Just to throw a monkey wrench into the works, did you consider that it might have been dye from the hat? I've had my PB drip brown water off the brim when it has gotten good and wet. Could it have been the Fed?

Just want to make sure you have the right culprit.
Indydawg

My thoughts exactly. My Regular Fed drips brown water all the time when I take it out in the rain. So much so that the band is way darker than the hat. I am rather curious as to how much color will wash out of it.

Good question, Pyro....come to think of it, my nephew's Federation has dripped brown water too....my Fed Deluxe has not, but then it hasn't been in a really good soaking rain either....just misting and some short trips from my trailer to the main building of my school.....not enough to make it drip, but I would be willing to bet it would as well....

I guess only time and weather exposure will tell how much will come out of it....

Very interesting.
Indydawg

But the Feds have not on me. I have seen the RIBBONS release color, but not the felt. I had my Deluxe out in a frog strangler a couple weeks ago, and no release at all. To your situation....Bear in mind, leather is not really meant to be used as rain gear, though a good Pecarded or like dressed jacket can and IS used by this writer with no problems to date, and I, too, have experienced rains that were of Monsoon variety. Sometimes a piece of gear reaches the point of total saturation in terms of water exposure, and either the dye in the lining OR the leather gives way. I had the same thing occur with an old Temple of Doom Stetson that I had worn for literally 5 years in every type terrible weather imaginable, INCLUDING a hurricane. No problem. One day I'm walking my daughters home from school in a driving rain, and exactly the same thing occured to me as your jacket did...rivers of brown water start running down between my eyes. My kids thought it was a riot. I, too, was a VERY unhappy camper. I'd personally not fault the gear, though. You just finally reached that point that something had to give after faithful years of service in the type of weather Mother Nature tends to throw at gear. Sounds like the storm you were in got it to that state. After a good Pecarding, I'm sure it would be good to go again. As to your shirt, I bow to the advice above, as all of it seems sound to me as well. Regards. Michaelson

The product called Oxi-Clean works well for getting out stains. Whether it can get that stain out or not, I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt at all to try.

Luke

Yeah, I remember the same thing happened to Alabama Jones last year. He was stuck in a bad downpour and had a car problem like a flat tire. He had a massive bleeding dye problem and not sure what the conclusion was, but I thought it was from the jacket.

It's funny French, I was out last night in that same storm. I actually wore my FS Goat and PBBM during the first downpour and I got completely soaked when I got home. I sat everything down to dry and then I was told to bring in the outside parrot indoors due to the wind and rain. So then I switched to my Fed Deluxe and Wested Goat (cotton body/satin sleeves), where I got completely soaked again. But I did notice, that the liner in both cases was completely dry. So maybe a combination of Goat and the Pecards (recent application within a month) prevented a complete soak through the lining.

And I agree with Michaelson's statements about rain and using leather gear. Whenever I go camping the leather jacket stays home. It's goretex, fleece or a nylon shell jacket that can take rain. The beauty of fleece is that when it gets wet, you can wring it out and it still retains the properties of keeping you warm. Cotton and leather just takes forever to dry when completely soaked. Worse it doesn't keep you warm anymore when it's wet. The only natural fiber I can think of that has the warming qualities when wet is wool.

Anyway IF, welcome back, I think!

-Sergei

Sergei wrote:Whenever I go camping the leather jacket stays home.

Wow. That's different. I am the complete opposite. When I think camping, it triggers the idea of natural distressing for me. All my Indy Gear goes camping when I hop in the car. I want it to be with me on all my adventures.


Sorry to get off topic.
Cheers,
Pyro.

I think its funny that no one has mentioned anything about an umbrella.
Indygear can only take so much even with all the pecard coatings. waxes..etc.
Water and leather dont mix. I feel your pain though.
Best of Luck.

What's that? I guess you could use one to scare birds into flight and knock down planes, but what else do you use them for? (grins) Regards. Michaelson

Pyroxene wrote:

Sergei wrote:Whenever I go camping the leather jacket stays home.

Wow. That's different. I am the complete opposite. When I think camping, it triggers the idea of natural distressing for me. All my Indy Gear goes camping when I hop in the car. I want it to be with me on all my adventures.


Sorry to get off topic.
Cheers,
Pyro.

Well, all you have to do is read some mountaineering, backpacking books and you will quickly come upon the expression , "Cotton KIlls". And you can apply that to leather as well. If you are caught in a rain/snow storm, miles away from civilization, you will quickly face extreme dangers with hypothermia. In fact, there was a camper here (Southern California) that died a couple years ago that got wet just wearing cotton gear in the summer. This fellow died from hypothermia when the temperature dropped down to the 60's at night and he had no other protection other than his wet cotton clothes and cotton sleeping bag.

I guess if you are car camping, it's no big deal or out for a day hike where you can quickly get into warmer, dryer clothes. But seriously, if you hang around mountains, unexpected things happen weather-wise and you have to plan for the unexpected.

I usually close with "that's my opinion", but this is a fact if you want to avoid tragedy.

-Sergei

My PB2 and my Wested lambtouch are both just a few months old and I wore them out in the LA "winter storm" that occured yesterday. I just applied Pecards to my Wested on Saturday, over applied actually, and I had to use Michaelson's hair-dryer technique to remove the excess. My PB2 I sprayed with a water and stain protector that I bought @ the Boot Barn (www.bootbarm.com). Both kept me dry and I had no dye problems. I have to admit that I was apprehensive about treating my fedora and jacket because I do want them to distress naturally, but yesterday I was glad that I did! Let us know if you determine if it was your hat or your jacket that bled.
PBG

Michaelson is a hoot. Umbrellas... what a concept.

Dude, sorry to hear about this experience.....

Yes, I wonder too if it was your hat or jacket as well....What kind of leather was it?

I recall roughly 3 years ago I was wearing my Wested Lambskin and got caught in a hard rain and got soaked from head to toe. The jacket was fine, I simply applied some Lexol leather conditioner to it and its been great. However, I suppose some jackets vary or something..... Keep us updated and best o' luck with your shirt too!
Captain D

I'm going to have to warn HJS about this one....it's been POURING here non-stop for the past 4 or 5 days, and he's been wearing his Wested....and I KNOW he'd be quite unhappy if he were to wear his NH shirt (or some other shirt he likes) and have the dye soak through (though he has given the Wested a really good coat of Lexol.) Fortunately, he doesn't wear the PB in the rain, so if it is dye from the fedora, he's safe there. (Isn't he lucky to have a gal who cares so much about his gear? )
Regards--Maryon

I am sorry to hear about the problem of bleeding but I would like to
point out the following.
Firstly a leather jacket is not a raincoat, it is showerproof but with constant soaking as in this case water will evetually penetrate through the seams.
This in itself is not a problem as the jacket will dry perfectly.
The problem is that when worn wet the body heat eventaully draws the dye from the wet section through, and with great respect to _ it would happen to his FS jacket, or any chrome tanned jacket if worn wet for a period of time.
If one does intend to go walkabout in the pouring rain then the jacket must be treated regularly with conditioner to keep the skin sealed and stop the suface becoming porous.
I suspect that this jacket being four years old had had little preservation applied which explains things. Also be warned that breking down the leather to get THE LOOK also breaks down its water resistance.
I can onlt sypathise but those are the factc
Ragards
Peter

_ wrote:
In the rain, think Gortex - NOT leather!

I love the rain because it gives me a chance to wear my Australian oilskin (the old-fashioned Gortex) coats. I think that Indy would approve. Cheers

If you're too traditional to consider Goretex, another rainy day possibility is the legendary Barbour waxed cotton jacket. If you haven't ever seen one of these babies, check out the link below. They're stylish yet rugged and affordable yet loaded with snob appeal. The Barbour is constructed of Egyptian cotton woven into various thicknesses and then impregnated with wax by a special process. They're waterproof and tearproof, and available in several styles ('Beaufort' being the most popular) in three weights: superlight, light, and heavy (thornproof). And, like the Wested, they're made in England, and carry three royal warrants: from the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales.

http://www.barbour.com/product/overview.asp?cid=19

Very nice. If I had a clone, I'd probably get one (grin). Just for the sake of argument, what would one of these cost? Cheers

"If you're too traditional to consider Goretex, another rainy day possibility is the legendary Barbour waxed cotton jacket."

Yep, that's me! Now whose going to be the first to commission someone to make an oilskin or waxed cotton version of the Indy Jacket?

Kind regards,
Indy

Dear IF,
I have to take exception to what you said about Wested ruining your shirt. Does that mean it's Chevrolet's fault when I drive my truck into a tree on icy roads, knowing full well that I was behind the wheel and I made the decision to drive?

Sorry to hear about your shirt, but don't look for blame outside of who was responsible for getting everything wet. What would Indy do?

Best regards and I hope you find another shirt to your liking.

Paul Stenhouse

I've got a Drizabone in their short "Ranger" style. My longcoat is made by Kakadu. It's got a button-in liner and an adjustable length. I love these coats. Cheers

PS- Not to steal business from David Morgan, but HatsDirect sells them for $60 less.

Michaelson wrote:But the Feds have not on me. I have seen the RIBBONS release color, but not the felt. I had my Deluxe out in a frog strangler a couple weeks ago, and no release at all. To your situation....Bear in mind, leather is not really meant to be used as rain gear, though a good Pecarded or like dressed jacket can and IS used by this writer with no problems to date, and I, too, have experienced rains that were of Monsoon variety. Sometimes a piece of gear reaches the point of total saturation in terms of water exposure, and either the dye in the lining OR the leather gives way. I had the same thing occur with an old Temple of Doom Stetson that I had worn for literally 5 years in every type terrible weather imaginable, INCLUDING a hurricane. No problem. One day I'm walking my daughters home from school in a driving rain, and exactly the same thing occured to me as your jacket did...rivers of brown water start running down between my eyes. My kids thought it was a riot. I, too, was a VERY unhappy camper. I'd personally not fault the gear, though. You just finally reached that point that something had to give after faithful years of service in the type of weather Mother Nature tends to throw at gear. Sounds like the storm you were in got it to that state. After a good Pecarding, I'm sure it would be good to go again. As to your shirt, I bow to the advice above, as all of it seems sound to me as well. Regards. Michaelson

Sorry Michaelson, but this just struck me as funny! Perhaps my imagination is too overactive?

I've worn my Wested LC in pretty heavy weather many times over three years, with no problems. However, as noted, with any leather gear this can happen. I think it speaks to the high quality of the Wested that so few of us have had this occur. I've had it happen a number of times with other leather gear, especially wet boots.

I agree with Peter:

Firstly a leather jacket is not a raincoat

Traditional? I had something else in mind...........the stuff that dreams are made of.




You need one of these, kid. Maybe not today, but tomorrow and for the rest of your life.

Fits great over a Indy jacket. I can't believe you guys haven't thought of this yet.

MK wrote:I agree with Peter:

Firstly a leather jacket is not a raincoat

Traditional? I had something else in mind...........the stuff that dreams are made of.




You need one of these, kid. Maybe not today, but tomorrow and for the rest of your life.

Fits great over a Indy jacket. I can't believe you guys haven't thought of this yet.

Hey, it gives me a good reason to buy a trench coat! Sorry about your shirt French, but life goes on I suppose.

I was in a department store on Friday night and saw a mannequin in khakis, button down shirt, leather mock-A2, and a trenchcoat. I mentioned to my wife that I thought the look was pretty cool and the jacket and coat went well together.

Needlesstosay I'm surprised to see the above posts mentioning the same thing only 36 hours later. Any of the Indy novels ever mention Jones wearing a trenchcoat? Just a thought. If not, I think it still looks great...at least on the mannequin.

I.J.

What about the black dress coat that Indy wore in the Flughaffen and on the Zepplin in LC? Could that be considered Indy's gear? Any ideas as to what kind of jacket that was?

Trenchcoat over a leather jacket? Sounds like Connor Macleod from Highlander!

Kind regards,
Indy

Aye! I can feel my Scottish blood raging.

Get my sword laddie!

Indy Magnoli wrote:Trenchcoat over a leather jacket? Sounds like Connor Macleod from Highlander!

Aye, but canna there be only one? Och, I tell ye, heads (or at least eyes ) are gonna rrroll for this!

Henry Jones Sr.

Indy does wear a Bogey-esque trench coat in LC as he gets out of Donovan's car while on his way to Italy. Cheers

Rundquist wrote:Indy does wear a Bogey-esque trench coat in LC as he gets out of Donovan's car while on his way to Italy. Cheers

Are you meaning the one he wears in the Castle? If so, that trenchcoat was Elsa's. He switched hats and jackets with her.

Mike

Mike wrote:

Rundquist wrote:Indy does wear a Bogey-esque trench coat in LC as he gets out of Donovan's car while on his way to Italy. Cheers

Are you meaning the one he wears in the Castle? If so, that trenchcoat was Elsa's. He switched hats and jackets with her.

Mike

No, that was when Donovan told him, "Now be very careful, Dr. Jones. Don't trust anybody."

Regards--Maryon

He also carries a tan trench coat when boarding the plane in "Raiders."

Two quick quips... I had my wested on yesterday while we were hiking up the mountain snow-showing, I had it over my wool shirt and T... I was the warmest of the bunch. Keeping in mind that this was handed down to me by a mentor and I'm not sure how much abuse it's seen (it still smells like Pecards...) so I can't tell you if it's going to release the dye anytime soon... but I'm still wearing white oxford shirts to work three times a week with my favorite ties. Now, my wife had on a pair of boots made of both brown leather and modern materials and after yesterdays hike her dye bleed through to her new wool socks. I didn't have that problem THIS TIME with my Rockport's... I wear khaki socks and they were broken in ages ago.
Second... with all the New England abuse God's been throwing my Akubra's way... I haven't seen any excess dye on my head or shirt collars. Granted, the felt is lighter then the band, but I'm not seeing where the dye is going. As a test, I have the fed sitting on a white towel on the crown and I'm not seeing any brown ring. [Insert "Best Fedora I've owned in 20 years" here.]
... oh! And one more thing. Does anyone know where I can get either the Trench Coat Ford wore/carried in Raiders or the one Humphrey work in Casablanca? I would bet any of you lunch Idaho would know!

Renderking Fisk wrote:[Insert "Best Fedora I've owned in 20 years" here.]

Hmmm....I think I've heard that one somewhere before....
Regards--Maryon

I agree. I wish friend Fisk would quit beating around the bush and finally settle on one hat. This brand hopping has GOT to stop! High regards. Michaelson

_ wrote:Personally, I'd picture Indy in something along these lines:
http://www.davidmorgan.com/proddetail.h ... ence=35613

We call these coats as 'Duster' and they are great. In addition of being waterproof they are windproof!

Ok, I have allways used leather coats of various styles no matter what's the weather but recently I was introduced to the Duster coats and ever since I have worn them when it's rainy or windy. Leather is quite uncomfortable when it gets soaked through.

I have never experienced the dye to come of my coats. That is one reason why I favor natural colors and high quality.