Club Obi Wan

Just a few thoughts here on aging and distressing a jacket.

I haven't tried this on a jacket, but I do have some experience on using these techniques on furniture, and I imagine that some of the same principles apply.


An old trick for putting a patina on a piece of furniture is to use a piece of burlap. Daily. The idea is to rub the burlap over the furniture every time you go by, smoothing it out. This also adds microscopic scratches to the finish which fill in every time you wax, trapping a little dust (see below). I imagine the same could be done with a jacket, just rub it down with burlap when you take it off. Treat the jacket periodically with your dressing of choice, and these scratches will be treated but the wearing will start to show. The advantage here is that burlap is far less abrassive than sandpaper, and will remove far less material. After seeing photo tours of the shops where the jackets are assembled, I was amazed at how thin the fabric really is, and making it any thinner should be done with all due caution, as has been addressed here many times. This isn't a quick one day out-of-the-box approach to distressing, this is a slow all year approach. The advantage is that it should only take minutes each day.

Another trick is to let dust accumulate in the cracks and crevices. Look at an old piece of furniture. Even if it is periodically waxed and cleaned, dust builds up in the cracks, adding to the patina and character. This is just a thought, but: Could fullers earth be added before appplying the dressing to the jacket? After drying, most of the earth will dry and wipe off, but some will stay in the seams and crevices and scratches. After this builds up for awhile, the jacket will look like it's been around for years.

I know that we all have a different approach to aging jackets. I guess my philosophy is to have a jacket that looks well used, well loved and well cared for, handed down from grandfather to father to son. I just want it to look that way right now

Best to all,

plynck

I like the burlap idea. I might have to try it.

To be honest, I can think of a lot of techniques for aging and distressing jackets, but none that I would care to endorse and recommend here to have folks try on THEIR own jackets. It seems to depend on the jacket, itself and how old it is, and the hides used. Since it’s my observation that the older 30 to 40+ year old goatskin jackets, and even the Angola lambskin jackets that I’ve collected over the years seem to have far thicker hides then what you see nowadays. The makers of those jackets at that time didn’t seem to be as concerned with drape and buttery soft jackets as they were with durability and strength. The same techniques used in the past simply would not work well on todays thin skin jackets IMHO.

BTW: I use to go out with a girl named Patina, very lovely!!!

This is just a thought, but: Could fullers earth be added before appplying the dressing to the jacket? After drying, most of the earth will dry and wipe off, but some will stay in the seams and crevices and scratches.

If you apply Fuller's Earth to a jacket and then treat it with paste or oil, you get muddy Fuller's Earth that may fall off in clumps in heavily applied areas. The leather treatments also clean the leather somewhat removing the surface dirt and defeating the purpose. I have had success in applying Fuller's Earth after treating a jacket- when it is still a bit tacky. The Fuller's Earth will absorb the excess treatment to some degree and dull the shine on a newer jacket. Then you can apply it liberally and shake out the excess. My .02

Rick

Thanks Rick,

I wasn't at all sure if this was even possible, but I knew that it wouldn't take on the flatter surfaces of the hide. My thought here was to let the Fullers Earth gradually accrete in the crevices and seams over time. I wasn't looking for a dusty jacket, but rather a jacket that had been around for awhile. Again, I know that this is a slow process, but this might knock a little time off Mother Nature's frustratingly slow schedule

I really like the idea of applying the earth when the jacket is still tacky.

Thanks again for your reply.

plynck

If you can't find Fuller's, then you can go roll around in a sandbox right after Pecarding your jacket.

Just wondering what a Bulap was?

ITG,

That's the Texan in you talkin'. Here among God's frozen people, any sandboxes we have are hidden under 3 feet of grey New England dismal misery


Leightonwill,

Sorry. Spell checking is always worth the time That should have read "Burlap". I'll see if I can go back and edit my post. Thanks for the correction.

Best to all

plynck

Hi
Its OK the spelling was correct, it was a question. I don't know what a Burlap is.

LEIGHTONWILL wrote:Hi
Its OK the spelling was correct, it was a question. I don't know what a Burlap is.

Burlap is the rough material that is often used to make potato sacks.
PBG

Thanks for that.