Club Obi Wan

O.K., maybe I'm exaggerating a little here, but I've never met the man and I love him to death! Just received my new Wested ToD jacket and I got to tell you these people DO know how to make a jacket. I am VERY fussy when it comes to fit and this baby fits, YOU ASK FOR AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE! Details: Authentic lambskin, Raiders shorter collar, brass zipper(english side), 2 inside 'grail' pockets-nylon zipper (non outlined), gussets, hidden press studs, Sliders (anodised black) YEA BABY!
Peter, you DA MAN! O.K. Michaelson.... 'To Distress or Not to Distress, That T'is the Question'? A "newbie" to this website, I want to thank all you oldtimers for the valuable information that you are posting regarding anything Indy! It's a kick to finally be able to aquire all this neat Indy stuff that I wish I could have gotten 20 years ago. I look forward to being a active member here on the board! Will post photos when I figure out how? M.L. Jones... aka- Mike from Louisiana

First of, yes Peter IS da man!

Secondly, No don't use artificial weathering. Michaelson isn't the only one who doesn't do it.

My TOD is 1 year old and has VERY nice natural distressing. The only time I would use chemicals on something is if it needs to look distressed and will never get to be outside. (ie. my fullsize stand ups gear)

Just my .02

Janice

Not sure about the God thing, but

PETER BOTWRIGHT IS GO(O)D

I guess he IS a creator...

Al

Heres a good way to distress your jacket: http://www.theraider.net/showimage.php? ... ns/c55.jpg
lol, anyway, congratulations on the jacket, i love my ToD cowhide, although i cant have it until x-mas, my mom let me try it on once and it was amazing, it felt like i stole it, it was too nice.

Janice is correct. Michaelson is NOT the only one not to do it.....he's just the loudest about it!!! (grins) Let her age naturally, is my reply. Regards. Michaelson

Congrats on the new jacket Mike. I'd say if you plan on putting
the jacket on a display maniquin, distress it. But if you're going
to be wearing it, let it age naturally. That's my .02 cents.

Yes, Peter Botwright is AWESOME!!

Peter is quite the gentleman for seeing to our Jacket needs! We are truly grateful for all of his help here at the Club .

Congrats on your new jacket my friend!

Regards, Captain D

Thanks for your input Indy Jan & you too Michaelson. At first I was leaning toward a full acetone distress job, but when I actually recieved the jacket and saw how beautiful it was, I started to re-think about it. I think I'll just wear it this winter, ( this is all the jacket I need here in winter in Louisiana) and see how it looks in the spring. Maybe by then just a bit of fullers' earth will give it that 'lived in' look. Looks like you saved another one Michaelson!

No... come to the dark side... <extends arm and clenches fist - Wested crumples up> ... you do not realise the power of the darkside <acetone flies through the air and pours over jacket>...

Actually it is quite decision to make. A new jacket is such a beatuiful thing. But for me it was a choice between having a beautiful jacket and having Indy's jacket.

Personally I have found that distressing, if done properly, causes no damage to the structural integrity of the jacket at all. As MK says you are merely removing the color. Sand paper of course causes damage but if done lightly just lightens those areas.

But even a distressed jacket can to some extent be restored. Peecards really is magical stuff. Like Michaelson says it is designed to be used in museums for the restoration of (naturally) distressed leather.

The choice is yours....

Ken

If you're so worried about whether you should distress yor new TOD jacket, do what I did: buy a second one and put in storage until you need a nice looking jacket to wear. Then get the palm sander and some 60 grit paper an have at it!

Sand paper of course causes damage but if done lightly just lightens those areas.

A light enough grade sand paper can also be beneficial in the right application. Auto body shops use sandpaper and light cream abrasives to enhance their work. I have not met anyone who intentionally scratches a paint job on a fine automobile in an effort to distress it.

Then get the palm sander and some 60 grit paper an have at it!

I like to lightly distress my jackets. Every one of them. If you are serious about 60 grit sandpaper, that is fine, but for someone who is not sure whether or not they wish to distess their jackets, you should probably start in the 440-220 range. You can always take more off later.

Also, if you are not sure whether you want to distress your jacket or not, I would advise that you do NOT. Once you ruin the jacket, it cannot be brought back to the condition that it is right now. Pecards is an excellent product, but will not bring back the perfect leather surface, broken stitches that got sanded by accident, having something in the pocket while distressing it and seeing the outline of the object clearly, etc. Not that I have done any of these things

My first lambskin was a great jacket. It didn't look like Indy's jacket, but it was beautiful. It hung on a hanger taunting me to do something. Finally, I took the plunge, but only when I knew it is what I wanted to do for sure.

For what it is worth, I also recomment doing it a step at a time. Start lightly on the seams. That will give you a slight worn look. then go to the elbows and pockets. A little bit at at time. I cannot tell you how bad I feel for those who dive in and rub acetone and sandpaper over their jackets and realize they have ruined their jacket. Unless you have that backup jacket mentioned, go slow.

I didn't invent the aging techniques......but I did introduce them to this community. Before I shared the knowledge I had learned from British motion picture wardrobe professionals, people were using sandpaper and even harsher stunts in the attempt to make their jacket look like the one Indiana Jones wore in the films.

When new, the jacket only resembles Indy's jacket. A little aging and add a little Fuller's Earth and a major transformation occurs. It becomes the Indy jacket.

There are a lot of guys in this hobby and each has their idea and style of what they want. Some want their jacket to look nice and new. Others are content waiting years for it to look like an Indy jacket. Then there are those who brought an Indy jacket and they want it to look like an Indy jacket.

Which looks like a jacket Indy would wear?





If you want to know how to age your jacket without sandpaper or damaging the leather.....stop by my personal Indy site:

http://www.regular-guy.com/jacket.htm

A lot of guys here have used this technique and no one's jacket has fallen apart or exploded. Thet just look good.

My first lambskin was a great jacket. It didn't look like Indy's jacket, but it was beautiful. It hung on a hanger taunting me to do something. Finally, I took the plunge, but only when I knew it is what I wanted to do for sure.

Sounds like good advice when thinking about marriage too! LOL!

The 60 grit was a bit tongue in cheek, however if you look at the jacket at the end of TOD, it has clearly been distressed with some very rough materials. I started with some 400 grit paper on my palm sander and wound up increasing the roughness to 100 grit. I used a light touch being careful not to damage any of the stitching. I also used a couple of different rasps to obtain a similar look like at the end of TOD. The palm sander gives the look of random wearing and it doesn't look artificial. I did have someone ask me if I bought the jacket in this condition.

IndyMikey: As it turned out the jacket was sent with 2 snaps, one at the collar and at the other at the very bottom of the jacket just below the zipper, (which ended 1 inch from the jacket bottom). I would have to say that in my opinion no storm flap snaps are really necessary, I doubt that I will use either of the snaps, but they are not very noticable so I don't think it hurts to have them there. Hey you guys, you are beginning to turn me to the "Dark Side", a distressed Indy jacket is what I really imagined, I just don't know if I have the courage to dive into it though...choke, choke... is the "force' really with me? I will look at the various distress methods and let you know what I decide, close your eyes Michaelson!

M.L. Jones

Check THIS out:

http://www.geocities.com/pangaeascape/jacket.html

I am still waiting on my Wested, but...

Life to me is distressing enough. LIke my Aldens, I wear them virtually every day, so they look good, but worn. I 'll do the same with the Wested, relying on my car, my office and my life to naturally distress the jacket.

Ken