Club Obi Wan

My US Wings jacket is probably my most prized possession. I keep getting this nagging feeling that its too light in color, just because its new im guessing. Before i thought about distressing it I sprayed it with a can of some type of waterproofing treatment that the leather store guy recommended. You just spray and hang the jacket. It worked, water beads up on it nicely. Is it too late for me to SLIGHTLY age/distress this jacket? I dont want to use any chemicals. I plan on very lightly roughing up the edges and seams but plan to let the rest wear naturally. I feel so guilty wanting to age such a beautiful jacket.

Thoughts? Im open to all suggestions! Thanks guys.

-chris

If your jacket is cowhide, you can simply distress the edges with a pencil eraser. It works, and doesn't put the seams in jeopardy.

If you want to distress / highlight your jacket without ruining the integrity of the leather or stitching, I recommend using #0000 steel wool, an ultra-fine abrasive with the consistency of cotton. It allows you to age the leather in a subtle manner, almost like an airbrush, with more precision and control than the archaic sandpaper and acetone that we used in the old days.

MOD EDIT: I moved this over to the Gear Care and Distressing section.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Now im second guessing myself guys. Heres the jacket in the brightest room in the house with all the lights on. Then less lights and a flash. Next ill take one outside in the sun. Im starting to think ot IS dark enough. What do the experts say!

Best thing you can di is just wear the jacket. Let the natural process take its course.

I second this suggestion.

Regards! Michaelson

Did a TINY bit of eraser work on wear spots, and i mean tiny. Only i can notice it and i love it already. Since im off today, i think ill take a hike and look for some trouble in my jacket. I also took my satchel out and gave it a small concrete beating.

I have leather jackets that I have worn over the years that have naturally aged, and other similar jackets that I have tried to "adjust" to create the same appearance. With the exception of being able to "fade" the seams a bit, I have never been happy with efforts to artificially distress a jacket. Even sanding the seams doesn't look right without adding leather treatment and giving the jacket time to pick up ordinary "road grime." The same goes for other leather items.

Natural wear over time is the ticket as far as I am concerned. It results in natural wear marks which are consistent with how the individual wearer moves and acts. I find that even efforts to "be reckless" while going for a walk somewhere look "unnatural."

Tundraider your write up is pure genius. I slept in it the other night just for ha ha's. Then it felt FAR better. I just read your natural aging thread and i see you actually recommend that! Honesty the difference is huge. Being a bigger guy, its snug when i zip it up. I went for a walk and it was snowing last night. I kept it zipped just to break it in more. Feels great. I actually have Lexol i use on my Cowboy Action Shooting holsters. Can i apply that to the jacket even though ive already sprayed it with a treatment?

Here it is in the snow.

*sucking in gut*

HOLY LEXOL BATMAN! This stuff is gold in a bottle! After getting some serious break in an wear i decided to break out the lexol while watching some Tv tonight. It darkened up to what i consider the PERFECT Indy color. Pictures dont do it justice. Thanks again guys!

Looks black in the pictures but its a VERY dark smooth brown. Some woods time and itll be ready to rock and roll.

Looks great!

Randomly which wings jacket did you get? I've been meaning to pick one up but I just can't decide on which to get.

Basil wrote:Looks great!

Randomly which wings jacket did you get? I've been meaning to pick one up but I just can't decide on which to get.

Thanks!

It was a christmas gift. The link i gave my girlfriend said something about temple of doom but she cant remember. She thinks its a legend. Its texas steerhide. Ill look for the packing slip.

Just as an FYI, there's supposed to be an antique cowhide Legend coming out the first of next month, so watch for it when it arrives!

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Just as an FYI, there's supposed to be an antique cowhide Legend coming out the first of next month, so watch for it when it arrives!

Regards! Michaelson

You are obviously trying to bankrupt me!!! Haha thanks for the tip! Next jacket will be the lightest weight Indy jacket i can find. Any tips?

Plus im waiting on a Todd's 10' and Raiders fedora!

Lightest? Lambskin.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Lightest? Lambskin.

Regards! Michaelson

Ok thanks. Would it be almost like a cool weather jacket as opposed to my steerhide? It actually is very warm but i never overheat in it. I want one that i can pull of in spring and fall, and if im DESPERATE to wear it, summer. Why does Indy wear one in Cairo!!! Musta been awful for harrison ford.

Lambskin is actually lighter weight than your steerhide. The steerhide is stronger in tensile strength, but the lambskin is physically lighter.

That said, NO leather is really 'warmer' than another. Leather is a wind breaker and not an insulator. That's why we layer under leather jackets, or our leather jackets have insulation installed between the leather and the actual lining.

That said, you can wear lambskin 3 season if you want.....but you layer under the lambskin with a sweater when it gets cold in Winter, long sleeve shirt in Fall, and short sleeve shirt in Spring. That's why I prefer cotton linings in my lighter weight jackets like lambskin......they don't 'stick' to my arms when I'm wearing short sleeves. They're a bit more difficult to pull over long sleeves, but just take your time.

That's the reason they chose lambskin for Indy's jackets in Raiders etc.

Peter Botwright used to refer to lambskin as his 'summer leather', but that was YEARS ago.

Regards! M