Club Obi Wan

Ha, made you look.

I have read a LOT of threads on various distressing for different leathers. But I think this is a first.

Let me preface this by saying that as an actor, I have come to realize the importance of moisturizing to keep your skin healthy and younger looking (to prevent ageing!). You Never wash with regular soap. (yeah, I realized it too late, wise guy). I have also noticed how in the winter, the heater in my house is so dry that I still get drying skin issues.

That said, it occurred to me to try combining that knowledge with the often suggested "wetting" method. I used a sponge to wet down an older Todds OTR that still looked pretty shiny, and it definitely took down the shine. So I decided to take my "new" (latest run with great striated lamb) Todds into the shower. I zipped it so as to not soak the inside. I got it all wet then lathered up with regular bar soap. The kind that dries out your skin. Ahhhh =) Then I rinsed it off and towel dried and twisted it up ant threw it on the floor like an old towel.

This step is to loosen up the leather like well worn style and knock off the shine.

Next I'll hang it or flop it under a heater vent which will really damage the skin, drying it out like ageing. Right now it looks like this all wet on a Toht hanger:



I'll post again when the results are in. I'm interested to know if anyone has tried the soap method...or the "this house needs a humidifier" method.

Hopefully, I put this post in the right location

Its probably going to look really really good. But i cringe at the thought of taking my jacket into the shower!

I've never heard of using bar soap on a jacket to break it in. What I would be most concerned with is overdrying the leather. Like you said, taking care of the skin to keep it looking fresh. The general rule of thumb is after a jacket gets a soaking, whether it be a shower or rain storm, once the jacket has air dried give it a good coating of the leather conditioner of your choice to keep the leather from getting so dry it could crack/peal.

I look forward to seeing your results.


Regards,


Indiana Jeff

Indiana Jeff wrote:I've never heard of using bar soap on a jacket to break it in. What I would be most concerned with is overdrying the leather. Like you said, taking care of the skin to keep it looking fresh. The general rule of thumb is after a jacket gets a soaking, whether it be a shower or rain storm, once the jacket has air dried give it a good coating of the leather conditioner of your choice to keep the leather from getting so dry it could crack/peal.

I look forward to seeing your results.


Regards,


Indiana Jeff

Interesting that you say that. It's already part of the plan. I just coated the jacket with the heavy cream version of Picards. Some of the shine, but not all, came out in the last step.

Any updates?

shade88 wrote:Any updates?

I did 1 coat of Pecards last weekend as reported. It has since dried and the coat looks good. It doesn't feel as soft as before the washing/coating and it's had lots of time to dry. I meant to give it 1 more coat, but I've been busy. I'll do that tonight. When I put it on, I used a rag and put it on thick, rubbing around in circles "kneading" the leather.

The most noticeable change is the leather has lost some of that "new" stiffness. It has retained some of the wrinkles from washing and balling it up and it hangs more relaxed.Which is what I'm going for. I'll post more shots in a few days after tonight's coat of Pecards dries.

I guess I owe an update like I promised. The TODDS when all is said and done:





Special thanks to Sturmbannführer Arnold Ernst Toht for allowing me to use his hanger.

Nice!

Looks great!

You did a great job on that jacket