Club Obi Wan

Ive been using Lexol on my US Wings Steerhide jacket and I absolutely love the effects. Makes it so soft and darkens it nicely. However the darkness seems to fade rather quickly. Is there a rule of thumb for how much to use or how often? I love the dark color the jacket turns after a nice thick coat. Might see if Lexol comes in an easier way to apply, i just pour in a dish and sponge it on.

Again, Tundraider thanks for the link to the write up about the natural aging. The pillow case trick is pure genius and has worked wonders in breaking this beauty in.

Ideal color

Chris,

I moved this over to Gear Care because I think you'll get more eyes on this that will be able to weigh in with thoughts.

That being said, the quick answer to your question is yes.

Depending on who you ask.

There have been articles posted listing the dangers of 'over conditioning' leather and that the conditioner can actually damage the leather fibers over time. There's also be articles posted stating more or less the opposite opinion and the worst thing that will happen is the 'extra' conditioner will just sit on the surface of the leather and need to be buffed off with a clean cotton cloth (old t-shirt is my choice).

We've had members used an entire tub of Pecard on one jacket with no ill effects. Personally, that's overkill to me. The general rule of thumb is to give a jacket a coating before it goes into 'off season' storage and another before wearing the jacket exposing the jacket to the elements during 'jacket season'. The exception to that would be if the jacket gets a really good soaking, it can be advisable to give it a treatment after it completely air dries as the drying process will in itself dry out the leather.

Keep in mind any of the leather conditioners are not dyes (unless it specifically contains dye, some Pecard products do) so the darken effect will be temporary. Basically like a wet shirt will appear darker when it's wet. Once the conditioner soaks in the leather will lighten again per your experience.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Yes. Good leather only needs a light touch every year or two. If you treat them too often the waxes that are in leather can get clogged and the jacket will stay greasy. Aero leather tells customers not to treat their jackets for the first decade. But their leather is way better and thicker than most. I treat my goat jackets with a light touch of lexol or pecards every two years or so. Never had a problem with the leather drying out. Cheap thin lamb jackets may well benefit from a light coat every year.