Is my jacket ruined?

[Scotty]

I own a beautiful goat skin wrested custom Indy jacket (circa 2006). A few weeks ago, one of my children spilled whole milk on it. That spot got hard and smelled sour. My wife took my jacket to be cleaned. They sent it out and I just got it back today. I want to cry. They cleaned the entire jacket. All of the character the jacket had accumulated over the years is gone. On top of that, my jacket feels like pleather and the entire jacket seems to be sticky. It may even seem to be shrunken slightly. Please give me some good news here. Is the jacket ruined? Will it go back to how it was? I just wanna cry. This is my favorite piece of clothing I own.

Thanks in advance for any feedback,

Scott

[xmasters]

Pretty much yep. Nothing you can do really. It's been cleaned so the character has gone, and whatever they did to clean it seems to have ruined the leather. You might be able to apply some leather cream, but that won't bring back the character and unshrink it.

Time for a new jacket I'm afraid.

Of course you don't want to be in a retirement home by the time a new jacket gets some character, so I'd urge your to get a lambskin one.

[Michaelson]

Have to agree. Sounds to me like they ran it through a regular dry cleaning process which involved acetone.

You could hang it out in the sunlight for a few days to see if that helps 'dry' it out, and if so, then apply Pecards leather dressing or like product.

It will be a day to day 'adventure' to see if you can bring it back, but if it hasn't changed after sun bathing and leather dressing, you're pretty much out of luck.

Regards! Michaelson

[Indiana Jeff]

That's heartbreaking to read.

It would be worth checking with the cleaner to see exactly what they did.

I did a quick and dirty search for dry cleaning leather and came across this information.

Loss of Colour. Do not be surprised if a slight variance in the depth of colour occurs after cleaning. Since a garment is constructed from skins obtained from different parts of an animal or animals, colourfastness may vary. Some leather dyes may also not be resistant to dry cleaning fluids. Spray dyeing can correct some colour loss. This is performed by the dry cleaner. Some changes are almost always unavoidable, particularly when processing handpainted suede vests.

Loss of oils. Oils are used during the tanning process to keep the leather supple. Dry cleaning may rob some of these oils, reducing suppleness. Special additives can be used by your cleaner to restore it, but a slight change may still be sensed when the garment is returned to you.

Website here http://www.dovecleaners.com/drycleaning ... eather.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sounds like the color change is a risk.

Arrow Fabricare has been recommended by members here for maintaining our leather jackets. I have used them myself for alterations/repairs and have been very happy with the outcome. However, they show on their leather cleaning before and after page exactly what you describe. All the character is gone and the jacket looks new. That can be a good thing, or not...

http://www.arrowcare.com/before--after- ... ments.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The stickiness may be a result of the cleaner trying to apply 'something' to the leather to return some of the oils? Or they may have applied dye to the jacket to even out variations caused by the cleaning process or in an effort to purposely cover up the character to return the jacket "just like new". That could account for the loss of character and the sticky feeling. Try buffing the jacket with a t-shirt to see if that reduces the sticky feeling. I agree with Michaelson to expose it to direct sunlight for a couple of days to maybe 'burn off' some of the residue and then hit it with a coat of Pecards.


The very slight silver lining? If the jacket is as bad as you say, nothing you do from here can really hurt it.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[CM]

Impossible to say. If it doesn't dry out maybe it is stuffed. If it does dry out you can always play around with dressings and whatever to make it look as you like it. Generally I just wash my jackets in the washing machine on gentle with a little detergent set to cold water. Always dry in the shade and ensure the jacket is zipped shut while washing.

Over 30 years I have washed many leather jackets in this way goat, cow, lamb and kangaroo and never had any shrinkage or damage. But there are people who will tell you different.

[The Character]

All is not necessarily lost. I'd personally try and hand wash it ...

option A - fill the basin (or tub) with warm water
option B - run the shower on luke warm with the jacket on a good (shoulder bowls) hanger under the stream ...

Get a very little MILD detergent on a soft cloth *You could also try saddle soap ... but i prefer using a mild dishwashing liquid or laundry detergent to cut through the grease and oils.
Get the jacket and lay it down on a flat surface ... gently rub the MILD detergent cloth over all the wet leather surfaces (everywhere) paying attention to stitched seams etc .. ...Flip it and repeat.
Rinse off then repeat the process to both sides ..

Rinse off under the shower again ...
NOTE: You could try a preparatory leather cleaner but if its sticky it sounds like something very heavy like Pecards or a petroleum or oil based paste has been rubbed all over it ..then hang it up to dry off that is warm and airy (outside if you can) ... don't put it in a closet to dry as goat has a tendency to mildew really easily.

Once its almost dry put it on and wear it for 30 mins or so and pull any areas you feel are out into shape.
Then use a restorative leather cream/lotion (I use Auto Glym here in the UK or Pecards LOTION) .... Really liberally apply the cream and actually rub it in with a lint free cloth all over. Your immediate reaction might be:
- its back to being all one colour
- Very dark
- No better

But actually after a few days (again hung up and out to dry in an airy location) you will see that the lotion has fully absorbed in and as it drys out you will see some of the surface nuances and colours begin to return ... its worth a try ..you might find a lot of the look begins to return.

[Michaelson]

Bottom line is 'don't give up quite yet'.

You have a TON of experience speaking above who have dealt with issues like this, and as has also been said, 'what do you have to lose' by trying one if not ALL of the recommendations?

You may end up with a nicer result than you had before it got sent out for cleaning!

Regards! Michaelson

[whipwarrior]

It rubs the lotion on the skin, or else it gets the hose again.

[Scotty]

I just wanted to thank all you guys for your replies and suggestions. It has been therapeutic for me in some capacity. I am waiting on a call from the owner of the cleaners... I want to find out what exactly was done. I will definitely try some of these suggestions when I hear what the "cleaning" process was. At this point, it is still heartbreaking to even look at my jacket. It feels plastic and it smells of a new car. I wonder if they used upholstery cleaner. I will keep this thread going in hopes that others will learn from my follies. Also, maybe a miracle can happen to bring my favorite jacket of all time back to life.

Thanks again everyone for your support and concern,

Scott

[Michaelson]

If you don't mind, then, I'm going to move this thread to the 'gear care' section, but leave a 'ghost' link here so folks can find it as things develop.

Regard! Michaelson

[temple_runner]

I took my jacket (not Indy jacket, but a leather hunting jacket) to be cleaned by the company A Cleaner World. They sent it off to be cleaned and when it returned the leather was dried and cracked. As they did not warn me this was a possibility before I agreed to have it cleaned, their manager was forced to pay for the leather to be fixed. Stand up for your customer rights and demand they fix the jacket or pay for a new one (of similar condition). No one would send a jacket like yours and expect to have it ruined. You expected it to be the same, but without milk smell and stain. That did not happen.

[Tyrloch]

If you really think the jacket shrunk, then I'd suggest thoroughly soaking it, and then wear it dry with a few layers underneath. I was able to stretch out a jacket that was a bit snug in the arms by wearing it wet over another jacket and slowly flexing/stretching the snug areas. Just be gentle, or you could pop a few seams. Hope this helps.

[Cajunkraut]

It rubs the lotion on the skin, or else it gets the hose again.

[Tennessee Smith]

It rubs the lotion on the skin, or else it gets the hose again.

I thought the same thing

[The Character]

Let us know how it goes and post some images if you can ... or can bear to? ...

On a lighter note ... The Jaime Gumm quote had me off my chair! ...

[Carolina Tom]

So what happened?

[The Character]

Yeah ... what did happen?