Leather cleaning

[SteveP]

Does anyone have any recommendations for leather cleaning/restoring products?There is a vast range of stuff out there but what is best.I have several jackets to sort out and plenty of time!

[Rrawlings]

I use the autoglym spray cleaner and leather conditioner that I use on my car seats.

[Ron1000]

Duckswax for protection of leather, great stuff

[Darren69]

Yea, I've used leather car seat cleaner and conditioners on my leather bike seats and jackets too. Can't find the bottles now but they were from Halfords, nothing fancy just their own brand stuff iirc. I think Autoglym is pretty good stuff too.

[rollo22]

Have a read of this article makes sense

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/advice/bike-maintenance/how-to-care-for-motorcycle-leather-kit

[BobT]

Saddle soap for cleaning and neatsfoot oil for keeping supple.

[Jez900ie]

Saddle soap for cleaning and neatsfoot oil for keeping supple.

Someone has done this before!

[Darren69]

Have a read of this article makes sense

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/advice/bike-maintenance/how-to-care-for-motorcycle-leather-kit

Thanks, it looks like we're all using the wrong products then?

[fireman sam]

Used Duckswax for years superb . Now they do a Black one which is great for old leather and boots. The black one is black in colour for only black leather. You have to use gloves it offers the same protection.

[Ron1000]

Black as in colour or like a super duper version

[bigredduke]

Baby wipes first for getting flies & dirt off before using a leather conditioner. Cheapest from Lidl or Aldi. Also great for removing brake dust & chain lubricant from wheel rims, removing flies from helmet & visors.

[SteveP]

Bought the DucksWax and I am very impressed, revived an old Alpinestars jacket really well. Dealing directly with the company is a lot cheaper than suppliers.

[jerry]

i use Renapure its natural on all my leather stuff also on the horse tack and gear

[Mr Gazza]

I used beer, vomit and love juice on my first leather jacket, which, come to think of it, didn't actually do the leather much good, but it was a lot more fun.. :mand:

[StevieL]

I used beer, vomit and love juice on my first leather jacket, which, come to think of it, didn't actually do the leather much good, but it was a lot more fun.. :mand:

Don't forget the Mackeson, Linklyfe and Duckhams 20/50, vital ingredients!

[Darren69]

Don't forget the Mackeson, Linklyfe and Duckhams 20/50, vital ingredients!

Or if you ride old Brit. iron then the old favourite; blood, sweat and tears! :)

[manwithredbike]

i use Renapure its natural on all my leather stuff also on the horse tack and gear
I've used this for many years, prob at least 25 yrs. Really good stuff.

[Mr Gazza]

Don't forget the Mackeson, Linklyfe and Duckhams 20/50, vital ingredients!

Blimey! That takes me back Stevie. I used to drink (and spill) Mackesons 50/50 with Cider in the firm belief that it gave me a better erection. :cool:

[StevieL]

Blimey! That takes me back Stevie. I used to drink (and spill) Mackesons 50/50 with Cider in the firm belief that it gave me a better erection. :cool:

So did I mate, known around here as Black Velvet, just used to put me to sleep!

[yellowfever]

TL/DR - just water on damp rag and elbow grease, gliptone GT12 intensive cleaner then GT11 conditioner.

There are loads of different leather care products out there and even more opinions about them. With motorbike leathers, unlike with fashion leather jackets, horse saddles, your leather sofa etc, beyond effectiveness on cleaning/conditioning there's also the issue about what impact products may have on the protective qualities of the leather and seams in a spill.

Leather care product manufacturers all seem to claim their product is best and many warn against the ingredients used in other rival products

e.g. Some claim petroleum spirits found in some products will damage stitching, others claim 'natural' animal derived fats like neatsfoot oil will go rancid over time and damage the leather.

Some claim thicker products don't absorb well and attract grit and then act like a grinding paste on seam stitching, others that thinner products saturate the leather and weaken it...

Some claim miraculous waterproofing from their products eg with silicone, others say that this is a terrible idea as it clogs the pores in leather that allow it to breathe naturally...

Hard to know what to believe.

For what it's worth I try to follow manufacturers instructions, so my Vanson leather jacket and jeans is cleaned with plain water/a damp rag and then conditioned with a light coat or two of vanson's own leather balm every now and again. For a near 20 years old suit that's been used in all weathers and touring and commuting and with one high speed crash to its name it's still in really great shape, so I guess this regime works well (and Vanson make great kit). I've used the balm on my (non-Vanson) leather gloves too and it's been great on them too.

More generally I also remember a bike magazine article (Ride magazine maybe?) a few years back that interviewed the guy behind scrubbers leathers on how to clean and care for your leathers. This company are well renowned for their motorbike leather cleaning service. They use their own bespoke blended cleaners and conditioners and have special temperature/humidity controlled drying facilities. They get great reviews in various bike publications, so if you want a professional clean and can afford it they could be worth a look. If not they also helpfully gave some home cleaning tips in the article and said you should be careful what products to use. Apart from plain water they recommend gliptone products as they do motorbike leather specific products to clean and condition leathers that won't damage them/the stitching so protective qualities will not be harmed. I got some gliptone cleaner and conditioner on the strength of this and I've used it with success of various bike kit (including giving the vanson a deeper clean) a number of times.

I've also recently picked up a second hand BKS suit (the - originally - very expensive made to measure BKS, not the off the peg stuff). Their website recommends plain water on a damp rag for general cleaning, but if you want an occasional deeper clean/condition they do a care kit. As I got the suit cheap and a care kit is about all I could ever hope to afford new at BKS I got one. It's a decent care kit and made the already in great condition BKS suit even nicer. Using it I had the suspicion it's produced by gliptone and branded for BKS as the products have a similar consistency and the bottles even have very similar shape to gliptone ones despite different labels. Who knows! But anyway I've enough cleaning/conditioning products to last me for a few years now!

Hope that's useful!

Ps I think hideout leathers (who by the by I'd thoroughly recommend for any leather repairs/alterations) also offer a cleaning service for leathers so that could be another professional option...

[the lodger]

interesting last post, thanks.

I use water/chamois leather to clean , usually my jacket , then a product from Motul called M3. It is nice to put on and not smelly. It also dries quite quickly. I use it on jacket, boots and gloves. I can't really comment on its waterproofing qualities as I don't ride in the wet enough to find out, but I reckon it's better than nothing.

Next week..... bike polish ( is there a tongue in cheek emoji ?)

[manwithredbike]

interesting last post, thanks.

I use water/chamois leather to clean , usually my jacket , then a product from Motul called M3. It is nice to put on and not smelly. It also dries quite quickly. I use it on jacket, boots and gloves. I can't really comment on its waterproofing qualities as I don't ride in the wet enough to find out, but I reckon it's better than nothing.

Next week..... bike polish ( is there a tongue in cheek emoji ?)
Mr Sheen...

[SteveP]

Purple Nasty and petunia oil worked for me in my mispent youth, black jacket with tassles and a cut off, remember them?

[Mr Gazza]

I think you mean patchouli oil Steve? I wretch to think about it! I hope it never catches on again.

That and Brut33!!

[yellowfever]

Oh #%$# yeah patchouli oil! The horror, the horror! My first leather 'bike' (we'll sort of) jacket was a Mascot cross zip style one I bought second hand from a hippy vintage clothing place. Really pretty rubbish - cheap leather and the underside of the collar was even made of PVC to save a bit of money on production costs. My budget then didn't run to new jackets let alone something a bit more decent like a lewis leathers or highwayman or rivets brand jacket. So it was the rubbish mascot jacket with an old denim jacket underneath on colder days/for a bit more protection for me, until the happy day I could afford to buy my lovely Vanson jacket...

To make things worse, the hippy shop I bought the mascot jacket at convinced me that it was standard practice to treat leather jackets with patchouli oil to 'condition' them and sold me a small bottle of the oil to put on the jacket (which was already pretty musty I have to admit)... which I niaively did... once on the sickly patchouli smell never goes away and that jacket got me (well my jacket anyway) banned from my brother in laws house on account of the stink. I later found out patchouli oil does absolutely nothing (or nothing good anyway) for leather conditioning, but was apparently liberally used by counter-culture types as it was thought to disguise the smell of smoking weed from the law... although anyone still thinking straight would have realised stinking of patchouli was probably a bigger give away than any amount of illicit 'jazz cigarette' smells could ever be...

The follies of youth... now you know why I now know so much about leather care - I wasn't about to mess up again and coat my lovely new vanson jacket in some stinky hippy oil!

Still, everyone thought I must have a serious weed habit given how badly I stank of patchouli (I'd used the whole bottle!) so I suppose in some twisted way it may have helped my street cred with certain types...

Right better get back to my tantric chanting,

Peace

Yellowfever

[tricolore]

I had a leather suit made by CROWTREE and was told just to wipe over with soapy water and dry off with a cloth. It’s looks the same today as it did 10 years ago.

[mickj]

My Crowtree leathers are over 20 years old and still serviceable and have had a sponge down with warm water and pure soap when really dirty and I've used Autoglym leather care on them. I'd love another set but Alex's death has put an end to probably the best leathers in the UK.

[Stinger101]

I use Mustang foam cleaner followed by Mustang hide food. I get this from Hideout Leathers. Lasts for ages and has cared exceptionally well for several suits and jackets I have.

[jerry]

Patchouli oil and Yak fur jackets ...yuk