Re: Leather accessory care

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Bucolic wrote:Chamberlain's Leather Milk. Amazon carries it. That or some of the old standard, Lexol.
Works for all? Old and new? Lexol spray I can get locally near my house. Can the two be used after one is applied at a later date or is it better to stick with one?
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"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: Leather accessory care

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All you had to do is ask...lol
Lexol: good product, won't darken the leather. Probably silicone based
Neatsfoot: standard in the industry. Derived from cattle hooves and bones.Will darken leather, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. On natural colored leather, oil and leave in sun for awhile, and the leather gets a tan.
Mink oil: Heavy penetration, good repellent. Will darken leather extremely so.Originally it did contain some mink oil. Probably not so much anymore.
Cremes such as Carnuba: Less penetrating, but effective. Generally will give a slight gloss when buffed, waxy finish, not long lasting.
Products like Feibings Snow-Proof: Waxy finish. Buff when dry. Very good repellent, but not long lasting.
In general, each product has it's use, and should be matched with the article you want to protect. E.G.- Boots - use mink oil. Lexol - natural colored leathers.
Biggest rule: DO NOT OVER APPLY. Soaking in oils will eventually cause the leather to deteriorate, and is especially harsh on stitching. Applying very very light coatings is much more effective. ESPECIALLY do not overapply to fitted or molded holsters. The idea is that we shape the holsters to fit individual guns, and the leather will maintain it's shape for a good while, but too much oil will soften and make the holster less retentive, and could become dangerous.
There are lots of different finishes to apply over the leathers. They vary from acrylic to petroleum distillates. Some are semi gloss (Atom Wax, Resolene), some highly shiny (Clear Lac, Neat-Lac). You can actually use Mop and Glo, mixed with water to 50-50, for a good protective top coat.

Re: Leather accessory care

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Rocky haz it.

No mention of used motor oil, which is likely what was used in the field. One of my old Yugo slings is so saturated with old oil that I just rub it on my bicycle chain from time to time...

CDFingers
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Re: Leather accessory care

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CDFingers wrote:Rocky haz it.

No mention of used motor oil, which is likely what was used in the field. One of my old Yugo slings is so saturated with old oil that I just rub it on my bicycle chain from time to time...

CDFingers
I bet field dressing was rather creative depending on where one was.
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"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: Leather accessory care

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You could use Motor oil, but that comes with all the bad in Petroleum products. You won't use that on your guns, so why use it on your leather. Also, olive oil works, but like all vegetable products, eventually it decomposes, bringing the accompanying byproducts of mold and bacteria.
CDFingers wrote: No mention of used motor oil, which is likely what was used in the field. One of my old Yugo slings is so saturated with old oil that I just rub it on my bicycle chain from time to time...

CDFingers

Re: Leather accessory care

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rockyriverleather wrote:You could use Motor oil, but that comes with all the bad in Petroleum products. You won't use that on your guns, so why use it on your leather. Also, olive oil works, but like all vegetable products, eventually it decomposes, bringing the accompanying byproducts of mold and bacteria.
CDFingers wrote: No mention of used motor oil, which is likely what was used in the field. One of my old Yugo slings is so saturated with old oil that I just rub it on my bicycle chain from time to time...

CDFingers
What would be good to put on something that may have had a bad treatment? Is everything salvageable?
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"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: Leather accessory care

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Like I said, Neatsfoot is the preferred standard. On something that is very very dried out, several LIGHT coats over a bit of time would be the right thing to do. There was a conditioning product that I used to use, by the gallon to save old leather ,made in Salem, Mass., but it's no longer made. I think it was based on Palm oil, another currently despised product because of its agricultural damage. But all the Factories closed, Shoe industry exported, etc.etc.
But, no, not everything can be saved. If it just sits there and looks pretty, you might be able to condition it enough for a longer life, but If it tears like paper, it'll never be saved



CDFingers
What would be good to put on something that may have had a bad treatment? Is everything salvageable?[/quote]

Re: Leather accessory care

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Nothing wrong with it. And there are lots of colors. Some of them do contain conditioner, but most are topical. When done right they repel just about anything...not necessarily oiling the fibers though. You still needed to oil them once in awhile. Most families back then had kids playing baseball. They always had glove oil (neatsfoot) on hand and used that on shoes before polishing.
The old men's shoes lasted forever with a good polishing every week, but those good old shoes were also made with Horween Cordovan shell leather (part of the Horse's butt). A very dense and sturdy leather. The current cost of shell right now is $120 or so for about a foot and a half square. It takes two of them to make a man's shoe. If you are careful you could make a holster from one, but instead of being $50-100, it would be closer to $250.In my day, those old wingtips were all made from horse. You could hand them down to your grandchildren. That's why I use horsehide in my holsters the most. It isn't shell, but it's the piece from right next to it.
nigel wrote:This is a genuine query, not a shark.
What's wrong with good old fashioned boot polish? I have twenty year old shoes that have seen conditions far worse than any holster or sling but are still perfectly serviceable.

Re: Leather accessory care

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rockyriverleather wrote:Nothing wrong with it. And there are lots of colors. Some of them do contain conditioner, but most are topical. When done right they repel just about anything...not necessarily oiling the fibers though. You still needed to oil them once in awhile. Most families back then had kids playing baseball. They always had glove oil (neatsfoot) on hand and used that on shoes before polishing.
The old men's shoes lasted forever with a good polishing every week, but those good old shoes were also made with Horween Cordovan shell leather (part of the Horse's butt). A very dense and sturdy leather. The current cost of shell right now is $120 or so for about a foot and a half square. It takes two of them to make a man's shoe. If you are careful you could make a holster from one, but instead of being $50-100, it would be closer to $250.In my day, those old wingtips were all made from horse. You could hand them down to your grandchildren. That's why I use horsehide in my holsters the most. It isn't shell, but it's the piece from right next to it.
nigel wrote:This is a genuine query, not a shark.
What's wrong with good old fashioned boot polish? I have twenty year old shoes that have seen conditions far worse than any holster or sling but are still perfectly serviceable.
That's good info, thanks. I do use the cream conditioner every now and again, between polishing. What do the modern conditioners contain?
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Re: Leather accessory care

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Who kows for sure! Anything from silicone to petroleum. Lexol, Leather Honey, are popular. Lexol is a silicone based. Leather Honey says it's pure and not silicone, but who knows.
I generally just use Neatsfoot lightly, let it dry, put some sort of top coating over it (Leather Balm, Resolene, TanKote...which are acryllic based), let that dry, then put a repellent (like Feibing's Snow Proof), or a waxy finish like Carnuba creme.

[quote="nigel"
That's good info, thanks. I do use the cream conditioner every now and again, between polishing. What do the modern conditioners contain?[/quote]

Re: Leather accessory care

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Great information.

Any opinions on Balistol for leather? I keep hearing it is supposed to be good for leather, so every time I clean the guns I spray some on the holster as well. I'm hoping they don't start rotting away on me now. Or spontaneously combust or explode or something.
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Re: Leather accessory care

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No anti-opinions from me. I pour the stuff on all my guns, and then they go in my holsters.
Not to piss everyone off, but Ballistol is basically just mineral oil. And three times as expensive as it should be.
Mineral oil is basically a petroleum based product. The spray to get it out of the can is Butane!
But it's so light of an oil, the govt can't really say that it's toxic to any extent.

JohnGradyCole wrote:Great information.

Any opinions on Balistol for leather? I keep hearing it is supposed to be good for leather, so every time I clean the guns I spray some on the holster as well. I'm hoping they don't start rotting away on me now. Or spontaneously combust or explode or something.

Re: Leather accessory care

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I would avoid any petroleum based products. I like this stuff http://www.fiebing.com/catalogue/soaps-oils/
Tack and feed shops carry it. Bag Balm and Udder Balm maybe too, they are lanolin based. Mink oil is my preferred. I'd need more info on the balms, but horses like it, and my hands get real soft too.

P.S. I've used Bag Balm as a case lube in a pinch once too. It worked.
Bud.

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure"---- Dan Quayle, 1990.

Re: Leather accessory care

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I don't use saddle soap. I feel it actually ruins leather. Not all of us, but some of us leather guys just won't use it.
The balms have some lanolins in them, but they are acrylics. All of them can be cut with water. That's why a lot of leather guys use Mop and Glo cut to 50-50. (I don't)
Personally, I don't trust any of the conditioners, or branded oils. Half of them are mineral spirits, and when used are actually drying out the leather. The rest are silicone, or vegetable based.
Neatsfoot for conditioning. Acryllics for the top coats. Once those are dry, the mineral based waxy waterproofers like Sno Seal, and Snow proof won't get into the leathers, and sit on top of the acryllics to protect against moisture.


popgunn wrote:I would avoid any petroleum based products. I like this stuff http://www.fiebing.com/catalogue/soaps-oils/
Tack and feed shops carry it. Bag Balm and Udder Balm maybe too, they are lanolin based. Mink oil is my preferred. I'd need more info on the balms, but horses like it, and my hands get real soft too.

P.S. I've used Bag Balm as a case lube in a pinch once too. It worked.

Re: Leather accessory care

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I've used Sno Seal Bees Wax for over 40 years - better than anything else I've tried. Doesn't damage leather, seals and waterproofs. I don't use it on formed leather holsters, but do use on non-formed Hunter 1100 series holsters for revolvers; work and hiking boots; knife sheaths, belts, straps, etc.

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Re: Leather accessory care

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I have some custom leather holsters whose maker recommended Skidmore's Leather Cream and Skidmore's Beeswax for waterproofing. Seems to work fine.

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