Leather accessory care
1What do you do to preserve your leather accessories? Slings? Holsters? Misc gun related items? Old and new?
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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?Bucolic wrote:Chamberlain's Leather Milk. Amazon carries it. That or some of the old standard, Lexol.
Yeah! Thanks Bucolic and rockyriverleather! I'll try the Lexol on my current leather project.Bucolic wrote:Whew! We've been schooled! Thanks!
I bet field dressing was rather creative depending on where one was.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
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?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
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?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.
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.
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.
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