There is controversy about using leather dressing to preserve leather. It does look great when first used but collectors and dealers are now worried that eventually it darkens the leather and leaves it stiff or sticky. Get expert advice for treating leather.
3 comments:
I think it's personal preference, and that the answer is always "it depends". I buy/sell a lot of old baseball gloves, which were obviously subjected to all sorts of abuse. Rain, dirt, mud, being thrown 20 yards or more, and just as hard on them is "time". I'm a huge fan of Nokona leather treatment, found in some sporting goods stores in the baseball aisle. I've used it on a leather truck, leather straps, footballs, etc. Every brand I've used darkens the leather, but if the condition is brittle and or flaky, it's only going to get worse. At the least, do no harm. All of the vintage gloves I've treated over the last 5 years seem to hold the conditioner just fine, and don't turn tacky/sticky, or seem to have any other side effects with the Nokona stuff. I've tried stuff from Rawlings and several others, but none i've tried come close to the Nokona stuff.
Hope this helps.
I have had very good results using Lexol on old leather, with none of the adverse effects mentioned. There is also a product called Leather Rejuvenator, available from Preservation Solutions on the internet, that will soften leather that is not too dried out; at a certain point, however, nothing will restore it. Renaissance Wax, available from Amazon, is a great, museum quality product that will work on leather, wood and metal, and perhaps other substances as well.
My understanding has been that saddle soap was the preferred method of cleaning/preserving leather. I am not saying I am an expert on leather but that is what my family used and what I would most likely use. The real experts could be the folks out west (real cowboys) who live with it on a daily basis. Leather books will dry out and in places like Florida with high humidity, will even mold; so some sort of cleaner would be necessary.
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