Cleaning rawhide lacing on holsters

[992B]

I have a few old holsters with rawhide lacing that has darkened with age and use. The leather on the holsters has cleaned nicely with saddle soap and a coat of Nexol. The light colored lacing is still dirty looking and needs brightening up. Read on line about using toothpaste on the lacing to clean it up. Any suggestions? One holster is a V.L. & A. buscadero tooled model for an N frame that will be home for my 38/44's and 44 Special Triple Lock and Third Model 44 Special.

Thanks,
Gary

[rednichols]

Seemed like something I should know, but don't. So I googled "how to clean rawhide" and found plenty of knowledge there; you should, too :-).

Bear in mind that rawhide is not leather; that is, it is the stage before it is tanned and so is degradable.

[wheelgun610]

After trying a couple different leather cleaning products with no success, I tried Fast Orange hand cleaner on an old Heiser # 730. It worked better than I would have imagined and left the lacing looking clean, and without looking "bleached".

Didn't think to take a before pic till after I'd cleaned this one. That was probably 10 years ago and I didn't expect it to work as well as it did.

[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/e1y54c8_6aGd9num23KvSUzFFb7Q8uoVI10ioYZeS1TBK2cvLbJ5Hgcx7dxqdGOrt5pP124fb0EcUAwyfTQa37dD8SZpujV1qVcIeQRD_vQPwvU88n5h_AhAWpcEkCmdV3dJnCxuyN7YZaiFgehtUfLRBXzJSkCDg-B-VGFUGR7L1QOv8o2o5vILNirZVLdSdTcbofFp38L_qedNcAlqpJv1TCtSqmznqiSEO336QSGR-oqreR3K4M0Z9_AK7MoHR1Kl6FJiNlO3f7IGd2rHLIBchQvnmSDJIxROCIr8eMQDPwVobQ40yz1fVX6M-BJQqH1-mYCShtx3f4r2_57MlrbmBYjikscDmnGktokuU1-h7Up4auv8eeH4mkJYlf4Fk4QpGl_5kf9kDOZx2EC67mY***CGEkdndQYp5iSXikvB2UU11TxxbQ6x6LGKuJQKr1jKUI2u3K63Olf_UCZPaoP-9noFtrn-0NvUKX04LU-tHBao5fAw2_vjwqjFH1CfvOWnvIZSQ01stbDWEwuqAyuYoq2z8ocqZX9ptDIEF71CwSRX46TBFRAeW1HgqWkvTPffuCAptvncC8hf3o7p7eIqJZ3x6aV4kThmNnXWZ3i71sDpgxNPsw6amPAX_8Yl9pa_rIxtdx23XbEwEGqCC3Sj4BrIVIFb07Q=w1177-h662-no[/img]

Mark

[LoboGunLeather]

I have not tried toothpaste so I can't comment on that. My usual recommendation for cleaning soiled finished leather surfaces is to use an old worn toothbrush dipped in club soda to scrub those areas, then allow to dry thoroughly (overnight), followed by a light application of neutral shoe polish buffed off with a soft cloth (sealing the surface and replenishing moisture content without saturating the leather with oily gunk).

[992B]

Wheelgun610 you are the man. Fast orange hand cleaner and a toothbrush are the solution to my problem. Wiped it off with a damp paper towel and I will put some neutral shoe polish and some Nexol on tomorrow and my problem is solved!! Wheel gunner suggested the neutral shoe polish and kudos to him also. My old Smiths can now step out in style!! Thanks, guys your advice is much appreciated. Gary

[wheelgun610]

Gary, I'm glad it worked for you. I believe I used a damp piece of an old wash cloth and scrubbed pretty vigorously on that old Heiser, but the lacing was really filthy. It was nearly as dark as the body of the holster. Overall, the condition was too good to leave it as I found it, and when nothing else really seemed to help on the lacing, I got the idea of trying the Fast Orange. I'd been using that stuff for its intended purpose for years, and after reading the label, I didn't think it would hurt anything to test it on a small area. Like I said, I wish I had taken a 'before' pic for comparison. It made that much of a difference.

Mark