Re-conditioning Old Leather

[TwoGunTJ]

Hi all, I was just given a box of leather holsters, gun belt, and speed loader pouchs that are 35 years old. They've sat in a milk crate in a basement for the last 15 years or so and have a white powdery residue covering them ( I'm guessing mold). I bought a bottle of liquid glycerin saddle soap and a soft nylon brush hoping to save these items and was looking for opinions on whether this is the best way to go about it. Thanks TJ

 

[crazyphil]

Karla Van Horne aka Purdy Gear had an article in American Handgunner
a while back on your subject. She suggested you first rinse it off good
with mildly warm water using a soft bristle tooth brush in the creases,
nooks and crannys. Wipe it off with dry towel and let it dry overnight at
normal room temp.
Next day use the product you mentioned: Liquid glycerin saddle soap
and a soft nylon brush. Rinse again and dry it as before.
Next day use one of several conditioners. First one she mentioned was
Fiebings Ausie Leather Conditioner. You might be able to find her article
on American Handgunner website. Title Leather Restoration Tips.
Sorry I didn't keep the date.

 

[H Richard]

I was always told that neatsfoot oil can weaken the leather and rot any stitching. I can't attest to it as with that warning I've never used it. I do use Blackrock, and it is a great product.

 

[poordevil]

Make sure it is Neat's-foot Oil and not neat's-foot COMPOUND...that will mess up stitching.

 

[Drm50]

I go through similar steps. Murphy's oil soap and warm water,
Rinse with cold water, let air dry. Saddle soap and warm water,
Rinse and dry. Then hand rub Neets Foot oil, hang up and repeat
about a week later( just the Neets Foot treatment) I have holsters that are close to 100 yrs old still holding up fine and
holsters I bought new in 60s still look new from this treatment.
I need some Neets Foot right now, the brand I buy is from
True Value Hardware Stores.

 

[series guy]

Ballistol is also excellent on leather as it contains no petroleum products. I use it for that purpose quite often.

 

[TwoGunTJ]

Results

This is where I'm at after scrubbing with the liquid glycerin saddle soap, so far so good. I wish I would have taken before photos. Thanks again for everyone's input. TJ

 

[Erich]

Dang! Looking good there!

 

[SweetMK]

Hmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,

I looked at the TSC website,,,
I am a BIG fan of synthetic oil in my cars, trucks, and tractor.
Every time I use synthetic,,, I am more with the results.

So, I gotta ask, TSC has neatsfoot compound, it is blended with synthetic.

It is called PRIME NEATSFOOT OIL COMPOUND,,,,

So, the question is,
100% NEATSFOOT OIL,,, or PRIME NEATSFOOT OIL COMPOUND??

 

[indie_rocker]

Hmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,

I looked at the TSC website,,,
I am a BIG fan of synthetic oil in my cars, trucks, and tractor.
Every time I use synthetic,,, I am more with the results.

*original post condensed*

So, the question is,
100% NEATSFOOT OIL,,, or PRIME NEATSFOOT OIL COMPOUND??

Did you read the other posts?

Make sure it is Neat's-foot Oil and not neat's-foot COMPOUND...that will mess up stitching.

 

[michaelinfv]

In my other business, I recondition motorcycle leather saddlebags and they really take a beating...really....

What I do first is clean the dirt off then I soak the bags in neatsfoot oil for a week (you can do that as well), buy a galon bottle online or at a tack shop or TSC and submerge the leather pieces in the neatsfoot oil.

After a week, remove them and let them drain. The neatsfoot oil replaces the natural oils in the leather, remember leather was, at one time, living tissue so the oil is necessary for the leather to remain supple.

After the items drain, take a rag and rub them well to remove any excess.

My final step is a liberal coat of Blackrock Leather-N-Rich, followed by buffing carefully to restore the shene.

I happen to sell Blackrock as well. Learned about it from my wife and other horse people, they use it on harness and tack.

Did you read the other posts?

Karla Van Horne aka Purdy Gear had an article in American Handgunner
a while back on your subject. She suggested you first rinse it off good
with mildly warm water using a soft bristle tooth brush in the creases,
nooks and crannys. Wipe it off with dry towel and let it dry overnight at
normal room temp.
Next day use the product you mentioned: Liquid glycerin saddle soap
and a soft nylon brush. Rinse again and dry it as before.
Next day use one of several conditioners. First one she mentioned was
Fiebings Ausie Leather Conditioner. You might be able to find her article
on American Handgunner website. Title Leather Restoration Tips.
Sorry I didn't keep the date.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[bamabiker]

I cannot imagine letting any leather item soak in anything for a week.
Never heard that one before.

 

[bamabiker]

Well I will agree with you on the Blackrock Leather and Rich.

 

[Sconie]

Just fwiw, the best leather reconditioning outcomes that I've had have come from using not Neat's-foot oil, but rather, a product called Pecard's Antique Leather Dressing:

https://www.pecard.com/shop/

 

[iPac]

Or if you didn't want the hassle of finding neatsfoot oil, you can use olive oil just the same.

I had to 'modify' an IWB leather holster to get a better fit. Before I started ripping seams and re-sewing, I rubbed some extra virgin olive oil on it. Worked well, and is recommended by many leather workers.

I don't know what the price of neatsfoot oil is, but you might even save money.

 

[LAWMAN662]

Leather Restoration TipsAmerican Handgunner | American Handgunner

Leather Restoration Tips - By Karla Van Horn

 

[Pointblank2U]

If the leather isn't too far gone I use Ballistol. Ballistol also works really well to restore old Pachmayr grips to almost like new.

 

[Lobogunleathers]

We have done a lot of work in restoring saddles, and other leather items. Leather has to be treated as a natural breathing material. Leather is made up of fibers that are woven together, and these fibers need to have some oil in them or they will dry out and crack. The challenge with adding the oil into the leather if you add too much oil to a holster, these fibers will have a tendency to slip apart and the outcome is too much stretching. If we are dealing with a holster, we would definitely want to deal with it differently than other types of leather goods. We would agree with a good cleaning using a glycerine based saddle soap, allowing the holster to dry then taking a paintbrush and then brush on a light coat of oil. Let the oil sit and neutralize into the leather. A second coat of oil done in the same manner will more than likely be needed, and depending on how dried out the leather is, a third coat may be necessary. This should be enough oil to bring the fibers of the leather to a proper usable condition. The problem we have seen with dunking leather into a vat of oil, is that the flesh side of leather is open and you would end up with too much oil absorbed into the leather. Excessive oil is extremely hard to remove. If you would want to waterproof the holster some, you can use a beeswax based product. We would never advise using a silicone based product like mink oil as it can clog the pores of the leather and will not allow the natural breathing that the leather needs to do causing the leather to dry rot.

 

[DoubleAdobe]

In my other business, I recondition motorcycle leather saddlebags and they really take a beating...really....

What I do first is clean the dirt off then I soak the bags in neatsfoot oil for a week (you can do that as well), buy a galon bottle online or at a tack shop or TSC and submerge the leather pieces in the neatsfoot oil.

After a week, remove them and let them drain. The neatsfoot oil replaces the natural oils in the leather, remember leather was, at one time, living tissue so the oil is necessary for the leather to remain supple.

After the items drain, take a rag and rub them well to remove any excess.

My final step is a liberal coat of Blackrock Leather-N-Rich, followed by buffing carefully to restore the shene.

I happen to sell Blackrock as well. Learned about it from my wife and other horse people, they use it on harness and tack.

If you have a holster you like, or want to have a chance of bringing it back to anything approximating life, DO NOT soak it for a week or a day or an hour in neatsfoot oil. It will be like an oily rag.
Vegetable tanned leather, which any quality holster or western saddle part is made of will be ruined by this method.
Chrome tanned leather may possibly benefit from this treatment, it is a different animal for sure. I would still think this to be excessive. I have always had better luck using small applications put on numerous times with a fair amount of time and especially soak time in between for chrome leather. It still has limited success if not done very slowly.
I know a guy that uses power steering fluid to make his chaps and bridles and reins quite soft and supple. Also not recommended.
I don't know what Blackrock leather treatment is, but I would look in to it as well as a week in neatsfoot oil.
This is with all due respect.

 

[TAC]

Be very careful not to soften the leather too much. The holster will lose it's shape, and retention properties.