Dry Cleaning a Buzz Deck Jacket

[Cobblers161]

Hi all,

Have any owners/past owners of Buzz alpaca lined Deck Jackets ever put them through a dry clean?

I'm just wondering if there has been any adverse effect on either the lining or the shell, particularly the early blue versions.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Thomas Koehle]

maybe that won't help you coz i'm not reffering to a Buzz but to jackets from other asian repop manufacturers

i give all my repop jackets a wash in the washing machine just to remove any loose fibres and to give 'em a more used looked rather than the factory new appearance some of them have

the "real" jackets have been exposed to sun, wind, rain, saltwater, heavy work on machinery or planes, ...

i usualy take the program with 30° for delicate fabric - tumbling on the lowest Revolution Speed (is that really the correct word- Revolution???) and then take the stuff out of the washer as Long as it is still wet - after the wash i pull the fabric back in shape to avoid shrinking - sounds rude but so far i think it works

finally i hang her dry somewhere out of the sun

according to the number of runs you give her in the washer you will achieve a slightly used look - or if you wanna have her more salty run her through the program several times

i already considered for a "stonewash" run but didn't dare so far coz i do not want to ruin the garment and i do not want to have my wife kick me out of the kitchen because i destroyed the washer

finally you can decide wether to give her a wash with cold water in your bathtub using some light detergent - like the "Denim guys" do with their Pants - which should avoid any shrinking anyway but you have a clean jacket

once again - my experience but with "non Buzz" jackets

if a Buzz Rickson jacket ain't able to stand a run in the washer, she is not worth the Money you paid for her -just my 2 cents

 

[Cobblers161]

Thanks Thomas, much appreciated.

I have the N-1 at the dry cleaners just now but I'm half tempted to rescue it before it goes through the process.

I know early Blue RMc jackets had a tendency to turn an aubergine colour, never heard of the same happening to a Buzz. One of the fellas over at Denimbro has a large collection of various deck jackets and he seems to think it may be ok….

The only problem with a real wash is that we won't be seeing any sun in the UK for a good 6 months ;-)

 

[Thomas Koehle]

So did you finally decide to take her off the dry cleaners?

For my A2 jackets the label says "do not dryclean" anyway so also might be a bit "sensible" for your N1 too???

Concerning sun we have the same problem in Germany too

 

[Cobblers161]

Yes mate, it went through the dry cleaners and shrank a little initially but stretched back out in chest.
I lost 3/4" in back length and 1/2" in shoulders, chest stretched back out to 23" and sleeves remained the same.

Back decal faded a little, front lettering faded a lot.

Shell colour is still ok. To be honest I like it.

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Let us see some pics

 

[Cobblers161]

Here you go....

Whadda ya think on the fit?

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x11/cobblers161/IMG_1876_zpsx3rv0vum.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x11/cobblers161/IMG_1873_zps2amgiidk.jpg

 

[Cobblers161]

Sorry, unable to post image direct as on train and Photobucket isn't playing ball.

*edited* I swear I am not wearing make-up! Honest!

 

[omarco]

had a look at the pic, fit looks spot on.

I cold washed my RM N1 and had a little shrinkage, the alpaca was never as soft afterwards either. If i was doing it again i'd get the size up to account for shrinkage.

 

[Cobblers161]

Thanks, I was thinking it was too short but looking at WW2 pics (cheers Thomas) sizing was all over the place.

Interesting regarding the RM as I have Khaki one that is too big. Did the washing reduce size all round including shoulders?

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Size is perfect - length of most of mine is similar to yours and like can be seen a lot of period pics originals have been almost same

Sleeves and shoulders are 100%

I like the look

 

[jack31916]

Nice jacket Steve. Perfect fit !

 

[omarco]

mine did shrink all over and would shrink significantly more in the drier i'd think. Do beware of the alpaca though, mine was very soft and luxurious pre wash and much rougher afterwards.