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Leather Conditioning video from Langlitz

entertainment

Well-Known Member
I found this video quite fun to watch.
I appreciated the suggestion of using fingers rather than a cloth for application.
Perhaps everyone does this but it made getting the right amount onto and into the leather much easier, i.e., none of the thick goopy areas I used to get using a cloth with Pecard.
Subsequently, I found the same suggestion on the Pecard website though I can't track it down now.

 

Smithy

Well-Known Member
Thanks Entertainment.

It's really up to what works for you: fingers; an old rag; whatever.

My approach to leather goop is heavily influenced by my upbringing, rugby boots, horse tack on my family's farms. All of that was done with an old cloth and I still do the same.

But if you like doing it with your fingers it really doesn't make any difference, you're still rubbing the same stuff into the same leather aren't you ;-)
 

entertainment

Well-Known Member
Yes, but by rubbing the conditioner between the fingers and thumb the temperature rises somewhat which makes the conditioner more liquid. Fingers also make it easier to sense which areas need more or less conditioner. There is also something intimate about using the fingers, like you are giving the jacket a massage!!! ;)

Don't knock it until you try it. But if you get a good result with a cloth, no reason to change!
 

Micawber

Well-Known Member
Fingers are good. Prime consideration is to use the conditioner of your choice sparingly, very sparingly and keep it clear of lining etc. Slopping hide food on like there will be no tomorrow is a mistake that some make in the believe that more is good as it will soak in whereas all that tends to happen is that the surface of the hide becomes either a sticky mess in the warm and cold and stiff when cold.

We are not trying to rehydrate a 3000 year old crispy dry Egyptian mummy but rather feed a relatively modern tanned leather garment - even then it's hardly required most of the time.
 

mulceber

Moderator
Agreed - the last thing you want is for the leather to become sticky and attract dust (and therefore bacteria). Better to use almost none and apply multiple coats than to use what seems like enough and discover you’ve overdone it.
 

entertainment

Well-Known Member
No arguments here.

The fingers method just makes it really easy to control the amount applied and get a super thin layer that also penetrates well, much easier than with a piece of cloth for me. That was one reason that I thought this video would be of interest. I do still rub the jacket down with a cloth after a day or so to remove excess, but almost nothing comes off. Over several weeks, I put three layers on a Sears cowhide moto jacket with this method, and still think it could take another application. So it must go on pretty thinly.
 
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