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Real McCoys 37J1B Zielinski - seawater-wash?

marcvs66

Active Member
I just took delivery on my new Real McCoys 37J1B Zielinski jacket (from Japan).

I ordered the jacket in size 44 - as size 42 was already sold out at Vintage Paradise. And while the jacket fits pretty good (size 42 probably would have been too snug), I wish, it were just a bit smaller (size 43 - if there were such a thing - would be ideal).

I also really like the weathered/aged look of John's original jacket:



I was wondering, if that look (and a little bit of shrinking) could be achieved by a home-made seawater/saltwater-wash? Has anybody here ever tried this?

I do like the look of the latest batch of Buzz Rickson seawater-washed N-1 jackets. I guess, I'm looking for a similar effect - just a little bit more subtle. Usually, I'm not a big fan of artificial aging, but for the 37J1B style jacket a little bit of 'weathering' would make it look much better in my opinion.

Any advise/suggestions, before I stick a $600 jacket into the washing machine and potentially ruin it?

Admins: if this thread is in the wrong area, please feel free to move.
 

marcvs66

Active Member
I found below photographs on a japanese blog. This is pretty much the amount of 'weathering/aging' I am looking for.









Liking the way the collar is shaped after washing.


ADDENDUM:
I just ran the japanese blog through translation and it says that the jacket in the photos has two years of wear - no mentioning of any washing/special wash. Maybe the best way to get the right look is just wearing the jacket hard (rain, sun) for the next two years - no short-cuts... damn... the wool collar sure looks like it got wet a couple of times though... any thoughts?
 

Peter Graham

Well-Known Member
Fantastic looking jacket. There's no substitute for honest wear to get the right look. Just wear the hell out of it. A few washes should start the process. Let's see some pics.
 

Wholenineyards

Well-Known Member
Marc,
cool jacket, I bought a BR 37J1 in size 44, although I wear a size 42 in BR N-1s. So the jacket is a little too large for me. Would you be able to coach me in RMC sizing? Those seem to run not as large as BR jackets. What is your regular BR size, would you know? An how do both brands relate to each other for size?

Thanks!
 

dujardin

Well-Known Member
congratsssssss

just wear and wear and wearrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr your jacket

aged look will come naturally ;)
 

SuinBruin

Well-Known Member
Love the RM 37J1B. Mine still looks pretty new after a year plus, though it doesn't get worn as much as I'd like since it's too snug for anything but a t-shirt. I echo what Peter and Marcel said... just wear the heck out of it and it will acquire more character than washing or anything else could give it.
 

stevetfire

Member
Great looking jacket, I've got a few buzz deck jackets, Thier Navy blue one bieng one of my favourites and I also agree with Pete and the other guys sentiments that good hard wear is really the only way to achieve the desired look , I have washed a new buzz ( green )N1 from new with some salt and it did fade slightly and softened up a bit but was still pretty mint looking , my Navy ( blue ) one gets worn in the garage , on my motorcycle , walking the dogs etc and looks better for it and takes it no problem,
So I think in short if I were you I may just wear it as often as you can for a while and see how you get on maybe give it one wash on a cool setting ......let us know how you get on. Cheers
 

a2jacketpatches

Active Member
Salt or vinegar washing is actually a method to retain the dye by setting it better than it already is. Recommended to keep you dark blue jeans dark blue longer. The color is going to fade a little anyway on the first few washings as only so much dye can be etched into the fibers, but a salt or vinegar treatment will etch loose dye that would be normally loosened and rinse out using detergent.

If you wanted to speed things up a bit, RIT has a color remover that you could use but I would use very sparingly. A heaping tablespoon in a few washes, one tablespoon per wash will get the desired results, but drop in the product to dissolve and agitate a few minutes before the jacket. Let dry completely after each wash to see the extent of the fading.

Natural over time wear and washing is the obvious answer but you were asking how to expedite the look.
 

marcvs66

Active Member
Wholenineyards said:
Marc,
cool jacket, I bought a BR 37J1 in size 44, although I wear a size 42 in BR N-1s. So the jacket is a little too large for me. Would you be able to coach me in RMC sizing? Those seem to run not as large as BR jackets. What is your regular BR size, would you know? An how do both brands relate to each other for size?

Thanks!

Just saw that my thread got bumped up this morning.

In BR sizing, I'm somewhere between a size 40 and 42. I have the BR/Mister Freedom Pensacola jacket in size 40 - which fits me trim - I probably would do better (in that particular jacket) with the size 42 - one wash. I used to own a BR N-1 in size 40 - which fit me perfect. I own a BR/Mister Freedom Mulholland jacket in size 40 - which also fits perfect.

The only other RMC jacket I've owned so far was a B-10 Stagg Coat - and I'm pretty sure that was a size 42. Perfect fit. (Should have kept that jacket!).

So, generally I would say that BR runs bigger than RMC - about a size... or 3/4 of a size... somewhere in there.

Strangely, the more I try on my RMC 37J1B - I am thinking that a size 42 probably would have been too small for me? I figured, maybe since John Chapman was involved in developing the RMC 37J1b - the sizing is closer to GW sizing (which runs small compared to BR, etc.)? Might also be the overall cut of the jacket - intentionally trim.

The BR 37J1B looks like a really nice jacket too - I would have been happy to pick up one of those instead of the RMC (better price) - but couldn't find one.

Hey, I hate to suggest ruining a brand new jacket - but - have you considered shrinking your size 44 BR? Tricky, dangerous... yes - but - you might end up w/ a nice-looking and better fitting jacket?

I myself decided that I'm just too damn chicken to try in shrink my RMC 37J1B.
 

marcvs66

Active Member
stevetfire said:
Great looking jacket, I've got a few buzz deck jackets, Thier Navy blue one bieng one of my favourites and I also agree with Pete and the other guys sentiments that good hard wear is really the only way to achieve the desired look , I have washed a new buzz ( green )N1 from new with some salt and it did fade slightly and softened up a bit but was still pretty mint looking , my Navy ( blue ) one gets worn in the garage , on my motorcycle , walking the dogs etc and looks better for it and takes it no problem,
So I think in short if I were you I may just wear it as often as you can for a while and see how you get on maybe give it one wash on a cool setting ......let us know how you get on. Cheers

Hey, Steve - good advice. It's been so cold in Chicago the past few months, I've not had a chance to even consider wearing the 37J1B... once Spring is here, I'll just wear it hard... which in my case means: on the train to work... not really THAT hard, I guess.

BTW - I am currently owning your old GW steerhide Cooper A-2. What an awesome jacket that is. Hadn't had any chance to wear that one out either yet.
 

marcvs66

Active Member
I've used the RIT color remover before... hand't thought about using it to 'age' a jacket... that's actually a really good idea. Hadn't thought about the fact that one uses salt to set the color on a garment after dyeing in. I'm really tempted to try the color remover... maybe I'll do a test on a cheap piece of clothing and see what it does...


a2jacketpatches said:
Salt or vinegar washing is actually a method to retain the dye by setting it better than it already is. Recommended to keep you dark blue jeans dark blue longer. The color is going to fade a little anyway on the first few washings as only so much dye can be etched into the fibers, but a salt or vinegar treatment will etch loose dye that would be normally loosened and rinse out using detergent.

If you wanted to speed things up a bit, RIT has a color remover that you could use but I would use very sparingly. A heaping tablespoon in a few washes, one tablespoon per wash will get the desired results, but drop in the product to dissolve and agitate a few minutes before the jacket. Let dry completely after each wash to see the extent of the fading.

Natural over time wear and washing is the obvious answer but you were asking how to expedite the look.
 

a2jacketpatches

Active Member
CBI said:
I would just wear it. Trying to age cloth is very risky.

Once again, just wearing it is the obvious answer and opinionated many times already in this thread, but he was asking how to speed up the process. This method using the RIT stuff very little at a time, pre- diluted / dissolved, is a tried a true method I've used before and not risky. It simply fades the color equally throughout the jacket very little at a time, does not destroy the fibers, and will achieve the look he desires.
 

FlyingYankee

Active Member
Honestly I think you have the right size. Nothing worse than a jacket that is too tight. A little room is a good thing as most clothing shrinks as part of the aging process. As others have said just wear it in all types of weather.
 

mindful

Active Member
I have the buzz/misterfreedom 37j1 jacket and personally think this jacket is to be worn quit fitted and not baggy,if you look at original pictures you can see the cut is very close to the body giving it a smarter look and not so casual IMO .
And buy the way the real mccoys 37j1b rocks I've been contemplating about buying it for over a year and haven't pulled the trigger yet.
If anyone has one second hand size 38 please let me know, think I need to holla at Asiamiles
 

asiamiles

Well-Known Member
a2jacketpatches said:
Did I mention? there's always the option of just wearing it so the aging process happens naturally :p
On the other hand, the aging process from a VLJ member wearing a jacket will probably be somewhat different from the aging process from a crew member wearing the jacket on the deck of a ship. That said, I personally don't much care for BR's 'seawater wash' look, especially on the 37J1.

Personally, I'm still looking for a way to fade the stencilling on my RM N-1 Deck Jacket.
 

ausreenactor

Well-Known Member
mindful said:
I have the buzz/misterfreedom 37j1 jacket and personally think this jacket is to be worn quit fitted and not baggy,if you look at original pictures you can see the cut is very close to the body giving it a smarter look and not so casual IMO .
And buy the way the real mccoys 37j1b rocks I've been contemplating about buying it for over a year and haven't pulled the trigger yet.
If anyone has one second hand size 38 please let me know, think I need to holla at Asiamiles

Here is a Buzz in a 40 for under $300?

http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e144679452

Couchy
 

a2jacketpatches

Active Member
asiamiles said:
Personally, I'm still looking for a way to fade the stencilling on my RM N-1 Deck Jacket.
I don't have an answer for that one. The paint they use could be of quality enough to stay very dark through several washings. On a no-stencil jacket, I would take a certain type of paint I keep in stock and reduce it about with about 20% water., this would weaken the binder enough that it would fade nicely on the first wash and keep fading but always remain visible. Back on Cape Cod I found a ton of these jackets over the years with degrees of fading from about 50% to where you could hardly see it anymore.

The one couchy just posted appears to have the perfect fade to it.
 

mindful

Active Member
ausreenactor said:
mindful said:
I have the buzz/misterfreedom 37j1 jacket and personally think this jacket is to be worn quit fitted and not baggy,if you look at original pictures you can see the cut is very close to the body giving it a smarter look and not so casual IMO .
And buy the way the real mccoys 37j1b rocks I've been contemplating about buying it for over a year and haven't pulled the trigger yet.
If anyone has one second hand size 38 please let me know, think I need to holla at Asiamiles

Here is a Buzz in a 40 for under $300?

http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e144679452

Couchy

thanks couchy but im prefer the real mccoy version
 
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