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tape damage

SuinBruin

Well-Known Member
My new Goodwear goatskin Bronco came in contact with some tape over the weekend, and it pulled a bit of the surface finish off the leather. (!!!#!$@!#&#^&!!!!!!!!!!!!) Any tips on how to fix this? I've ordered some Pecard's... will that work, or should I try something else? Thanks in advance.
 

T-Bolt

New Member
Is the jacket leather russet or seal....russet I would imagine?? Where on the jacket is the damaged area and how large is it?

Before using Pecards on it, I would try some Meltonian Boot Creme in a color tone that matches the jacket as closely as possible. If you cannot find a specific color that is spot on to your jacket, you may need to buy two jars (one slightly lighter and one slightly darker) and mix a bit of each for a custom color. I have had great luck on several jackets using Meltonian to cover up worn spots on collars, epaulets, wind flap, etc. You may need to periodically touch up the spot as it will gradually wear off, depending where the damaged spot is. Good luck!


Ted
 

SuinBruin

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the replies. There are a few small patches next to the zipper on the front of the jacket. Nothing too terrible, but seeing as how the jacket is basically brand new, I'm a little peeved at myself for getting tape on it.

P.S. It's the russet goat... really nice leather, will the flaked off finish compromise its durability at all???
 

Steve27752

Well-Known Member
SuinBruin said:
Thanks for the replies. There are a few small patches next to the zipper on the front of the jacket. Nothing too terrible, but seeing as how the jacket is basically brand new, I'm a little peeved at myself for getting tape on it.

P.S. It's the russet goat... really nice leather, will the flaked off finish compromise its durability at all???

As I said............. Ask John.
 

SuinBruin

Well-Known Member
Steve27752 said:
SuinBruin said:
Thanks for the replies. There are a few small patches next to the zipper on the front of the jacket. Nothing too terrible, but seeing as how the jacket is basically brand new, I'm a little peeved at myself for getting tape on it.

P.S. It's the russet goat... really nice leather, will the flaked off finish compromise its durability at all???

As I said............. Ask John.
Thanks for the tip. I've exchanged PMs with him and he had a suggestion.
 

SuinBruin

Well-Known Member
Acrylic paint blended to the right shade and thinned out to not be too dark or thick. Stopped by the art supply store on the way home from work and got some; the early results are very good. Thanks John!
 

deeb7

Gone, but not forgotten.
SuinBruin said:
Acrylic paint blended to the right shade and thinned out to not be too dark or thick.

Maybe two coats, and after a few days, rub with a cloth, and a tiny amount of leather conditioner ..... perfect!
 

T-Bolt

New Member
I wish you good luck with this project, SuinBruin.

This does bring up a very important subject, though. That subject is being careful with any type of adhesives around top grain leather. Depending on how the hide is finished, the top coat can peel off quite easily. I remember several years ago on one of the earlier versions of VLJ, a member mentioned going to a work/social function with his wife and they were issued adhesive name tags at the door.

The guy put on the tag without a second thought. A while later after leaving the function, the guy removed the nametag off of his A-2 jacket (a Real McCoys Dubow if I remember correctly). Unfortunately he immediately noticed that the outer color layer peeled off noticeably!

Leather jacket are tough articles of clothing, but that can be damaged with adhesives or sharp objects with surprising ease.


Ted
 

SuinBruin

Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone for the feedback on this. The acrylic paint seems to have done a great job (burnt umber, with just a touch of white, then thinned out with water). I think I'll follow deeb's advice and do another light coat before treating with a little Pecard's.

I'm really pi$$ed at myself over this... the zipper on the jacket is a NOS Talon, and it was fairly sticky. I bought some spray dry lube that advertised itself as good for zippers and safe for leather, but didn't want to risk getting any on the jacket itself. So I masked the edge of the leather off with masking tape before spraying one side of the zip... which turned out to be a big mistake. The tape was not on there all that long, but it pulled off a few patches of finish.

Strangely enough, I couldn't replicate the finish loss on the goat samples John had sent me earlier, even though the color is identical to the jacket. Go figure.

But if someone out there can learn from my mistake... beware tape and stickers, they are not your jacket's friends!

Cheers,
matt
 

Happy Hooligan

Well-Known Member
SuinBruin said:
Thanks everyone for the feedback on this. The acrylic paint seems to have done a great job (burnt umber, with just a touch of white, then thinned out with water). I think I'll follow deeb's advice and do another light coat before treating with a little Pecard's.

I'm really pi$$ed at myself over this... the zipper on the jacket is a NOS Talon, and it was fairly sticky. I bought some spray dry lube that advertised itself as good for zippers and safe for leather, but didn't want to risk getting any on the jacket itself. So I masked the edge of the leather off with masking tape before spraying one side of the zip... which turned out to be a big mistake. The tape was not on there all that long, but it pulled off a few patches of finish.

Strangely enough, I couldn't replicate the finish loss on the goat samples John had sent me earlier, even though the color is identical to the jacket. Go figure.

But if someone out there can learn from my mistake... beware tape and stickers, they are not your jacket's friends!

Cheers,
matt


Maybe bees wax might work better on the next time your zipper gets sticky.
 
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