Wax or Sealant?

[London Cabbie]

I have one or two jacket repros that are dull leather. How can I get them to shine just a bit? I read the John Chapman interview and he sometimes uses an acrylic glaze. I’ve seen leather sealant in Matt, satin or gloss. Then of course there’s wax. I’ve used Vaseline which conditions but doesn’t shine. I have included a photo from Goodwear M422-a USN Jacket for the look I am trying to achieve. I hope Mr Chapman doesn’t mind…

 

[Dany McDonald]

Urad, a self shining leather cream will exactly do that, its a cream and will give a shine as it dries. Its non permanent, unlike an acrylic coating.

Hope this helps.

Dany

 

[flyincowboy]

Have you ever tried rubbing the leather with a wool rag? it will shine nicely... Use some good leather cream before!

 

[MikeyB-17]

It’s been mentioned before that Aero swear by furniture polish to put a shine on leather-Pledge is the one Ken mentioned, which they apparently use in industrial quantities. I use this stuff when my B-3 gets a bit ‘suedey’-it’s basically shoe cream so polishes to a shine. The dark brown matches my seal brown B-3 bang on.

 

[Deacon211]

I’ve also heard that furniture polish is a surprisingly good product for giving leather a nice shine.

 

[Dany McDonald]

Some basic questions I always ask myself before experimenting with a product on very expensive leather are:

1- Is the product permanent or even semi-permanent?
2- Does it contain solvents of any type?
3- Will it affect the shade, mostly darken?

And finally, once deeply penetrated in the skin, can it or will it start to decay the leather in any ways, usually over a long time period, meaning the next owner will see it.

Just my cautious side speaking... Those are very expensive and professionally tanned and dyed leathers that deserve special attention.

Dany

 

[Micawber]

Urad, a self shining leather cream will exactly do that, its a cream and will give a shine as it dries. Its non permanent, unlike an acrylic coating.

Hope this helps.

Dany

This. Unless you want to run the risk of staining or rubbing off on upholstery you want to avoid using any coloured polishes. A good leather conditioning cream such as that made for horse tack or good quality car upholstery [think Connolly hide] will bring it up well. While they will give the leather a sheen to be safe the acrylic sealants will mean that you have to remove any conditioners you have used in the past, failure to do so may, may see it not adhering too well in creases etc.

 

[Dany McDonald]

London Cabbie, I forgot to mentioned, that I did use Urad on a couple of G-1 jackets to obtain exactly what you are looking for. Will post some images later when at hone.
I event use it on my leather motorcycle seat to give it some surface boots in spring.

D

 

[London Cabbie]

London Cabbie, I forgot to mentioned, that I did use Urad on a couple of G-1 jackets to obtain exactly what you are looking for. Will post some images later when at hone.
I event use it on my leather motorcycle seat to give it some surface boots in spring.

D

Thanks Dan
Urad looks excellent stuff. I’ve had a few suggestions which all sound good. Thanks to all.
I like the idea of using pledge as it is a spray and would be easy to work with. In the past I did an Indy jacket with Vaseline which really added softness but not really shine. I like the waxy feel of my Aero. What I’m looking for is the Eastman G-1 finish to my AVI M422a, I am sure Eastman use a sealant the AVI looks dull, but that’s why it’s that price I presume. My original G1 looks like it has exact same finish as the Eastman a shiny glossy non waxy finish. Maybe some goatskin is naturally shiny, I don’t know. I also have a cow skin black leather which is dull. Wanted to hear from others what their thoughts were…
Again thanks for taking the time to reply.