ALL REPRO R.A.F. Irvin type jackets

[BaggyPants]

My understanding of it is that it is like a mole or other natural surface imperfection in the skin, which has come away. I'm sure it is a rarity and just bad luck that it happened on this jacket in the place it did. Eastman received the jacket back on saturday, so I'm hopeful of an email from Gary sometime tomorrow with possible solutions. I would imagine they have a spare skin box, so they may possibly completely replace the lower right back panel. If not, they don't appear to have any '42 style jackets in stock, so I have no idea what would happen then. I will keep you all informed.

EDIT: Just found this email from Alan Eastman in my junk-mail box.

"Dear Bryn,

We have received your RAF flight jacket for warranty repair.
Apologies for the inconvenience.

Please be assured this is not a botched repair. Very occasionally
sheepskin can 'crack' causing the thin layer of skin to which the
fleece has grown to become detached and laminating occurs. This was
either not spotted during the quality check or has occurred
subsequently. However, we will replace the hem, when hopefully no
further problems will occur.

Kind regards,

Alan Eastman"

I must say, they are being very professional about this. Quality customer service at its best

 

[BaggyPants]

Wow! What can I say? Posted it off to Eastman on friday, they received it saturday, message from Alan on sunday, fixed, posted on monday, Fed-Ex man just delivered it to me this morning. The jacket is now like new again. Everything matches up beautifully. Their customer care is absolutely second to none and they sent me one of their wallet sets as a token for the inconvenience. They have a customer for life in me now, just need to convince the good lady that I need a B3 or the early style Irvin as well as this one lol

 

[Spitfire]

That's what service should be all about!!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Smithy]

Good to hear Baggypants. My experiences with Eastman have been first rate and it's good to hear that if things go wrong they are quick and professional about it.

Bet you're hoping that cold weather holds on for a few extra weeks

 

[BaggyPants]

Good to hear Baggypants. My experiences with Eastman have been first rate and it's good to hear that if things go wrong they are quick and professional about it.

Bet you're hoping that cold weather holds on for a few extra weeks

Indeed, and it looks like it will

 

[BaggyPants]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a product available in the UK which would give the vintaged hide on my ELC Irvin a bit more sheen?

 

[aswatland]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a product available in the UK which would give the vintaged hide on my ELC Irvin a bit more sheen?

You could apply a light coat of Pecards, which will also help to waterproof it.
However looking at my collection of original Irvins some have a slight sheen, but most are not shiny at all. If you look on the Other Irvin thread you will see some pictures to help you.

 

[BaggyPants]

Looking through those original photos and you are absolutely spot on. Many of them give the impression of a sheen just because of bright sunlight. I shall purchase some Pecards at some time anyway.

 

[Hawk_Eye]

Received my new 1942 pattern Irvin from Eastman a few days ago. I upsized from my previous one, which was a 42long to a 44 extra long. When I first tried on the jacket I thought I had mad a big mistake as it seemed massive in comparison but after a few days of wear I think I've achieved the fit I was going for. Slightly darker coloured fleece than the last one. As always, excellent build quality. My only complaint would be the leather feels quite spongy, especially on the back panels. Significantly more so than my other 1942 pattern. But thats the nature of a natural product I suppose.

 

[Spitfire]

Congrats with you new Irvin, Hawk Eye.
To me the advantage of both AERO and ELC is, that not two jackets are alike.

Drop us some pics some time, will you?

 

[BaggyPants]

I understand exactly what Hawk Eye is referring to. The vintage finish does give it a spongy feel, however, on Andrews advice, I've applied a little Pecards to a test area under the arm and that works wonders. It takes away the "greying" which can be seen in some photos of the '42 and also darkens up the edges of the seam tapes and turn ups. It also darkens the thread, but that may lighten up again once it fully dries.

 

[Hawk_Eye]

Baggy, I did that to my previous Irvin as well, darkened up the fresh-cut edges of the seam tapes nicely. Applied it 6 months ago and the tapes are still dark. Spitty, I'll try and get some pics ASAP.

 

[BaggyPants]

I applied a light coat of Pecard to my ELC vintaged Irvin on saturday and by the sunday evening it had soaked it all in completely, so I gave it a more thorough coating on sunday night, rubbing it in with my fingers. That coat has taken until today to dry off fully and has been buffed to a slight sheen. The difference in colour is unbelievable. I really should have taken some before and after photos, because it's just amazing. It had a greyish tint to it before, but now has a beautiful depth to the colour, and is a chocolate brown with a red hue to it. The surface has also lost the spongy suede feel that it had. I will endeavour to take some photos later, and link to Greenys '42 which he was selling, as that is what mine looked like before.

 

[BaggyPants]

I hope Greeny doesn't mind, but I quoted the first two photos from his post a few pages ago, to show how mine looked before the Pecard.

This is how mine looks now:

The first four are without flash. The last one was taken with flash, and is not a completely true representation of the colour, but it shows the red in the skin.

The job this Pecard stuff has done, is simply stunning. The jacket still has the more used look and feel of the '42, but no longer looks dry and lifeless

 

[aswatland]

1940 PATTERN ELC IRVIN-SIZE 44

Here are some pics of my 1940 pattern RAF flying jacket. It's not from ELC's recent production and was made some years ago. The skin is quite close to originals and the fleece is fairly close too. I have fitted a brass single trunnion Dot slider/puller on the main zip, replaced the buckle with an original and fitted original leather pulls to all the zips.

 

[aswatland]

 

[BaggyPants]

That's a beautiful jacket, Andrew

 

[John Lever]

Aero have now altered the cuff taper for me.

Comparison is with my very early merino Eastman

 

[PADDY]

Very nice.

Glad Aero have gone with the taper.

 

[Windsock]

It may be the way you've photographed it but it appears that taper is quite extreme compared to originals. It appears to form a straight line taper from the elbow, when of course the whole arm is a more complex shape.