Best (green, bio, fair priced) leather conditioner

[navetsea]

in my country though, lots of jacket companies would give this guide about home made remedies for treating leather, stuff like: cooking oil, toothpaste, margarine, muscle-ache ointment, etc. to clean and treat rather fine sheepskin... and to treat the jacket weekly, even as far guaranteeing it will make the leather preserved and the jacket will last for 5years

I thought no wonder...[huh]
if they would leave it alone probably the poor jacket would last even longer than 5 yrs.

and when I read about leather becomes expired, or a leather jacket past its expiry dates at local website or discussion forum, I'm simply lost at what they're talking about (most probably they were buying soft PVC leatherette losing its softener and starts peeling off) or they have over-treated their sheepskin with all these concoction until the leather is overly saturated with it and restarts its natural rotting process.

 

[zebedee]

Does anyone else use Renapur?

 

[AdeeC]

I am going with John Chapman's advice from Good Wear and use plain old fashion Vaseline. No doub there are other good products but the ones I have used leave a chemical solvent residue smell that takes ages to fade away.

 

[Peacoat]

Olive oil is for salads, not jackets.

Big J says it all in seven words.

 

[Monitor]

in my country though, lots of jacket companies would give this guide about home made remedies for treating leather, stuff like: cooking oil, toothpaste, margarine, muscle-ache ointment, etc. to clean and treat rather fine sheepskin... and to treat the jacket weekly, even as far guaranteeing it will make the leather preserved and the jacket will last for 5years

I thought no wonder...[huh]
if they would leave it alone probably the poor jacket would last even longer than 5 yrs.

Aye, that's true. Other than time and wear, there's really nothing out there that will harm your leather jacket and shorten its life significantly, so there's no need to mess with it for a long, long time. Even the dryest of jackets tend to hold together just fine.

 

[mihai]

just my 2 cents

Very interesting subject. I looked over the web some time ago, opinions vary. Then I tried to consider just scientific facts.

Chemical stability: first animal and vegetable oils are not so chemically stable opposed to synthetic ones. This means that the former ones oxidize faster (that is go rancid). Once fatty acid oxidize they affect the fiber structure. As AdeeC mentioned, vaseline (mineral based grease) seems to be far more chemically stable. Vaseline is also safe for stitching.

Solvents in leather care products: while they help the active ingredients penetrate leather faster, they can also damage the fiber structure. So I try to avoid this.

Waxes: while they help protect the leather they also seal it and prevent it from getting moisture/further fat treatments if needed. For very old already damaged leathers this is desired, however for others maybe not.

Vitamins, enzymes (from leather/skin care products): the leather use on items is a dead tissue, the leather fibers are dead cells so most likely there are not those metabolic processes that use these substances.

The purpose is that there is the least friction possible between the fibers of dead leather. They cannot repair themselves therefore they have other needs than live skin.

My experience with leather conditioners:
- bought Conolly hide food but it had a quite strong solvent scent. Decided not to use it.
- leather CPR - contains lanoline used it on a old sheepskin looks fine 5 years after.
- Pecard leather dressing - on a vintage jacket hoping to make it more pliable. It did not, the jacket became somehow stiffer with a sticky feel.
- Pecard leather lotion (supposed to have no wax as above)- failed to improve another vintage jacket (at start it was not dry just wanted to make it more pliable). After applying product it remained pretty much the same leaving it dull looking.
- the lotion sold by Noble House - based on vaseline, no solvents, has also a bit of wax. It successfully makes the leather pliable again, like almost new(tried also on some ww2 USAF briefcase). However it leaves a white film on top that needs to be wiped off. This is more difficult if leather texture is rougher. I am sticking with this for the moment.