Cleaning and conditioning a leather jacket

[TrenchGuy]

So, I have a brown leather jacket that I got from a relative, who has owned it for 30 years already and it has never been cleaned or conditioned. The jacket is rather clean, but it has some black stains on the sleeves. Not sure what the stains are, but I found a permanent marker in the inside pocket, so that might have something to do with the stains and the leather jacket has been used for motorcycle riding, so it could also be engine oil or something.

So, how should I try to clean the stains and what kind of a conditioner I should use? I have a can of some sort of German leather balsam, which, according to the can, contains "oil, "nature fat", care substrate and beeswax". It's all written in German language and thats my not-so-good translation. Not sure what kind of oil it has and what is "nature fat", I guess its pig fat or something. Somebody claimed that you shouldnt use conditioner that has beeswax, is it true? I've used it on some boots and I was really pleased with the results, leather absorbed it quite fast, the leather got really soft, it made it shiny and also waterproofed it.

 

[HorseHide]

Wasn't there a Simpsons episode about "nature fat"?

 

[TrenchGuy]

You mean the episode where Bart and Homer start collecting grease from restaurants, cafeterias etc.?

Let's not get off-topic, though.

 

[FredG]

I use Lexol products; cleaner and conditioner. Available here in hardware stores. Follow directions to the letter, example: damp cloth means just that- not saturated. If not available-try stores that specialize in horse related care.

 

[Peacoat]

You could try Lexol cleaner, as suggested by FredG (welcome to the Forum, Fred). Doubt that will work if the stain is caused by a permanent marker. Lexol is an English product, so it should be readily availble to you. If you could find a dry cleaning establishment that specializes in care of leather jackets, that might be your best bet. I've never had to do that, so I'm not sure how effective the removal process would be, or how much damage would be done to the leather. Whatever you do, it would be a good idea to follow up with a treatment of Pecard--available online. See link below. I have linked you to the Classic conditioner. They have a bunch more, but are probably all about the same. Pecard uses the marketing tactic of "market segmentation," so it can be a bit confusing.

http://www.pecard.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Pecard&Category_Code=classic

 

[ButteMT61]

Order Pecards. www.pecard.com.
Got my order of PLD16 on two days.
Great stuff, but look at the site and get the one that fits your needs...

 

[pinkplaint]

You could try Lexol cleaner