Cleaning/treating Vanson PERFORATED cafe racer ?

[Downunder G Man]

Well my very good order ,(but VERY "vintage bouquet") Perforated leather Vanson café racer in 44"or "Large" has arrived from mid west of the USA in Perth Western Australia.

Should be my go to summer HOT day riding jacket , that's the grand plan !

Now about that mentioned "vintage bouquet"..

It is just in a cold woolwash cycle , (with no spin !) , just a soak/wash/rinse.

It will lie on towels in the bath overnight , and we have 4 or 5 dry winter days coming so the jacket will hang outside in the shade for the duration tomorrow morning onwards

This I have done with vintage jackets with the same initial "pong" before now , and afterwards have treated them well with whatever leather conditioner I had to hand at the time.

Right now I have Australia's own R.M.Williams Leather Conditioner.
Contains a mix of natural Australian ingredients inc' Beeswax and lanolin

"Protects, Softens and Shines"

My thoughts are...What about the perforations during the leather treatment ?
I will try to avoid "squeezing" the leather treatment thru' the perforations to the lining.

Has anyone on the forum treated a perforated leather jacket before and if so how ?
OR any suggestions ?

Thanks in advance folks from mid-winter Australia

 

[Peter Mackin]

Hi,,great jacket you have there ,,I have a vanson cobra properf for the odd hot day in Scotland.just treat the jacket to same conditioner you would any other vanson,,I have used Eastmans own & also pecards,,both with no issues,,I’m sure the RM Williams will be fine,,Peter

 

[Peacoat]

I wouldn't worry about the conditioner getting on the liner; it will dry, just like the leather. RM Williams is a good conditioner. I have some in my collection.

 

[Guppy]

Don't put such a big glob on the applicator cloth, and you shouldn't press much through the perforations.

In fact, rather than globbing it on, work it into the cloth until the cloth feels tacky and impregnated with the stuff, then wipe it onto the leather.

 

[Downunder G Man]

Thanks fellows , sounds like common sense will prevail. "Lightly lightly catchy monkey !"

We have had 80+ percent humidity with constant cloud cover ( no rain tho' !) so the jacket has not dried.

Wore it damp for a half hour today with only a short sleeved T shirt under it. NOT a pleasant experience !

My wife quipped.."That jacket is not for you..it's for a skinny guy !"...I said " he's inside the jacket " haha...

Still hanging outside overnight , out of the heavy dew we get at this time of year.

R.M. Williams leather conditioner by Saturday arvo ( afternoon to you Northern hemisphere types !)

 

[Downunder G Man]

Friday afternoon update. Just had 2 lovely winter days , 6C minimum with 19C maximum at 2.30PM. No wind.

Very heavy morning dews each day so the perforated Vanson was inside overnight then out again in direct sun.

Only for 2 hours , that finished off the drying for sure , so careful application of R.M.Williams leather conditioner.

Pre-warmed that in the sun also , and worked it into the foam applicator before gently wiping over the leather surface.

A few "blocked pores" as I went along so no downward pressure tried to remain "horizontal" to the leather surface.

jacket looks good ( as they always seem to !) , and it is still hanging in the late afternoon sun as I type this.

It will be lifted back under the patio roof before dewfall

Tomorrow arvo ( afternoon !) if required I will "buff" it lightly with a clean terry towel. ( same ones as my Harley !)

I am going to try a gentle hairdryer action on the "blocked pores' if the conditioner does not soak sideways into them if it's own volition. Perhaps do that today.

 

[Downunder G Man]

Well the Vanson perforated has turned out a good 'un. Buffed up to a very mild sheen after the RM Williams treatment.

Indeed some of the pores did "block" from the treatment , but judicious use of the Mrs' hairdryer (OK it was mine !) fixed that right away. Before the conditioner had a chance to dry. I saw the stuff "melting" as I did so ( CAREFULLY!).

No more 'Vintage bouquet" , and I have hung it between my steer Aero Highwayman and a young Schott HH café racer.

Maybe just maybe some of the Leather smell from them will be absorbed by the Vanson. Well worth a try !

As my wife noted , it is perhaps my "neatest" jacket for fit so it will be a summer Harley riding T shirt only gig.