Do try this at home: leather jacket repair tips

[Marc mndt]

I recently acquired this View attachment 351812 View attachment 351813 Branded Cross Zip. Upon close inspect there seems to be a bit of road rash on the sleeve. In a few place the top has peeled. I was wondering if I can “fix” this with some fine sandpaper and black dye? Or another method? . These pictures were taken with flash - in regular light it is much less noticeable. If I have posted this in the wrong please let me know Thank You

Looks like the cat has taken this jacket for a toy. You could ask your cobbler for a marker like this which is used to re-color the sides of shoe soles. I usually get great results with it when covering up ugly scratches.

 

[Monitor]

I recently acquired this View attachment 351812 View attachment 351813 Branded Cross Zip. Upon close inspect there seems to be a bit of road rash on the sleeve. In a few place the top has peeled. I was wondering if I can “fix” this with some fine sandpaper and black dye? Or another method? . These pictures were taken with flash - in regular light it is much less noticeable. If I have posted this in the wrong please let me know Thank You

Liquid shoe polish to darken it - or - heavy, greasy wax polish to cover it. I'd suggest latter.
Apply the creme with finger & rub it in. As much as it takes to darken the nicks. Leave it then for half an hour until it dries and then an old trick that's worth gold, polish the area with a nylon sock or stocking to both remove the excess creme and buff the shine on the otherwise matte finish the wax will leave.
Most of these scratches will downright disappear.

Do NOT use sandpaper! For parts of finish that are peeling off, gently use a disposable plastic shaving razor, just to get rid of the flaking parts, without damaging the leather around it.

That's about it.

 

[Bahabp100]

Looks like the cat has taken this jacket for a toy. You could ask your cobbler for a marker like this which is used to re-color the sides of shoe soles. I usually get great results with it when covering up ugly scratches. View attachment 351828

What is the name on the pen?

 

[Marc mndt]

What is the name on the pen?

I'm not sure these are available in your country. Here's a link.

Don't worry if you can't find one. @Monitor method as he explained above works just as well. It's basically the same stuff.

 

[navetsea]

if your jacket is black, just buy black leather pigment. one bottle of that will last forever scratches like that applying with cottonbud would be enough, I use kiwi shoe shine to "age" my old jacket a little, or to add some color back to the shaft of my boots but it is temporary eventually it will fade, the stacks of my jeans will wipe it off in few weeks I'm not sure to where it rubbed off to on my jacket hopefully not to someone's light colored seat.

probably cause it is mixed with wax so it never truly penetrate, if you dilute that Kiwi a little with mineral spirit like lighter fluid, then probably the dye would get separated from the wax and would dye more effectively.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Probably a little dab of Dubbin or mink oil on a cloth and wipe. Normally in my experience that seems to darken scrapes and scuff blemishes off my leather boots. If you had light coloured leather it would darken but in your case it's black so it's probably good to try something like that and see if those scuffs can be blended back in.

 

[willyto]

You really need to buff it off or otherwise you’ll be staining everything you touch with the jacket.

 

[Carlos840]

Whatever you do make sure you experiemnt on a discrete area before trying to dye leather.

I recently bought a Vanson that had been in a motorcycle crash, the elbow had roadrash, all the black was gone.
I took some black anyline dye, dabbed it on the mark, everything went 100% great.
The leather took the dye well, i then followed with a dyed wax, dabbed a bit over it, the mark is 100% gone, i am happy with the result.

Couple weeks later i get a second Vanson, very different leather.
That jacket has a small insect bite on the shoulder that didn't take the black pigment finish, leaving an obivous grey dot.
I thought "i'm just going to do the same thing i did with that roadrashed Vanson, not a problem"
I put a small drop of anyline dye on a q-tip, touched it on the mark, it instantly melted the pigment finish around the mark, making it even bigger.
For some reason that specific leather reacts very very badly to any sort of dye.
Had i tried to do what i did to the first jacket on the second one i would have completely ruined it.

This is the second time something like that happens to me, the first time it was Kiwi polish desolving the top coat of CXL, the second time it was anyline die disolving the top coat of Vanson leather.

Beware when applying anything to leather...

 

[Monitor]

Whatever you do make sure you experiemnt on a discrete area before trying to dye leather.

I recently bought a Vanson that had been in a motorcycle crash, the elbow had roadrash, all the black was gone.
I took some black anyline dye, dabbed it on the mark, everything went 100% great.
The leather took the dye well, i then followed with a dyed wax, dabbed a bit over it, the mark is 100% gone, i am happy with the result.

Couple weeks later i get a second Vanson, very different leather.
That jacket has a small insect bite on the shoulder that didn't take the black pigment finish, leaving an obivous grey dot.
I thought "i'm just going to do the same thing i did with that roadrashed Vanson, not a problem"
I put a small drop of anyline dye on a q-tip, touched it on the mark, it instantly melted the pigment finish around the mark, making it even bigger.
For some reason that specific leather reacts very very badly to any sort of dye.
Had i tried to do what i did to the first jacket on the second one i would have completely ruined it.

This is the second time something like that happens to me, the first time it was Kiwi polish desolving the top coat of CXL, the second time it was anyline die disolving the top coat of Vanson leather.

Beware when applying anything to leather...

Hm, I think it's got to do with using conditioners that have the same base as the solution the lather was tanned in. Though having no clue about chemistry, I'm just guessing here.

But it's like, when I began working in an adult store, first thing I was taught was to never recommend a silicone based lubricant to anyone buying toys made from silicone 'cause the material will begin dissolving. And it really does! Dildos would get blisters and turn all nasty looking. . .

Anyway, I'm guessing the CXL reacted to Kiwi that way because it's a very similar mixture of stuff in both; Wax, dye and I'm guessing lanolin as both have that peculiar smell. I have however used regular wax based shoe polish (made by Erdal) on a couple of my Aero jackets and nothing happened to 'em. The polish reacted quite well with the jacket, making the scuffs downright disappear.

Same as the other Vanson must've had a pure aniline finish, without much or any wax so it had a strong reaction to pure dye. Vanson doesn't use much wax in their leather, that's for sure. I mean, the tannery they source from. There's a lot less wax in older jackets and I think it's only Horween who's going crazy with it with their CXL hide. And Lanolin. There's a ton of lanolin in it, too, which I think is the main suspect for so many jackets located in Asia rotting away.

 

[Pandemic]

On a jacket, always use high quality dye.

I just did an experiment, dying a brown leather belt black using liquid fabric dye. Mostly out of laziness because it’s available at the supermarket. It took several coats, between which you have to buff out the salt crystals that are added to the mixture to set it on fabric.

I’m just working some black polish into it now and it came out well but again I wouldn’t recommend this method.

I’ve dyed boots with proper dyes that have looked like they came from the tannery that way after years of hard wear.

 

[Pandemic]

Hm, I think it's got to do with using conditioners that have the same base as the solution the lather was tanned in. Though having no clue about chemistry, I'm just guessing here.

But it's like, when I began working in an adult store, first thing I was taught was to never recommend a silicone based lubricant to anyone buying toys made from silicone 'cause the material will begin dissolving. And it really does! Dildos would get blisters and turn all nasty looking. . .

Anyway, I'm guessing the CXL reacted to Kiwi that way because it's a very similar mixture of stuff in both; Wax, dye and I'm guessing lanolin as both have that peculiar smell. I have however used regular wax based shoe polish (made by Erdal) on a couple of my Aero jackets and nothing happened to 'em. The polish reacted quite well with the jacket, making the scuffs downright disappear.

Same as the other Vanson must've had a pure aniline finish, without much or any wax so it had a strong reaction to pure dye. Vanson doesn't use much wax in their leather, that's for sure. I mean, the tannery they source from. There's a lot less wax in older jackets and I think it's only Horween who's going crazy with it with their CXL hide. And Lanolin. There's a ton of lanolin in it, too, which I think is the main suspect for so many jackets located in Asia rotting away.

Excellent advise, but I would just like to take a moment to recognize and applaud the dildo analogy.

 

[Carlos840]

Excellent advise, but I would just like to take a moment to recognize and applaud the dildo analogy.

Nobody likes a blistered dildo!

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

Excellent advise, but I would just like to take a moment to recognize and applaud the dildo analogy.

words you never expect to hear in a discussion about leather jackets. We should keep a chart and place bets like an over/under

 

[Marc mndt]

I used the shoe sole marker to touch up a couple of pale spots on this Albert Richard. The end result is slightly darker than the rest of the jacket but I think that will even out with wear.

 

[JMax]

I used the shoe sole marker to touch up a couple of pale spots on this Albert Richard. The end result is slightly darker than the rest of the jacket but I think that will even out with wear.

View attachment 358490

View attachment 358489 View attachment 358491 View attachment 358492

Special leather on that one.

 

[Canuck Panda]

I used the shoe sole marker to touch up a couple of pale spots on this Albert Richard. The end result is slightly darker than the rest of the jacket but I think that will even out with wear.

View attachment 358490

View attachment 358489 View attachment 358491 View attachment 358492

Getting me some shoe sole markers today! Didn't know it could work this well. Couldn't even tell from the after close up photo. Does it soak in pretty well? You only use the marker on that spot right and not the surrounding area right? Great restoration work!

 

[Marc mndt]

I recently managed to stretch up the too short sleeves of a couple of (non vintage) jackets by making them soaking wet before pulling/stretching the leather bit by bit (don't pull on the sleeve as a whole because you might bust/tear the shoulder seams. When happy with the result, stuff the sleeves with towels in order to keep tension on the leather while drying. Check every hour or so whether the sleeves are still pulled tight. When fully dry they should retain their new length.

I would not recommend to use this technique on vintage jackets. Chances are high that the seams will pop (because of cotton thread) or the leather will crack/tear. Anyway, I did give it a try on this Albert Richard because the jacket is solid like it was made yesterday. Please look away if you have a weak stomach.

I managed to get .75 inch extra sleeve length out of it. Together with a stretched upper back and chest, that was just enough to make the jacket wearable.

 

[Marc mndt]

You only use the marker on that spot right and not the surrounding area right?

yep, just the pale spots.

Does it soak in pretty well?

Dry within two seconds.

It also had spots on the back. As you can see, it's not perfect. But it's a whole lot better than those pale spots imo.

Before / after

 

[Will Zach]

I recently managed to stretch up the too short sleeves of a couple of (non vintage) jackets by making them soaking wet before pulling/stretching the leather bit by bit (don't pull on the sleeve as a whole because you might bust/tear the shoulder seams. When happy with the result, stuff the sleeves with towels in order to keep tension on the leather while drying. Check every hour or so whether the sleeves are still pulled tight. When fully dry they should retain their new length.

I would not recommend to use this technique on vintage jackets. Chances are high that the seams will pop (because of cotton thread) or the leather will crack/tear. Anyway, I did give it a try on this Albert Richard because the jacket is solid like it was made yesterday. Please look away if you have a weak stomach.

View attachment 358509


I managed to get .75 inch extra sleeve length out of it. Together with a stretched upper back and chest, that was just enough to make the jacket wearable.

View attachment 358510

View attachment 358512

I got an an extra inch out of the sleeves using similar technique on a Vanek 1970's jacket. I soaked the sleeves with water thoroughly, hung the jacket on a padded hanger, and attached 2-lb weights to the sleeves while drying (over 3 days or so). An inch in sleeves added, but popped a weakened lining at the cuffs, lol. I was planning to reline the sleeves anyway, so no harm done in this case, but yeah, stretching leather while wet can lead to many unintended consequences.

 

[handymike]

I had a similar thing happen on an older jacket. I got almost an inch more in the sleeves by using warm/hot water and shoving 2 drinking water bottles in each sleeve to stretch it out while drying. Eventually I sent it in for a re-line as I busted seams while trying to stretch the back while wearing it, but it all came out great in the end.

I use markers to touch up paint splatters, but I prefer my selection of dyes applied with cotton balls and q-tips for touching up larger mis-colored areas.