Help! Vinegar Spots from Smoke Treatment

[Igneous629]

Well, my journey to getting smoke out of a Rainbow Country didn’t go as expected. I’ve got most of the smell out…. Not completely, but I imagine it will go away with time.

I sprayed the liner with a 50/50 vinegar and water and the seams pulled some of the vinegar through and now I have spots on the natural hide.

What would you do??? Do I just soak the entire jacket now? If so, in what?

 

[cbez]

Gotta dilute more than 50 50 sir especially on a light color

That's rough. Try something like bick 4 rub it in with a microfiber set if it changes it at all.

 

[Igneous629]

Gotta dilute more than 50 50 sir especially on a light color

That's rough. Try something like bick 4 rub it in with a microfiber set if it changes it at all.

It was the liner, so I didn’t think about it. I often use it on cotton and wool to get smoke smell out.

 

[Carlos840]

I would just wear the jacket in the rain, you will get randome blotches everywhere once you start wearing it anyway!
I would not add more products to it, it's just going to make things worst.
Wear it in the rain 10 times and it won't be noticeable anymore.

Check out the pics in this thread:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/mister-freedom-campus-jacket-pic-heavy.84956/page-4

If that's the end goal, your stains are nothing...

 

[cbez]

I would just wear the jacket in the rain, you will get randome blotches everywhere once you start wearing it anyway!
I would not add more products to it, it's just going to make things worst.
Wear it in the rain 10 times and it won't be noticeable anymore.

Check out the pics in this thread:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/mister-freedom-campus-jacket-pic-heavy.84956/page-4

If that's the end goal, your stains are nothing...

Great, except he did the exact opposite of what you said to achieve that look...

 

[Canuck Panda]

Has it dried yet? I would suggest to leave it until it fully dries and runs its course and then see what marks are left and deal with it then. I also use vinegar mix to clean and also rubbing alcohol, it’s scariest when it’s still wet. Wait two days, it can’t get any worse now.

 

[Igneous629]

It’s completely dry. At least I think it is. It’s been two days since I sprayed it. I’ll have to read through that post.

 

[zebedee]

Air and hanging it in a cupboard with something like febreeeze or an anti-mould/mothball-type product would have gotten the smell out, but undiluted vinegar is going to blotch like oil. You're stuck with those stains, I think, as unfortunate as that might be. If you wear it in the rain, however, it'll soon get a few more spots and they'll all blend in eventually.

 

[Carlos840]

Great, except he did the exact opposite of what you said to achieve that look...

My point was just that the nature of natural leather is that they end up all blotchy when you actually wear them and live with them rather than look at them hanging in a wardrobe.
If the OP wears his jacket it will in time end up all blotchy like the one posted in the thread i linked. The neck will darken where it touches his skin, so will the wrists, any stain will stay forever, any drop of water will leave a mark.
It might not end up as dark and oily looking, but it will stain and blotch up.

Here are my belts for example, no products where used, no dye either, this is just natural aging, oils from the skin, water etc:

Or my Wallet:

 

[Igneous629]

I may need to get in the shower with it as it never rains here in Colorado.

What happens if I just soak the entire jacket in water?

 

[Observe]

Soaking it in the shower may help the splotches blend in but the jacket may also shrink depending on the leather. If I had this problem I'd probably use some kinda darkening product to help the spots blend in and give more of an antique finish to the leather.

 

[Igneous629]

Soaking it in the shower may help the splotches blend in but the jacket may also shrink depending on the leather. If I had this problem I'd probably use some kinda darkening product to help the spots blend in and give more of an antique finish to the leather.

Are you thinking a conditioner or dye?

 

[Carlos840]

I may need to get in the shower with it as it never rains here in Colorado.

What happens if I just soak the entire jacket in water?

Get a spray bottle, spray the jacket all over and wear it untill dry, repeat a few times.
IMO the shower is a bit excessive, you risk soaking the lining and creating more stains.
Soaking is not bad, but it's not necessary...

 

[Igneous629]

And just spray with water, correct?

 

[Observe]

Are you thinking a conditioner or dye?

I would start with the least invasive as Carlos suggests and see if spraying all over with water helps. Then try conditioners that are known to darken leather and then dye as the nuclear option. I've never dyed a leather jacket before but I've done it to my boots with good results.

 

[handymike]

Don't dye this!
Try the water spray method.

 

[Igneous629]

It still has a funky smell so I’m going to wait on a nice day to be outside when I do it….. cigarette smoke is so difficult to get out of leather.

 

[Igneous629]

This jacket has turned into a >$1000 experiment…. The least I could do is learn from it and have fun.

 

[handymike]

I usually spray with vinegar/water too. My understanding is that for smoke you really need an ozone machine.
If the spray-down doesn't work, soaking in the tub with some mild detergent might.

 

[Igneous629]

I gave it 2 rounds with an ozone machine and it helped a little… maybe I need to do more. How much vinegar to water ratio?