Need a little advice on reviving an A2

[lefty12]

I pawned off my old A2 about 10 years ago to a friend who moved to a tropical country where humidity is relatively high. He kept it on a hangar with a dry cleaning plastic bag over.

I had totally forgotten about it until recently.

Currently the A2 does not look in bad shape but

1. smells moldy
2. The leather looks like it is a little dry.

Can any of you guys advise me on what I can do to remedy this?

Thanks!

 

[Alan Eardley]

Pecard's Antique Leather Dressing.

Alan

 

[Mike K.]

I'd also consider taking it to a professional leather cleaner first.
Then do as Alan said and apply a healthy dose of Pecards.

 

[aswatland]

Pecards and hang it outside to air it.

 

[lefty12]

Thank you

Thanks for the tip, appreciate it.

Cheers!

Lefty

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I'm diggin' up this old thread because, well... I'm too lazy to start a new one . I just got in a vintage 30's halfbelt open road style goatskin jacket that I snagged. It's in pretty good shape overall considering it's over 70 years old. I'm going to clean it up and get some Pecards on it, but my main question is how do I clean the cotton lining? It also has a couple of very small nicks in the leather on the back, it there some way to fix that?

 

[James Miller]

Getting mold smell OUT!

I have purchased a lot of jackets and when you buy some on ebay you never know what your getting till you open the package and smell that SMELL.

I have try various remedies on leather jackets. I purchased one Jacket that smelled so bad (moldy) That my wife said I better not open that package in the house. Well The jacket was in perfect vintage condition But the smell...unreal. Some times it takes multiple treatments to get rid of the smell.

First thing you need to do is kill the mold. What I'm telling you is from personal experience. Try mixing one part Isopropl Alcohol to two Parts water and put it in a spray bottle and spray the jacket ( saturate inside and outside)dont be shy it's leather. Leather is durable and can take a lot. some times it will need a couple coats of this type spraying, then let the jacket dry between coats of spraying and check to see if the smell is gone (the nose knows). After this treatment if the smell still is there, then you will have take out the big guns.
As a last measure try one table spoon of liquid bleach mixed with half gallon of water and spray the heck out of it. The mold will be dead and then the smell will be gone. I"m not blowing smoke This will work.

 

[James Miller]

Follow up after de funking the smell.

After the smell is gone then comes rehydrating the leather, because this type of treatment will dry the jacket out and make it stiff. I have a few old jackets to prove this works and I would not trade them for nothing.

Next: buy some lexal cleaner and go over the jacket as directed. Then you also have to buy the conditioner and spray the jacket several times as directed till the jacket will not soak up any more of the conditioner.

This will rehydrate the leather then wait a week or so and then you can put your Pecard or Leather CPR on it.

I have restored a few leather jackets and the leather is as good as new.

If you need any more tip's I would be happy to reply.

 

[lefty12]

Still in the process

I'm still in the process of getting rid of that moldy smell.
Used baking soda in a clean sack and together with the jacket hung in a garment bag.

If this fails, I'll have to use J Miller's method.

Cheers!

 

[James Miller]

Remember ! Don't cover it up GET RID of it.

Remember you got to Kill the mold. Baking Soda absorbs the odor, but in order to Kill the mold you will need to try The other methods.

Only you know how bad the smell is. The method I talked about is a long process but Is the jacket worth it. some of the jackets I have restored are not replacable. I had one jacket that was so bad I tryed Charcoal In a plastic trash bag for a week and it still smelled but not as bad. I have experimented with various treatments and I even tryed washing a leather jacket, but that will be in another topic.

 

[AARP]

Is there any way to shrink a leather jacket?

 

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Is there any way to shrink a leather jacket?

If you get the leather soaked through and apply some low heat to dry it (like a low-heat cycle in a clothes dryer), it will shrink a bit.