Restoration work - cracked leather (Can one stop it from developing?)

[PanTadeusz]

Hey gang!

I would like to know of all the various possibilities one can use to restore the leather in the area where the leather is cracking. I was thinking about something like moisturising then applying some product that would fill in the cracks and then keep on top of moisturising so that it doesn't develop. Is this the best way? Is there a better way?

 

[Seb Lucas]

It's screwed, sorry.

What is usually done in these cases is a patch from underneath to hold it together.

The idea of leather treatments is to prevent this from happening by providing a protection from the elements. Whether this actually works is debated.

 

[Monitor]

Hey gang!

I would like to know of all the various possibilities one can use to restore the leather in the area where the leather is cracking. I was thinking about something like moisturising then applying some product that would fill in the cracks and then keep on top of moisturising so that it doesn't develop. Is this the best way? Is there a better way?

Sorry, there is no way to fix this. Leather patch would be your best bet, as Seb already recommended but there's not much else you can do. Usually when a leather starts cracking like this, not even a conditioner can do any good.

 

[handymike]

You can sand it down and fill it. Then you must re-dye the part of the jacket. It’s a lot like fixing a banged up fender on a car. It can be done, but results vary greatly.

 

[PanTadeusz]

Thank you for the input Seb!

Sorry, there is no way to fix this. Leather patch would be your best bet, as Seb already recommended but there's not much else you can do. Usually when a leather starts cracking like this, not even a conditioner can do any good.

Yes, what has occurred cannot be reversed. However, won't the leather that hasn't cracked in that area be strengthened by conditioner and thus not crack like the leather that has?

You can sand it down and fill it. Then you must re-dye the part of the jacket. It’s a lot like fixing a banged up fender on a car. It can be done, but results vary greatly.

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That is what I was thinking about doing. Does this sort of repair hold up over time?

 

[Will Zach]

Thank you for the input Seb!


Yes, what has occurred cannot be reversed. However, won't the leather that hasn't cracked in that area be strengthened by conditioner and thus not crack like the leather that has?


That is what I was thinking about doing. Does this sort of repair hold up over time?

In principle you could fill the cracks AND glue a patch from the back side for strength. That should relieve the stresses that the filled part will experience.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Thank you for the input Seb!


Yes, what has occurred cannot be reversed. However, won't the leather that hasn't cracked in that area be strengthened by conditioner and thus not crack like the leather that has?


That is what I was thinking about doing. Does this sort of repair hold up over time?

Not really unless it is a no stress/wear part of the jacket.

 

[Carlos840]

I have heard from a respected maker that wood filler can be used to fill cracks/needle holes.
You can then dye the repair and make it pretty much invisible.
It will never have any structural integrity, but it will look better.

Personally i stay away from cracked leather, IMO once it has started nothign will really make it truly better.

 

[Will Zach]

Dena at www.greatleather.com is as good as anyone in fixing these things. But she is in the US.

 

[Peacoat]

This discussion comes up every year or so. There are some who say there is no need to condition leather jackets as the treatment is only temporary and does no good in the long run. In other words this camp takes the position than conditioners don't really work.

I know conditioners work.

I have been riding (horses) and cleaning and conditioning leather tack for over 30 years. My original bridle, martingale and girth from 30+ years ago are still soft and supple, as are many other items from that long ago. Some of my other tack has cracked and is on its way to turning to dust. The difference? Conditioner.

When my wife and I moved to this farm 27 years ago, there was a broken piece of "western" tack on the wall of the tractor shed. I left it there as I had no use for it. The tack was a piece of leather attached to brass. Over the years I noticed the leather was deteriorating and was turning to dust. A few years ago the only part of the tack that was left was the brass portion. The degradation of the non conditioned leather was complete. I finally threw away the brass remains.

Every several years I gather my tack that isn't regularly used and condition it. I use different conditioners I have around the house (and I have a lot), but usually I stick with Lexol and a glycerine saddle soap bar on the leather tack as that is what I started with so many years ago. When I start the conditioning process, the tack is a bit stiff. When finished, it is soft and supple—good for another 4 or 5 years in storage.

Over the years my wife and I have collected so many bridles, reins, martingales, saddles and girths that it is difficult to keep up with them all.* Sometimes I don't keep up with all of them. I have several martingales that were broken and kind of forgotten about. They are the ones I see with the dried leather and cracks. Never do I see any cracking on the tack I condition on a regular basis—every several years.

I know there are those out there who will say leather tack and leather jackets are different. Well of course they are. Tack is used under more adverse conditions. It gets wet and sweaty on a regular basis, whereas a leather jacket may only occasionally get wet. But once the tack is cleaned and conditioned it has the same or similar properties as leather jackets.

Now I'm not saying you should take your leather jackets out every five years and condition them. I have 15 of them, and the only conditioning they get is a bit of conditioner to the inside of the collars on the one or two worn the most during the year. But if you have a jacket that has a lot of age on it, and is starting to dry out, conditioning it every several years will substantially extend its life. It should outlive its owner.

My oldest leather jacket is an 18 year old Pakistani MC jacket. The leather is thick and supple. It is my beater jacket for those times rain is in the forecast, and I am going to wear leather. It has been wet a few times and fully soaked at least once. I think I may have conditioned it once after it got soaked. It just doesn't need anything. Nor do the others. But when and if I feel them getting a bit dry, out will come my conditioner of choice (probably Pecard) and I will have a go at them.

Our friends from Aero tell us leather jackets shouldn't need any conditioner for 20 or 25 years. Based on what I have seen from my jackets, I think that is accurate. But once they start to dry out, the prudent course would be to condition them. Otherwise, in my experience, the drying out will get worse, followed by cracking. Once leather cracks, in my experience, there is nothing that can be done to restore it.

So, my advice is nothing needs to be done to a leather jacket until it starts to get dry. Once leather is felt to be a bit dry, have a go at conditioning. After that it will probably require it every several years. The jacket should outlive several owners if properly maintained.
________
* I have three custom saddles (long legs) including a French Devoucoux which is the most comfortable saddle I have ever ridden in. I keep up with my saddles, but sometimes don't use one of them for several years. Mostly all they need is to be wiped down so mold doesn't form. No conditioner is needed.

 

[Jasonindenver]

My 23 year old Ekornes chair sitting in front of a sunny window in our very dry Colorado climate looks brand new because of the conditioner I have religiously applied twice a year.

My brother’s Roche Bobois leather sofa in humid Houston (away from direct sunlight as well) started looking like crap after the same time frame with no conditioning. It is still serviceable but looks so far removed from new that they gave it to their oldest son for his first apartment.

 

[Vezio]

My advice is to try in some workshop that takes care of the restoration of leather car seats. It is something that happens frequently and repairs made by qualified people have excellent results.
On YouTube you can find many tutorials.
On Amazon I had found such a product that might be fine for a ruined jacket at this link: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00N1UVW94/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_fabc_PAl5FbAR4H8RN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[PanTadeusz]

I have heard from a respected maker that wood filler can be used to fill cracks/needle holes.
You can then dye the repair and make it pretty much invisible.
It will never have any structural integrity, but it will look better.

Personally i stay away from cracked leather, IMO once it has started nothign will really make it truly better.

I see! Many thanks for your input! If I do fill the crack and will condition will the leather under the cracks that is healthy be conditioned or it will be stopped by the filler?

 

[PanTadeusz]

Dena at www.greatleather.com is as good as anyone in fixing these things. But she is in the US.

Great stuff! I will take a look!

 

[PanTadeusz]

This discussion comes up every year or so. There are some who say there is no need to condition leather jackets as the treatment is only temporary and does no good in the long run. In other words this camp takes the position than conditioners don't really work.

I know conditioners work.

I have been riding (horses) and cleaning and conditioning leather tack for over 30 years. My original bridle, martingale and girth from 30+ years ago are still soft and supple, as are many other items from that long ago. Some of my other tack has cracked and is on its way to turning to dust. The difference? Conditioner.

When my wife and I moved to this farm 27 years ago, there was a broken piece of "western" tack on the wall of the tractor shed. I left it there as I had no use for it. The tack was a piece of leather attached to brass. Over the years I noticed the leather was deteriorating and was turning to dust. A few years ago the only part of the tack that was left was the brass portion. The degradation of the non conditioned leather was complete. I finally threw away the brass remains.

Every several years I gather my tack that isn't regularly used and condition it. I use different conditioners I have around the house (and I have a lot), but usually I stick with Lexol and a glycerine saddle soap bar on the leather tack as that is what I started with so many years ago. When I start the conditioning process, the tack is a bit stiff. When finished, it is soft and supple—good for another 4 or 5 years in storage.

Over the years my wife and I have collected so many bridles, reins, martingales, saddles and girths that it is difficult to keep up with them all.* Sometimes I don't keep up with all of them. I have several martingales that were broken and kind of forgotten about. They are the ones I see with the dried leather and cracks. Never do I see any cracking on the tack I condition on a regular basis—every several years.

I know there are those out there who will say leather tack and leather jackets are different. Well of course they are. Tack is used under more adverse conditions. It gets wet and sweaty on a regular basis, whereas a leather jacket may only occasionally get wet. But once the tack is cleaned and conditioned it has the same or similar properties as leather jackets.

Now I'm not saying you should take your leather jackets out every five years and condition them. I have 15 of them, and the only conditioning they get is a bit of conditioner to the inside of the collars on the one or two worn the most during the year. But if you have a jacket that has a lot of age on it, and is starting to dry out, conditioning it every several years will substantially extend its life. It should outlive its owner.

My oldest leather jacket is an 18 year old Pakistani MC jacket. The leather is thick and supple. It is my beater jacket for those times rain is in the forecast, and I am going to wear leather. It has been wet a few times and fully soaked at least once. I think I may have conditioned it once after it got soaked. It just doesn't need anything. Nor do the others. But when and if I feel them getting a bit dry, out will come my conditioner of choice (probably Pecard) and I will have a go at them.

Our friends from Aero tell us leather jackets shouldn't need any conditioner for 20 or 25 years. Based on what I have seen from my jackets, I think that is accurate. But once they start to dry out, the prudent course would be to condition them. Otherwise, in my experience, the drying out will get worse, followed by cracking. Once leather cracks, in my experience, there is nothing that can be done to restore it.

So, my advice is nothing needs to be done to a leather jacket until it starts to get dry. Once leather is felt to be a bit dry, have a go at conditioning. After that it will probably require it every several years. The jacket should outlive several owners if properly maintained.
________
* I have three custom saddles (long legs) including a French Devoucoux which is the most comfortable saddle I have ever ridden in. I keep up with my saddles, but sometimes don't use one of them for several years. Mostly all they need is to be wiped down so mold doesn't form. No conditioner is needed.

Thank you very much for this comprehensive answer I appreciate it.

 

[Seb Lucas]

We have some 1970's Scandinavian leather chairs that have been with us since they were new. Years ago as an experiment I started using conditioner (Lexol and Pecards) on one of them to see if it made a difference. When applied the leather pops and looks amazing - for about 12 weeks. It evaporates away. Then the leather returns to it's pre conditioned, dull and more fragile looking state. The chair that has never been conditioned looks slightly better than the chair which has been treated. My own view is conditioners mainly create the illusion of improvement for a brief period.

That said, I do believe some conditioners may protect items from water and rot damage especially boots and items when exposed to harsh elements. I suspect vaseline would do this well enough as it coats the surface temporarily to protect it. But I doubt it does anything to improve or enhance the organic structure of the leather. I doubt conditioners do anything at all to restore a jacket or do anything useful if you just wear the jacket as a fashion piece as most of us do.

 

[navetsea]

Try to feel it if the leather still feel solid but just cracked then it might be saved cosmetically, but if the area is crumbling or become loose sagging as you put stress to it then the fibers is already rotten or weakened and nothing can really be done except for cutting the rotting part and then patch it with a new leather its fine for beater jacket you allow to look rough, but wont work on more refined look, imagine jeans. More or less the same.

I believe in conditioner, especially around the collar edge, salt dries out leather so any areas that contact bare skin need more conditioning for leather that feels dry from new, some leathers are very waxy and oily they probably wont need conditioning at all, but straight veg tan or aniline chrometan, those feels dry and still have active pores( easily get wet from water) so they get drier overtime, need more maintaining just my own belief though.

 

[JMax]

For small cracks, punctures, etc. I use Chamberlain's Leather Milk Leather Healing Balm. It is a conditioner with fillers. After it dries I dab it with leather wax and then cover with leather paint or dye. Can’t even notice it.

For major issues I agree with HandyMike. I’ve used heavy duty fillers like the one sold by Furniture Clinic. It makes the jacket serviceable but results do vary, especially in the looks department. You may have to repeat the process every once in a while. Like Carlos said, not worth it. But it was a fun experiment.

If the jacket has deteriorated past this point, to say dry rot. Get a bugle and learn to play taps.

 

[handymike]

I really like Chamberlains. It isn’t as greasy as Pecards. On dull items, you can also hit it with a light coat of Blackrock for a bit of luster. It contains wax so you get some sheen.

 

[mihai]

Interesting subject.
Just my 2 cents. From my limited experience, online documenting.

You can use some filler as other suggested for the cosmetic part. For structural integrity, you can glue(using leather glues)/stitch a textile patch on the inside that will take tension over from the cracked leather.

Usually the leather rots dry when it's fibers start to get brittle. This happens due one/several of these factors: there is no lubrication between the fibers, fibers were weakened by chemical substances(fats oxidizing, solvents, detergents...) Then fibers start to rub getting damaged/ break easily under tension. You can see this happens in flexing, stretched areas: shoulders, elbows, sleeve cuffs, collars.
Once a jacket looks dry, it's likely that the fibers started already to degrade. That's why lubricating won't reverse it but maybe slow down the process.
I think it depends on every leather type/usage/storage conditions. I guess the best is to treat the leather as soon as it looks not as pliable as before.
About the fats suitable for the leather from what I understood:
- animal/vegetal fats are the least stable to oxidation(going rancid), therefore it's better to use mineral/synthetic fats that are far more stable. Pecard is one of them(mineral fat based). I used Pecard leather dressing so far on boots, jackets and keeps them in shape really well. No problem apart some slight occasional white marks in the flexing points.
- solvents used in certain leather care lotions(to improve active ingredients uptake) might affect the leather structure.

Personally I used Pecard leather dressing on some 70s mil-spec G-1 jackets (goat and cowhide), 40s blouson cycliste on which leather started to become less pliable. The leather became pliable once again and it continues to be after several years.