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vanson leather squeaks

onstar

One of the Regulars
Messages
223
Location
Jo Mammas House
I got this newish Vanson enfeild in octogon color. It is still pretty stiff. Problem is, it makes a very noticable "squeaking" sound when moving around. Sound like styrofoam being rubbed. Anyone else have this problem?
 

cbez

One Too Many
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1,732
Location
CA
Just leather and the top coat. I've had a lot of boots do it. On boots you can do baby powder.
 

Peacoat

*
Bartender
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6,438
Location
South of Nashville
It is squeaking at the seams where the stitching is. Some recommend powder, and that works. But I prefer to put a conditioner on the seams. That takes care of it for a long time. Usually it squeaks in and around the sleeve stitchings.
 
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10,604
The Octagon (and X) jackets can be quite noisy. They get better with age but get used to it.
 

MrProper

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,285
Location
Europe
It is squeaking at the seams where the stitching is. Some recommend powder, and that works. But I prefer to put a conditioner on the seams. That takes care of it for a long time. Usually it squeaks in and around the sleeve stitchings.
I don't know what causes the squeaking on a Vanson, but on my Aero Badalassis the squeaking occurs when leather rubs against leather. It has nothing to do with the seams.
 

AeroFan_07

I'll Lock Up
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5,679
Location
Iowa
To some extent, every leather jacket I've ever owned has squeaked at least a little bit. Except for lambskin.
Some do it more than others, just apply a good coat of Urad normal to it and see how it is.
It's the jacket just talking to you.
 

Tom71

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,679
Location
Europe
I don't know what causes the squeaking on a Vanson, but on my Aero Badalassis the squeaking occurs when leather rubs against leather. It has nothing to do with the seams.

Same here. It does get better, but it doesn´t really go away completely.
 

onstar

One of the Regulars
Messages
223
Location
Jo Mammas House
I don't know what causes the squeaking on a Vanson, but on my Aero Badalassis the squeaking occurs when leather rubs against leather. It has nothing to do with the seams.
Not the seams on my vanson, it is the leather rubbing against each other. Make it seem like cheap pleather on an entry level BMW
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,825
Not the seams on my vanson, it is the leather rubbing against each other. Make it seem like cheap pleather on an entry level BMW
Thinking you are confusing squeaking with cheap leather.
Far from it.
Almost all of my thick leather, high quality MC jackets squeak.
Langlitz, Cal, Vanson, all speak the squeak. Some louder than others.
Rite of passage for many real leather jackets. Maybe not so much for some fashion models.
B
 

Canuck Panda

I'll Lock Up
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4,650
Most acrylic top coated leather will make some sounds from friction. The advantage of using acrylic top coat is to increase water resistance and UV protection and most importantly, anti stain. Un-coated leather while easy to wear and age faster they can also pick up stain in matter of seconds. And there is no way to remove a stain from leather like on fabric, you can only go darker to cover it up but not lighter to remove the stain. Maybe you can get laser like on human skin but I don't know any leather specialist has that kind of machine.

You could try bees wax or any conditioning. They will smooth out the friction sounds until they wear off. It's best to just let it squeak and it gets better on its own. The sounds won't go away completely but it won't be as loud as new. When it makes no sounds you have lost all the top coating protection.

Or maybe try deerskin jackets. They're also pigment finished but the leather fiber is spongier and makes much less sounds by default.
 

attack_decay

One of the Regulars
Messages
104
I have a 70-year-old Cal that squeaks like hell. I am not touching it. Let it squeak.
Yup, my 60's Cal is the loudest jacket I own. To that point, don't expect breaking the jacket in to remove the noise. As others have put it, this comes with a hardy jacket meant for providing protection on a motorcycle.
 

Will Zach

I'll Lock Up
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4,802
Location
SoFlo
^^
Yep, the Panda in the post above analyzed the problem correctly. The COF (coefficient of friction) of the acrylic topcoat against itself is high. It means it does not slide easily when it rubs against other parts of the jacket. That is what causes the squeaking. Applying a waxy leather treatment (such as Obenaufs, which contains beeswax) will not penetrate the acrylic to any extent, but will leave a thin film on it, alleviating the problem temporarily. Let is squeak, the acrylic topcoat is equipment, providing water and abrasion resistance.
 

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