We went to a yard sale a while back and Marky saw a jacket he just had to have. Let's just say that Evel Knievel would feel at home in it. The guy said he wanted $25 for it and Marky took his wallet out so fast that I thought there should have been a mini sonic boom.

Regardless of all that the care instructions on the tag says "DO NOT WASH OR DRY CLEAN BY FABRIC METHOD. TAKE TO A LEATHER EXPERT." It looks like it hasn't been worn but I'd really like to get it cleaned before he wears it. Any advice? I'm no "LEATHER EXPERT" so I'm not sure I should attempt anything. When I look up leather expert near me I get upholstery places and saddle makers.

A good dry cleaners won't usually clean leather goods in house but will often have a deal with a leather cleaner where they can send your leather goods in to be cleaned.

You could also ask at a good shoe repair place, if there's one near you.

I haven't gotten a leather jacket cleaned in a while but I remember it being fairly expensive.

If it's actual leather and not pleater/vinyl, I'd go with saddle soap and mink oil. But with both of those products, a little goes a long way.

Wipe it down with a damp cloth, then clean it with a little saddle soap on a soft cloth, followed by another thorough wipe down with a damp soft cloth, and hang to air dry. Then rub in a little mink oil or other leather protectant.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
If it's actual leather and not pleater/vinyl, I'd go with saddle soap and mink oil. But with both of those products, a little goes a long way.

Start with a little saddle soap on a soft cloth, followed by thorough wipe down with a damp soft cloth, and then rub in a little mink oil or other leather protectant.

I'm more concerned with the liner not the leather. I also don't know if that's a good idea because there's a lot of embroidery on the leather.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
A good dry cleaners won't usually clean leather goods in house but will often have a deal with a leather cleaner where they can send your leather goods in to be cleaned.

You could also ask at a good shoe repair place, if there's one near you.

I haven't gotten a leather jacket cleaned in a while but I remember it being fairly expensive.

The local shoe repair guy punched out about 20 years ago.

Do you remember approximately how much it cost?

I'm sorry, it has been years and I really can't remember how much it was, just that I was surprised how much more expensive it was than getting something like a suit jacket or overcoat dry cleaned.

If it's real leather: Wilson's TLC Leather Lotion to clean and condition, and their TLC Leather and Suede Protector spray afterward.

WARNING: Go real easy on the spray. REAL easy. As in light dusting. Don't go nuts with the lotion, either. A little of each goes a long way.

When I used to ride I use the cleaner and conditioner you would find at a Jaguar dealership (Connely's as I recall). Seemed to work better than saddle soap and mink oil

Info on the liner question is in here.

https://durabilitymatters.com/...her-jacket-cleaning/

quote:

Originally posted by recoatlift:
Info on the liner question is in here.

https://durabilitymatters.com/...her-jacket-cleaning/

Perfect, thank you.

Glad to help. You’re welcome.

You probably have some good information in that link. Keep in mind that some off the shelf products will darken the leather and not always consistently if that's of concern.

I used to periodically wipe down my motorcycle leathers with Lemon Pledge. Don't laugh. It cleaned the leather and provided a protectant. It was a trick I learned from a professional custom automotive/motorcycle leather upholster. Now there's products like 303 that are specifically designed to clean and protect leather.

There is a specialist who does motorcycle leather cleaning advertising in motorcycle magazines.