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Cleaning a Leather JacketHow to clean a leather jacket depends on whether it is porous or non-porous. For the purposes of this article we will divide leather jackets into two categories. First your 'tougher' leathers, your cowhide or leathers that are used to make motorcycles leather jackets and chaps. The second are softer, more porous leathers which many leather coats are made from. These are often made from lambskin. The second are more absorbent and sometimes any treatment at all can darken the leather.Cleaning a Leather Jacket that is Non-porous: For porous leathers use URAD to clean and condition the leather once or twice a year. If you have Tenderly available you can combine with URAD for an even better result. Shake the URAD jar with the seal and lid in place until it sounds like yogurt inside - it will go into a more liquid state. The take some and mix half and half with the Tenderly. Put a small amount on the sponge (don't use a cloth) and wipe of any excess. Apply to the leather. When the sponge begins to drag then add some more. The product should dry within a minute or two. If it is still sticky after this time, you are using too much. Cleaning a Leather Jacket that is Porous: Use a mixture of 3/4 Tenderly and 1/4 URAD for most dark browns and blacks. The lighter the porous leather the more Tenderly you need. With a white leather lambskin coat you may go as high as 10 to one ratio of Tenderly to URAD. Again, gently rub it into the leather. You are not scrubbing. The lanolin will work the dirt out of the leather. URAD contains lanolin oil and carnauba wax. Lanolin is one the best oils for moisturizing leather. The natural wax carnauba protects the leather and brings out the natural shine. URAD does not absorb well on very porous leathers and to keep it from sitting on the surface add a bit of Tenderly into the mix before applying. Tenderly was developed specifically for softer and porous leathers and will help the URAD to absorb into these leathers. Tenderly softens and moisturized but does not give as much protection as URAD. Treat your leather jackets and coats when they are new to give them maximum protection. Where a leather jacket has become stiff after a rain or just from being dried out Tenderly will soften the leather. As is mentioned elsewhere on this website - all leathers are different and one should ALWAYS test. Find an area that is not so visible and make sure that the URAD and Tenderly are 'right' for that particular leather or that you have the correct mix of Tenderly and URAD. |