How To Bring Your Leather Jacket Back To Life! [0:00:00]
The leather jacket, the ultimate example of rugged masculine style. But, did you know
that if you don’t take care of your jacket properly, you can send it to an early grave.
Stains, fading, and even cracks will destroy the most well-made leather jacket.
But, how to take care of your leather jacket? Should you run it through the washing machine,
then run it through the dryer? Wrong! Don’t ever do that, you’re going to ruin your
jacket that way. Leather has two enemies – moisture and heat.
If your jacket gets soaked and you don’t dry it out properly, you let it sit, you can
deal with mold and mildew issues which will ruin the leather. Water can also wash away
the natural oils in the leather and it can make the leather brittle and prone to crack
over time. What about using heat to dry out the leather?
Gentlemen, if done improperly, heat can cause leather to shrink and can over dry the leather
leading to cracks. Using a heat dryer to dry your leather jacket, laying it across the
radiator, or even laying it out in the sun can cause damage.
So, how to dry your leather jacket if it’s wet? One is a wide shoulder hanger. Don’t
try to use a regular hanger, it will damage your leather jacket. Now, when you hang it
up, make sure it’s got plenty of ventilation. Leave it for about twenty four hours and it
should be dry. So now, let’s talk about cleaning a leather
jacket because how can you clean a leather jacket if you can’t soak it in water? Let
me show you. Dampen a cotton rag or a microfiber cloth and gently rub it over the leather jacket
to remove any dirt or dust. Now, a little water won’t hurt your jacket, soaking it
is what really causes the issues. Protip. When using water to clean your jacket,
use only distilled water. Regular tap water contains minerals that can cause stains of
their own. I recommend giving your jacket a quick wipe down like this once every month
or two to keep dirt from building up. But, what if it’s really dirty? What if
you got dirt cake on the jacket? What if it looks like you need to throw it into the washing
machine? No! Still don’t do it, gentlemen. Now, my favorite product for cleaning leather
is saddle soap. It’s gentler on leather and it easily cuts through dirt and grime.
Now, to get started what you want to do is rub a damp cloth over the saddle soap to create
a lather. Gently rub a thin layer of the saddle soap over the area that’s dirty. Next, remove
any excess soap with the damp cloth and let dry for 10 to 15 minutes.
Protip. Remember to spot test any leather cleaning product or conditioner on a small
area of your jacket preferably in a place that no one’s going to be able to see to
check for stain. This is important, gentlemen. Now, if you do decide to give your entire
leather jacket a deep cleaning, only do this once a year because here’s the issue, using
that saddle soap you’re removing a lot of the essential oils on the outside and even
some on the inside of the leather and you’re going to need to replace that. You now need
to condition the leather which by the way I’m going to cover later in this video.
Now, what about leather stains? Leather stains can be a bit trickier to get rid of. Depending
on what actually stained the jacket. Now, stains from food and liquids can usually be
removed at home, but a bad ink stain, guys, that’s going to probably require professional
help. If it’s a fresh stain, immediately you want
to use a clean cloth to gently blot as much of the liquid or grease from the jacket as
possible. Notice I said blot, not rub in. Now, if the stain is still isn’t removed,
we’re going to level up our efforts here and we’re going to use a simple dish soap.
Simply mix a bit with water and then you’re going to use cloth to gently dap at the stain
with the mixture. Again, we’re not rubbing it in, we’re not pressing hard.
Now, after you’ve been dabbing away with that soapy mixture, go ahead and wipe it away
with a fresh wet cloth. Finally, use another cloth to lightly dry the area.
At this point, you’re going to let the leather sit and completely dry for a few hours. Once
dried, check to see if the stain is still there. If so, repeat the process again.
Now, if the stain is more stubborn, it’s not coming out with dish soap, you want to
use a stain remover specifically formulated for leather. You can find them out there tons
of brands. Now, every product is going to have its own
set of instructions. For this one right here for what I’m using, it says to apply it
with a sponge and then gently wipe it over the stain in small circles. Now, wipe the
area with a damp cloth to remove any excess stain remover and repeat as necessary until
the stain is gone. Now, at this point, gentlemen, if the stain
persists, it’s time to take it to the professionals. What you’re going to want to do is call
all the drycleaners in your area and let them know what the stain is and that it is in leather.
And ask them if they specialize in dealing with leather products.
Now, let’s talk about how to deal with leather jacket that has become faded and scratched.
Now, leather jackets are going to fade and develop a patina over time. That’s part
of their charm, but too much patina from neglecting the care of your jacket, guys, that just looks
unsightly. And the worst part is that some of those deep scratches if not taken care
of can develop into cracks. Cracks that can create holes right in your jacket and can
make the jacket unwearable. [0:05:03]
So, the first step in the defense of your jacket from becoming faded, scratched, and
cracked, gentlemen, leather conditioner. What’s the best leather conditioner? Down in the
description of today’s video, I am going to link over to my resources at RealMenRealStyle.com
where I talk about different leather conditioners and I give you more insight into maybe what
you’re looking for. So, to get started, use a soft cloth and apply
a thin layer of leather conditioner over the entire jacket paying careful attention to
areas like the elbows where the stress of flexing is more likely to cause cracking.
Now, when you’re applying a leather conditioner, you want to apply it in moderation. Let it
soak for about 20 minutes, and if you see you apply too much, remove the excess.
Now, when is a good time to condition your leather jacket? Anytime you get caught in
the rain and that jacket gets wet and you let it dry out. Also, if you clean the jacket
recently with saddle soap, you want to apply a leather conditioner.
And, of course, don’t forget to apply leather conditioner after you’ve treated the stain
especially a spot stain. When you put that stain remover on there, it didn’t just pull
off the stain, it also pulled out a bit of moisture.
Now, a general rule of thumb is to condition your jacket once a year, but if you rarely
wear the leather jacket, if it sits in your closet and it’s climate controlled, guys,
once every five years is going to be fine. But, what if you wear it all the time? It
gets wet or you live in a dry climate like Arizona? Guys, I would recommend two to three
times a year. Now, let’s talk about recoloring the jacket.
You can actually buy special balm in the color of your jacket. Let’s say you’ve got a
black leather jacket, it’s starting to lose some of its color, it’s become gray in areas.
You use this balm like a conditioner on the outside of the jacket. Again, making sure
to test it in a small area and you would be surprised about what you can do yourself with
these balms to recolor the jacket and bring back its natural shine and look.
Now, remember, gentlemen, when it comes to these balms, less is more. Oftentimes, you’re
going to want to go in small circular strokes and work the balm into the leather. Now, these
balms in general work rather quick, but you’re going to need to let them dry and to go over
and buff, look at the results and then say, “Hey, do I want to apply another layer?”
Maybe you do and then go for it until you get the color desired.
And, by the way, I’ve seen guys do this on their entire jacket when they wanted to
make the jacket a slightly different color, they wanted to take a lighter jacket and make
it a little bit darker. Again, this is something you need to spot check, see how it looks,
but don’t be afraid to have fun with your jacket and go for a different look.
So, we’ve talked about repair and recovery, but what can you do to protect your leather
jacket from the elements? In my opinion, one of the best products out there is a water
resistant silicone spray. This right here is going to do a great job
of protecting your jacket. And if you have a suede jacket, this is required, otherwise,
yes, one rainstorm and you can end up looking like, you know, Jerry over at Seinfeld. Yeah,
remember that episode? We don’t want that to happen to you.
Now, to apply the spray, go and light overlapping strokes until you’ve covered the entire
garment. Make sure you’re in an area that’s well-ventilated and wait about 12 hours until
the leather has completely dried after you sprayed the silicone spray on.
So, what video to watch next? Gentlemen, check out this video where I teach you how to take
an old beat up pair of dress shoes and bring them back to life.
[0:08:28] End of audio