Hi all - just picked up a new to me 2012 T100 Bonneville. Knew when I bought it it had a BC Slammer on it. Thought it was vinyl, but just took it off the bike and it turns out to be the brown special edition diamond stitched leather one. It is really faded and appears to have what looks like mildew spots on it. Any thoughts on how to go about reconditioning? Was gonna jump on it with saddle soap first then try color matching with shoe polish, but not sure what the best way to attack this is and in what order. This ain't my loafers, so don't want to screw it up.
I don't think I would go the shoe polish route. I think you will be surprised how well the saddle soap will work. Go to Tractor Supply and get the Fiebings saddle soap. Good stuff. Just follow the directions on the can. Sounds like it was left in the weather a bit too much.
Thanks! Picked up the saddle soap you recommended along with some Lexol cleaner and conditioner at TS. Am trying diluted vinegar solution and rubbing alcohol solution first. We'll see what happens.
You may want to reach out to BC and ask some questions.
Not all leather is tanned and dyed the same way. Restoring (if possible) properly has a lot to do with the previous sentence.
Good point. Did two applications of vinegar, two alcohol, one Lexol cleaner, one saddle soap and two Lexol conditioner tonight. Stains still there and leather didn't darken. Thinking redye but BC may have some suggestions.
I had the same seat for about a year. It did fade quite a bit, despite taking meticulous care of it. I just looked up conditioners and cleaners used for Horse Saddles. Plenty of good stuff out there. I've heard good things about Lexol.
Here are some pics. One is how the saddle is supposed to look. The other two are the saddle as it currently looks after treatment last night. Will try BC and see what they say.
Called BC. No help there. They have discontinued this saddle for the exact reasons I am seeing, the PITA factor. Will run over to Tandy Leather to see what they say.
From what I was told at the store, the deglazer (Fiebings) they sell for $8 per 4oz bottle mainly contains acetone. He suggested I swing by a beauty supply place and pick up professional grade acetone cheaper. $4 for 16 oz.
Kinda took him at his word. Should I double check this?
Personally I would just oil the **** out of it. Several applications over several days. Saddle grease contains both beewax and non-volatiles. So it weather proofs the thing also. If you've only used solvets so far, you've most likely bleached it to white.
Anyhow any leather darkens quite much when you add oil to them. Personally I like when the leather is weathered. And with weathered I don't mean dryed.
Hmm. Hadn't thought about this. The weathering itself did a great job of whitening the saddle all by itself (see earlier pics)! I did hit it good with acetone last night to deglaze and this morning the leather did absorb some water, i.e. leave dark spots when I sprinkled some on, but with different absorption rates on different areas. Tack shops around here sell a "darkening oil" for leather. Guess I could try it and if it doesn't work start over with deglazing and apply dye.
Dunno how much you got experience with real leather, but personally I would stay away from all solvents and whatnot. Yes, water and **** from road surface (like salt) wash away fe beewax so the leather dryes. Then you get stains like circles etc to leather. But that's just the way real leather handles.
However if you add grease to them on regular basis the effects pretty much blend from view. The surface will never be like from shops, but that's a good thing. With age, weather and slots of grease the leather will be fantastic looking. Also just adding even non-colored wax/grease will darken the leather. By several degrees. I fe have to grease my leather boots about every two weeks during spring and autumn (slush+salt) or after each time they get soaked.
Personally I would start with non-colored saddle wax (or ask the dudes in the riding gear shop about this).
EDIT: and with riding shop I mean horses and such.
Thanks guys. I am thinking that the saddle has lost so much of its color that whatever way I go, I will need to add some sort of pigment or color to the process. As you can see from the pics, we are not talking a few shades off, but orders of magnitude off.
I've thought as others have, maybe this will turn out looking like a beautiful vintage saddle, we pay extra for that kind of look.
I'm pretty confident you won't eliminate the stains but could work with them to produce that vintage look. I'm also pretty confident you can't make it any worse
If your bike has muted colors like black or grey it will look good.
Work in progress. Base coat of Fiebings applied tonight. Lighting is a little tricky with reflections, etc. May do another thin coat on top tomorrow. Tried to repost "before" pic again, wouldn't let me.
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