Horween FQHH Restoration Help

Hey guys- I'm new here, but this site was recommended to me by the good people at Thurston. I'm hoping you can help with a problem regarding a stripped jacket. I have an old Vanson from when they still used Chromexcel FQHH from Horween. Long story short the family cat sprayed on it and I took it to a local leather cleaning shop. This apparently was a gigantic mistake as I got it back a week later completely stripped of its natural oils and waxy finish. The weight dropped by at least a third and the rich, deep Chromexcel brown turned into a flat, anemic camel hue. It's pretty much a flimsy limp rag now. I called Thurston for some advice and they recommended that I used Dr. Jackson's Hide Rejuvinator. They also said that there may be some people on here with knowledge of restoring Chromexcel FQHH specifically. Does anybody have any particular anecdotes before I glop on Dr. J's and hope for the best?

Sorry I can't help you about what to do to restore that jacket back to it's original condition but I must say I sure like it in it's new look and color. Very unusual but something to wear with pride IMO. If anything I might take Thurston Bros. advice which might give it a richer appearance.
HD

My first thought would probably be Pecards dressing.

I've used (and continue to use) Vaseline on my leather jackets, particularly some crusty old CHP jackets I had. It won't bring back the full luster of your CXL before the cleaners burned the oils out of it but it will help restore some of it's moisture. The key w/ Vaseline is to apply in super light coats. Don't glob it on. Let each coat be absorbed before adding another. Less is more. Pecards is a good option as well. Just remember to go super light to start. Would be cool to see you update with some post conditioning pics...

Hey ledzp:
I’m with Hoosier on this one. What may seem to be a disaster may just turn into one of a kind. What you have is one in the raw just waiting for a finish. At least they didn’t spray some shiney finish crap on it.
I wouldn’t hesitate to bomb that sucker with Pecards. It will def pick up some weight.
I’d like to see more pics, the back, up close ones of the grain etc.
What size is it?
Good luck Bowen

Pecards isn't a dye as such, so it won't restore your original colour, but it will definitely darken somewhat after being fed a good coat of that. Don't be in too much of a rush to buff it off - let it soak in over night works best in my experience.

I did once bring a black jacket back from the dead with a coat of pecards, then (after it was well sunk in and buffed off) a product called 'Black Leather Jacket'. It just painted on out of the bottle - a sponge-on dye - and worked like a miracle. Came up like new - and didn't run off when it got humid or wet. I don't know if it comes in a brown colour at all, but might be worth hunting out if you want a colour-restore. I found it on Amazon.

The other option, if you want something that will affect the colour, is to look into the vintage car world. All sort of leather oils-and-colour restoring products there, and usually a very good range of colours available (bearing in mind that leather car seats back in the day came in a much wider range of colours than just the seal, russet and black we're used to seeing in leather jackets).

ledzp3816 said:

Hey guys- I'm new here, but this site was recommended to me by the good people at Thurston. I'm hoping you can help with a problem regarding a stripped jacket. I have an old Vanson from when they still used Chromexcel FQHH from Horween. Long story short the family cat sprayed on it and I took it to a local leather cleaning shop. This apparently was a gigantic mistake as I got it back a week later completely stripped of its natural oils and waxy finish. The weight dropped by at least a third and the rich, deep Chromexcel brown turned into a flat, anemic camel hue. It's pretty much a flimsy limp rag now. I called Thurston for some advice and they recommended that I used Dr. Jackson's Hide Rejuvinator. They also said that there may be some people on here with knowledge of restoring Chromexcel FQHH specifically. Does anybody have any particular anecdotes before I glop on Dr. J's and hope for the best?

Click to expand...

Love to see the before and after on this FQHH CXL.

Thanks for the positive words guys! I think I'm going to make a bit of an experiment with this and try a few things. I'm going to add Tanner's Blend into the mix after talking to Ashland Leather. Should be interesting.