Restoration of vintage 1940s Goatskin jacket

bond · Nov 3, 2018

I Finally feel like I achieved a more malleable result after stripping this jacket over a year ago or more . After deglazing exterior shellac finish about 3-4 times going over every inch of the jacket with as many oz of deglazier and elbow grease I was able to remove most of the red color that was put in to the leather originally.
I lightly sanded and used very fine 0000 steel wool to break off the rest of the finish and to make sure the color was consistent throughout the jacket only then did I do a 2x application of mink oil or saddle soap lathered in to the leather to very good result.
Jacket is lots more responsive or pliable.
All of the leather that was used to make the jacket has consistent grain and uniform thickness throughout.
Here are after pics

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Seb Lucas · Nov 3, 2018

Nice - my experience is that you need to be careful using mink oil. It has a terrible propensity of rotting cotton stitching. I have lost a couple of jackets using it before I realised what was going on. I'd put some Pecards or Lexol on this jacket to balance the acids of the oil and saddle soap.

bond · Nov 3, 2018

Good to know . I’ll do that.
Thanks for mentioning.

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Peacoat · Nov 4, 2018

Good job, but are you sure this is goat? The graining looks more like horse.

I agree with @Seb Lucas as to using Pecard. There may be a better conditioner out there, but I'm not aware of what it is. Plus, Pecard is readily available. Our friends down under swear by R.M. Williams, but I've never been able to find it locally.

bond · Nov 4, 2018

Yes definitely goat skin and it’s as thick as a steak. Here’s pic of label in jacket .

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DrSugarRay · Nov 4, 2018

Looks good, do you have any before pics you could post?

bond · Nov 4, 2018

Thanks man. I’ll see if I can find them .
Here’s the listing pic from Ebay when I bought it. But I think I have better pics.

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bond · Nov 4, 2018

Here’s a better close up of when I first got it. You can see the red color more here as well as the shellac or finish that was put on top of the dye.

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Lebowski · Nov 4, 2018

bond said:
Here’s a better close up of when I first got it. You can see the red color more here as well as the shellac or finish that was put on top of the dye.
View attachment 143264

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Considering the last photo of jacket's original condition showed above - it seems the jacket looked better in its original initial condition (just to my taste).

bond · Nov 4, 2018

I think you may be right if you like that look.
It was also very stiff and felt uncomfortable wearing or even buttoning it for that matter.
In the sunlight it was very reddish looking too. I think I like the brown with out the red but I can see why some would like it as is, I mean I bought didn’t I!

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rocketeer · Nov 5, 2018

Lebowski said:
Considering the last photo of jacket's original condition showed above - it seems the jacket looked better in its original initial condition (just to my taste).

I had a wartime Gordon Ferguson G1, or is it M422A that looked very much like that jackets finish. It tended to 'crackle' a bit in the arms when working and wearing it.

Lebowski · Nov 5, 2018

bond said:
I think you may be right if you like that look.
It was also very stiff and felt uncomfortable wearing or even buttoning it for that matter.
In the sunlight it was very reddish looking too. I think I like the brown with out the red but I can see why some would like it as is, I mean I bought didn’t I!
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Bond, my opinion is that the jacket's initial original reddish looking you've mentioned above was actually the most valued feature of your jacket.
To make any vintage leather less stiff and ready to wear you might use Pecard, it's usually enough to make any vintage leather to be more "viable".
P.S. Nice jacket!

photo2u · Nov 5, 2018

This guy has a good point. https://www.guyabouthome.com/make-leather-cleaner-and-conditioner/
I use Renapur leather balsam for jackets and obenauf's for some of my leather boots. I still use pecards and mink oil in some of my newer boots. However, there are many people who love the baseline.

bond · Nov 15, 2018

Thanks for all of the comments guys. Appreciate hearing what everyone has to say.
I just finished applying a coat of lexol conditioner and it slightly darkened the leather but Iam ok with it. Feels nice and supple now and ready for a ride on a motorcycle.
Here’s a pic of the jacket that I was wearing recently when it was 20 degrees warmer .

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Seb Lucas · Nov 15, 2018

Conditioner may darken leather for a while but it doesn't stay dark. In fact the difference conditioner makes to leather is hardly visible in a few weeks or months.

Lebowski · Nov 15, 2018

bond said:
Thanks for all of the comments guys. Appreciate hearing what everyone has to say.
I just finished applying a coat of lexol conditioner and it slightly darkened the leather but Iam ok with it. Feels nice and supple now and ready for a ride on a motorcycle.
Here’s a pic of the jacket that I was wearing recently when it was 20 degrees warmer .
View attachment 144552

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Nice hat!

bond · Dec 28, 2018

Break in mode but getting better.

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breezer · Dec 29, 2018

digging that photo!

jacketjunkie · Dec 29, 2018

Yeah, cool coat + hat + scarf combo!

Seb Lucas · Dec 29, 2018

Remember that while the leather goes a little darker for a while the conditioner will fade and the original colour will return. Conditioner is a temporary fix.

Restoration of vintage 1940s Goatskin jacket

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