Applying Obenauf's Boot Preservative to a leather jacket

Marc mndt · Feb 19, 2021

Here's another RRL jacket I bought last week. Unfortunately too big so I was planning on selling it on.

The jacket was in great condition but it had a few surface scratches here and there. Therefore I thought I'd use some leather lotion to take care of those before taking the pics for the listing.

The horror! I looked at the piece of cloth I used to apply the leather conditioner and saw its color changed from white to dark brown. I created a huge pale spot on the lower right front panel.

Obenauf's didn't help fixing the spot. I even tried brown shoe polish. To no avail. There was just one thing left to do: distress the whole thing.

It took an hour of hard buffing and a lot of conditioner and this is the end result.

Too be honest, I think the jacket now looks better than before. It's much more interesting. Also, it now looks exactly like a later RRL cafe racer version which was even pricier:

The jacket was picked up by its new owner this morning. He absolutely loved it and especially liked the distressing

I used this leather lotion on numerous jackets and never before did the dye come of. Lesson learned: ALWAYS try lotions/conditioners/waxes on some out of sight piece of leather first.

handymike · Feb 19, 2021

What I found interesting on that jacket was the hookless pulls on the Talon zips.

Marc mndt · Feb 19, 2021

handymike said:
What I found interesting on that jacket was the hookless pulls on the Talon zips.

In Dutch there's a saying: "de klok hebben horen luiden maar niet weten waar de klepel hangt"
Which literally translates to "having heard the bell ring but not knowing where the clapper is".

I don't think there's a corresponding English saying, but it means that someone thinks that s/he has an understanding of something, but fails to grasp the full story, the real essence, or meaning.

Will Zach · Feb 19, 2021

Marc mndt said:
In Dutch there's a saying: "de klok hebben horen luiden maar niet weten waar de klepel hangt"
Which literally translates to "having heard the bell ring but not knowing where the clapper is".

I don't think there's a corresponding English saying, but it means that someone thinks that s/he has an understanding of something, but fails to grasp the full story, the real essence, or meaning.

In Polish there is a corresponding saying "to have heard bells ringing but not knowing in which church"....lol

These are nice jackets. This one is too big for me. 38 or 40 would be prefect. But I would not spend more that USD 200 on one tbh.

TG3 · Apr 10, 2021

Marc mndt said:
It seems to me that RRL / Ralph Lauren is not 'TFL approved'. As @Monitor mentioned, they are not being discussed and when people do show their RRL jackets, they don't receive much praise. Some time ago I had one listed on the classifieds section. No interest at all.

I've easily handled a few hundred Ralph Lauren jackets. Some are really really bad but others are absolutely great. This Polo Ralph Lauren Hercules copy survived for 20 years and judging by the patina, it has been extensively worn. There must be something good about this jacket to survive this long, right?

I agree that RRL jackets in general are overpriced. They're not worth their MSRP imo. But what jacket is? Is a Himel worth it's price? Some people would disagree, yet we do discuss Himel here on TFL.

Is there a 'negative hype' around Ralph Lauren that I don't know about?

What's not to like about this jacket? Honest feedback is more than welcome

View attachment 310133

Thanks for sharing this thread. Honestly, this is probably one of my favorites of your collection. The age, color, and simple design are very cool. Let me know if you are ever parting ways with it haha.

navetsea · Apr 15, 2021

A package of Obenauf's Leather Oil was sitting on a rattan chair at my front terrace yesterday.

I opened the bottle and took a sniff, it smells like salad, or something slightly herbal, not at all like "new leather smell" or wooden or pine or citrus or any of that smells I imagined.

The consistency is pure oil, thin oil like the oil you mix with petrol on 2strokes motor, dripping from its dauber, looking at that dauber sticking from the cap i wonder it was a trolling attemp by the manufacturer. The oil is too thin for dauber, the wire is too short to reach the bottom of the bottle, and the wool is very fluffy.

Color is very pale yellow mostly transparent, if any darkening from this then it must be from the oil saturation on the leather and not from the color of the conditioner.

Application first by fingers, and later with cotton pad, Not the wool dauber that's overkill and a dripping mess, btw the bottle has foam seal, and you have to shake it, and everytime it leaks a little from that foam seal, unless you really tightened the cap, pretty soon it makes the bottle oily like garage stuff, and it might leave a ring on your wooden table and so on... looks and feel oldfashion, maybe in itself already make a hipster happy.

Result
And here is after 1× application and let it sit for 8hrs
Left before × right after

It has darkened a shade, right after application the leather looked matte and wet couldnt take any shine and simply had to wait, and this morning I buffed with horsehair brush into a soft sheen.
It does add some yellow to the color to look warmer and healthier, but not into nightmare brown like pictures in the internet, maybe had I followed the instruction to use the dauber then it would be like that, lucky I'm a smartass who never follow manual by the letters.

And it almost leave no smell, I can smell very faint sweet smell if I bring the jacket to my nose for the first time only, cant even register the smell on my second sniff afterward.

This is a small sample i use the dauber on the part over the black dyed and a little part next to it, lots of oil over fresh natural hide and the leather drank it all FAST, see how dark it is still at even after 1 full day.

I think this is what many consumer experiencing by following the direction and using the tool provided by the manufacturer.... i dont want this drastic change on larger item like jacket, probably also kill any potential future patina growth
When done this way. On that pic it might look russet but in reality is not, just brown no redness at all on that leather sample

navetsea · Apr 17, 2021

Second application, with obenaufs oil, using cotton pad, i pat the dauber onto a cotton pad, let it soaked on the pad and first use my fingers by touching the pad use my thumb to evenly spread on all fingertips and rub them on the leather, once the pad is not too wet, i use the pad directly on the leather, thin coat of oil.
Followed by 1 hr sun bathing front and back, and i use leather final coat paste to highlight some shine points (peak of creases, raised pocket edges, roll of the lapel, etc) and I'm done. Done

Thank you Jesus, thank you sun god, happy with the result, count my luck, seal the bottle shut put it away somewhere i dont see, before i start obenaufing everything leather around me.

Riu · Apr 17, 2021

navetsea said:
Second application, with obenaufs oil, using cotton pad, i pat the dauber onto a cotton pad, let it soaked on the pad and first use my fingers by touching the pad use my thumb to evenly spread on all fingertips and rub them on the leather, once the pad is not too wet, i use the pad directly on the leather, thin coat of oil.
Followed by 1 hr sun bathing front and back, and i use leather final coat paste to highlight some shine points (peak of creases, raised pocket edges, roll of the lapel, etc) and I'm done. Done
View attachment 327690 View attachment 327691
Thank you Jesus, thank you sun god, happy with the result, count my luck, seal the bottle shut put it away somewhere i dont see, before i start obenaufing everything leather around me.

I personally like how it turned out. It has more character now and the leather stands out more. Those sleeves are beautiful!

navetsea · Apr 17, 2021

Riu said:
I personally like how it turned out. It has more character now and the leather stands out more. Those sleeves are beautiful!

Thanks man, i like the result, thanks to Marv Obenauf.
Before - 1x application - 2x application

Cornelius · Apr 17, 2021

navetsea said:
...count my luck, seal the bottle shut put it away somewhere i dont see, before i start obenaufing everything leather around me.

This is a real thing! After seeing how well it worked on my boots, I've ended up Obenaufing bag straps, an easy chair, my dog's collar... even discovered it works amazingly well on chapped hands in the winter.

handymike · Apr 17, 2021

Yes, best to throw it out now!
I too am victim of putting conditioner on everything once I figured out that I liked the result.
It’s very difficult to resist giving something “one more coat” just to see what’ll happen.

navetsea · Apr 17, 2021

Cornelius said:
This is a real thing! After seeing how well it worked on my boots, I've ended up Obenaufing bag straps, an easy chair, my dog's collar... even discovered it works amazingly well on chapped hands in the winter.

yes I've seen first symptoms as I pick the dripping and bottle ring oil on my table with my finger and rub it over small leather keychain...

Will Zach · Apr 17, 2021

The sweetish smell of Obenaufs is due to beeswax and some oils. I think @navetsea did it in correct order - first tan the jacket in the sun as much as you can, and then hit it twice with obenauf. If done the other way around it may not darken as much or as pretty, as obenauf might absorb some light and not allow the leather to tan. Just a guess, though. I'd be curious if the jacket lightens after some time - in my experience Obenaufs darkens the leather about two shades initially and then lightens up one shade, but will remain darker than initial shade for a long time, if not indefinitely. Depends on the leather of course, but I think it is safe to say that natural leather treated with Obenaufs will darken to some degree permanently and irreversibly.

PeterRocco · Apr 24, 2021

Marc mndt said:
I recently acquired this Polo Ralph Lauren leather jacket. I think it's 15-20 years old but it might even be older.
Hi
Nice Jacket. I used the LP on a 30 year old Brown Leather Jacket. Used my fingers. Loved the Result. OBENAUF's Has no harmful ingredients. Jacket is Soft and Looks Much Better. I sold the jacket last week. pete
View attachment 309839

It's hard to capture on photo but the jacket looked a bit pale. There were some scratches here and there but most of all it was a little bit flat looking overall.

@handymike suggestest to apply some Obenauf's to make the jacket a few shades darker. Obenauf's is a beeswax formula that was originally developed to restore and protect fire fighter boots. I did some internet searching and found testimonies of people successfully using it on their leather jackets too. Here's a guy who applied it to his RRL A2 jacket:

https://www.styleforum.net/threads/obenaufs-lp-on-an-rrl-leather-jacket.286264/

@handymike shared a photo of a Hercules jacket which most likely served as the inspiration for this Ralph Lauren jacket. The darker color on the original looks much better than my pale / yellowish RL. I was hoping the end result after applying a couple of coats of Obenauf's would look more like the original.

View attachment 309848

I was a bit worried that applying the Obenauf's would be really messy and that it would be hard to spread the stuff evenly. I've read somewhere that people used hairdryers to melt the waxes into the leather. We have heated floors so I guessed simply laying the jacket on the floor might be helpful as well.

To my surprise applying the Obenauf's was really easy. No additional heat sources were needed. I just used my hands to 'massage' the waxes into the leather and the jacket soaked it all up without leaving any stains.

I was really happy with the result I got right after applying the Obenauf's. It had easily become three or four shades darker. However, after leaving the jacket to dry for a day it lightened up again, almost back to its original shade. A day after the first application, I applied a second coat which had a similar result. First dark, then light again.

Here's the result. From left to right: Before - after first application - after second application.
View attachment 309847

View attachment 309851

Looks
Although I didn't get the shade I was hoping for, the jacket does look much better now. Before the jacket had pale spots and looked flat overall, not much color dept. After the treatment the pale spots were gone and the color had gotten much more vibrant. It now shows great color depth. One of the best leathers, if not the best, I've seen on a fashion jacket.
View attachment 309849 View attachment 309850

The leather shows some beautiful subtle patina which has developed over decades and I was worried the Obenauf's would remove some of it. I'm glad it didn't. It might even have enhanced it a bit.

View attachment 309854

Feel
I think I've used a quarter of the container's content which made the jacket feel noticeable heavier. It also made it slightly stiffer. Which is all good, it feels more substantial now. However, the jacket is also somewhat squeaky now. Buffing the leather with some cloth did help to tone down the squeaks but they're still there.

View attachment 309852

Final verdict
Although I didn't get the result I was hoping for, the jacket definitely looks much better now. Applying the Obenauf's was really easy and didn't take any skill or special technique. Would I use it on a top tier jacket? I don't think so. This jacket came out great but that's just n=1. It might not work as good on other leathers and since it's irreversible, there's definitely a risk to it.

Monitor · Apr 24, 2021

Here's my experience with Obenauf's LP. . .

First off, shout out to @Marc mndt, who was kind enough to provide me with a can of LP, which I used on two pairs of boots and one leather jacket and I gotta say straight away that the initial result left me in a state of considerable panic - And reading about it online later on, apparently I wasn't alone. Some people claim Obenauf's should actually be avoided!

Anyway, other than darkening the hide, most disconcerting aspect of it was that the conditioner almost completely flattened the shine, leaving a matte, dull finish that felt kind of sticky or clingy to touch. Boots would collect dust and dog hair even though they were just sitting in the corner of the room. Same for the jacket, though to a slightly lesser degree,

I waited for two or three days, hoping that like with Pecard's, the conditioner would settle down on its own but to no avail and all my attempts to clean the waxy finish off had no result. Eventually I gave up and hid all the stuff out of sight until I figured something out.

Can't say exactly how long it has passed, probably around two weeks until I took the boots out of the wardrobe to try to clean them again, only to realize that the waxy finish nearly disappeared on its own and so was the clingy texture! I wiped them off with a towel & whatever little residue remained, came off immediately, leaving the boots exactly as they were prior to the treatment.

One pair of boots that I used the LP on is brown and while the LP initially left 'em a few shades darker, seems the leather reverted to its original state while, maybe, becoming slightly richer in color.

Another somewhat amazing is that all virtually all the scuffs disappeared, which is consistent with the report written by that dude on Reddit whose leather conditioner comparison I posted in another thread.

So there you have it. The effect Obenauf's has on leather is quite prominent compared to other conditioners but don't panic as it will settle down. It just takes longer. I think.

It is also noteworthy that it didn't have such a profound effect on my Walter Dyer jacket. Actually, it barely left a mark at all but then again, I just used little of it and only on small parts. Too scared to go crazy with it on that jacket.

Kubatu · Apr 24, 2021

Monitor said:
Here's my experience with Obenauf's LP. . .

First off, shout out to @Marc mndt, who was kind enough to provide me with a can of LP, which I used on two pairs of boots and one leather jacket and I gotta say straight away that the initial result left me in a state of considerable panic - And reading about it online later on, apparently I wasn't alone. Some people claim Obenauf's should actually be avoided!

Anyway, other than darkening the hide, most disconcerting aspect of it was that the conditioner almost completely flattened the shine, leaving a matte, dull finish that felt kind of sticky or clingy to touch. Boots would collect dust and dog hair even though they were just sitting in the corner of the room. Same for the jacket, though to a slightly lesser degree,

I waited for two or three days, hoping that like with Pecard's, the conditioner would settle down on its own but to no avail and all my attempts to clean the waxy finish off had no result. Eventually I gave up and hid all the stuff out of sight until I figured something out.

Can't say exactly how long it has passed, probably around two weeks until I took the boots out of the wardrobe to try to clean them again, only to realize that the waxy finish nearly disappeared on its own and so was the clingy texture! I wiped them off with a towel & whatever little residue remained, came off immediately, leaving the boots exactly as they were prior to the treatment.

One pair of boots that I used the LP on is brown and while the LP initially left 'em a few shades darker, seems the leather reverted to its original state while, maybe, becoming slightly richer in color.

Another somewhat amazing is that all virtually all the scuffs disappeared, which is consistent with the report written by that dude on Reddit whose leather conditioner comparison I posted in another thread.

So there you have it. The effect Obenauf's has on leather is quite prominent compared to other conditioners but don't panic as it will settle down. It just takes longer. I think.

It is also noteworthy that it didn't have such a profound effect on my Walter Dyer jacket. Actually, it barely left a mark at all but then again, I just used little of it and only on small parts. Too scared to go crazy with it on that jacket.

I have a similar experience. Well, sorta...I bought an old Schott rancher jacket, basically a western bomber design, that was cracked all over and had some sort of weird damage to the leather for $30. Having no experience with leather jackets, I decided to fix the cracks by covering the jacket with Obenauf's! Having read that it was good to apply Obenauf's with one's hands, to help soften the material, I promptly coated both my hands with a huge amount of it and got to work. For reference, this is the wax form, not the liquid alternative. It did not go very well. The jacket was basically greasy and dripping with Obenauf's, which I consider a feat because the wax version is not really prone to being described as wet. I threw it in the dark recesses of a closet and left it there for two years. This post made me check on it again. The color looks richer. It still has a notably waxy finish, but far less than the immediate results. Still horrible, but that's probably because I probably put the equivalent of three coats on at once.

navetsea · Apr 24, 2021

Does the LP make the leather feel softer?
The oil does not do much in making things softer unlike mink oil that quickly makes leather very pliable for awhile. I think they all do more as protector from elements and "rejuvenating" look if your boots looks beaten. LP is probably more on the protecting side with wax, the oil is more in giving some oil back and make color more vibrant adding some yellow into the color. Probably both have similar formula just different proportion. Probably if the leather is really dry then it will make it more pliable if you use it liberally following their instruction, but if used sparingly like how i do it, it does not feel any softer at all, leaving permanent darker color in my jacket so far.
It also do nothing to clean or lessen stain, as it claim not containing any solvents, it does not even blend the stains, i put it on indigo stained part, both the leather and stain looks more vibrant in color.

navetsea · Apr 25, 2021

Btw, i like the product, it doesnt make leather feels very soft but it makes it looks and feel healthier is all, maybe for boots it should not get too soft and spongy to maintain feet support.

Marc mndt · Apr 25, 2021

navetsea said:
Does the LP make the leather feel softer?

In my case with the Ralph Lauren jacket it was the opposite, it made it feel stiffer.

PeterRocco · Apr 26, 2021

Monitor said:
Here's my experience with Obenauf's LP. . .

First off, shout out to @Marc mndt, who was kind enough to provide me with a can of LP, which I used on two pairs of boots and one leather jacket and I gotta say straight away that the initial result left me in a state of considerable panic - And reading about it online later on, apparently I wasn't alone. Some people claim Obenauf's should actually be avoided!

Anyway, other than darkening the hide, most disconcerting aspect of it was that the conditioner almost completely flattened the shine, leaving a matte, dull finish that felt kind of sticky or clingy to touch. Boots would collect dust and dog hair even though they were just sitting in the corner of the room. Same for the jacket, though to a slightly lesser degree,

I waited for two or three days, hoping that like with Pecard's, the conditioner would settle down on its own but to no avail and all my attempts to clean the waxy finish off had no result. Eventually I gave up and hid all the stuff out of sight until I figured something out.

Can't say exactly how long it has passed, probably around two weeks until I took the boots out of the wardrobe to try to clean them again, only to realize that the waxy finish nearly disappeared on its own and so was the clingy texture! I wiped them off with a towel & whatever little residue remained, came off immediately, leaving the boots exactly as they were prior to the treatment.

One pair of boots that I used the LP on is brown and while the LP initially left 'em a few shades darker, seems the leather reverted to its original state while, maybe, becoming slightly richer in color.

Another somewhat amazing is that all virtually all the scuffs disappeared, which is consistent with the report written by that dude on Reddit whose leather conditioner comparison I posted in another thread.

So there you have it. The effect Obenauf's has on leather is quite prominent compared to other conditioners but don't panic as it will settle down. It just takes longer. I think.

It is also noteworthy that it didn't have such a profound effect on my Walter Dyer jacket. Actually, it barely left a mark at all but then again, I just used little of it and only on small parts. Too scared to go crazy with it on that jacket.

Hi
What Walter Dyer Jacket do you own?
Do you know how heavy or thick the leather is?
Nice write up on the LP Conditioner.
Just used their oil on a black pair of Red Wing Boots. Great Result. Trick is don't over apply the products. pete

Applying Obenauf's Boot Preservative to a leather jacket

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