Aero Leather Collar Care Help

[wasisnug]

Hello everyone! I recently got a used Aero Leather Half Belt in Steerhide.

The jacket itself was well worn & already broken in when I got the jacket but now the collar is much more darkened, and looks kinda flaky & felt powdery?

I wore it a couple times, most of the times just once or twice a week, and sometimes although rarely wore it 3-4 days straight for 7-8 hours a day.. and I do sweat a lot, heavy on it especially on my neck.

I live in Indonesia where the climate is regularly at 34-36 C (93-97 F) and very very humid, which explain the heavy sweating.

I actually wanted to wear the jacket daily but I'm always worried about the collar and don't want to risk ruining the jacket before I understand better on the condition.

Is the current condition something that i should be concerned (structural damage / might lead to crack) or is it just naturally what a leather jacket does?

 

[torfjord]

Hello everyone! I recently got a used Aero Leather Half Belt in Steerhide.

The jacket itself was well worn & already broken in when I got the jacket but now the collar is much more darkened, and looks kinda flaky & felt powdery?

I wore it a couple times, most of the times just once or twice a week, and sometimes although rarely wore it 3-4 days straight for 7-8 hours a day.. and I do sweat a lot, heavy on it especially on my neck.

I live in Indonesia where the climate is regularly at 34-36 C (93-97 F) and very very humid, which explain the heavy sweating.

I actually wanted to wear the jacket daily but I'm always worried about the collar and don't want to risk ruining the jacket before I understand better on the condition.

Is the current condition something that i should be concerned (structural damage / might lead to crack) or is it just naturally what a leather jacket does?

It could be the beginning of damage to the leather in contact with your profusely sweating skin. Sweat tends to damage leather over time. It's pretty common to see vintage leather jackets with damage on the inside of the collar.
But a more pertinent question: why on Earth would you want to wear a leather jacket in 36 Celsius?! With the heavy sweating, it doesn't really sound like you need the jacket?

 

[marker2037]

Maybe he wants it for riding? Doesn’t matter, we all love jackets lol.

I would just condition with Bick 4 or something similar and then I would make it a habit of wiping the collar down with a damp cloth after every wear. Then routinely condition it when you feel it getting dry again.

 

[torfjord]

Maybe he wants it for riding? Doesn’t matter, we all love jackets lol.

I would just condition with Bick 4 or something similar and then I would make it a habit of wiping the collar down with a damp cloth after every wear. Then routinely condition it when you feel it getting dry again.

Yeah, fair enough, riding could be a use case. Just, I'm always chocked to hear of people in tropical countries wearing leather jackets in temperatures high enough to be almost unbearable for me in shorts and t-shirt.

 

[Peacoat]

It could be the beginning of damage to the leather in contact with your profusely sweating skin. Sweat tends to damage leather over time. It's pretty common to see vintage leather jackets with damage on the inside of the collar.
But a more pertinent question: why on Earth would you want to wear a leather jacket in 36 Celsius?! With the heavy sweating, it doesn't really sound like you need the jacket?

My thought exactly.

 

[wasisnug]

It could be the beginning of damage to the leather in contact with your profusely sweating skin. Sweat tends to damage leather over time. It's pretty common to see vintage leather jackets with damage on the inside of the collar.
But a more pertinent question: why on Earth would you want to wear a leather jacket in 36 Celsius?! With the heavy sweating, it doesn't really sound like you need the jacket?

Is there a good way to avoid / lessen the harm to the collar? beside not wearing it obviously.
As ridiculous as it sounds wearing such a thick leather jacket in a high enough temperature but I personally love the jacket, especially when riding!

 

[wasisnug]

Maybe he wants it for riding? Doesn’t matter, we all love jackets lol.

I would just condition with Bick 4 or something similar and then I would make it a habit of wiping the collar down with a damp cloth after every wear. Then routinely condition it when you feel it getting dry again.

That's spot on lol. I just love jackets.

I do have Obenauf Leather Oil and Obenauf Leather Preserver on hand, would that do the same job as Bick 4?

 

[marker2037]

Yea, those are good alternatives!