I recently paid a visit my local Equestrian centre to ask advise about my leather jacket and trousers etc relating to Saddle Soap. The lassie said that it is good, however, a lot of horsey people are changing to this : FLEXALAN LANOLISED LEATHER DRESSING 500 ML tin £9.99 states on the tin that it 'softens, waterproofs all articles made from leather. It is applied to clean leather with a paint brush, a thin layer - allow to dry and re-apply. I have used it on my bike jacket and it has made an amazing difference, so mush so I wanted to share the news lol
A lot of people make the mistake with Renapur of just using the conditioner. It is very good at doing what it says on the tin (well, tub lol) and that is conditioning leather.
But it isn't that good at cleaning leather. That's why they sell a separate cleaner which is good at cleaning! At the bike shows etc they sell a bike gear kit (cleaner, balsam, sponges etc) for £20.
You say your jacket is a heavy one Shell, but I doubt it's as heavy as my BTK 1.5mm thick, made to measure thingie and Renapur works fine on that.
You sure this isn't a lady thing lol? They are unlikely to ever look as they came out of the showroom. Yes, you can clean them, but leather is a natural, porous product and it can absorb grime as well as be layered with it!
So, don't try to over clean them as they can be damaged in such a way that you may not know about it until you need to test them properly at which time they tear.
However, cleaning and conditioning leather is just as important safety wise as dry leather can tear as well.
As Geoffb2005 rightly pointed out - there are ALOT of excellents products out there and in no way am I advising you use the one I purchased - merely passing on info as an option - so people the choice is yours
Hey Katie, Thanks for the tip/ Got the stuff ,and in record time, from flea bay Did all mine and Joe's leathers and they looked and felt great next day when they had dried Hopefully we'll be waterproofed for Bonnie Scotland next week Would recommend it to anyone ....HB x
Thing is, leathers are not waterproof no matter how much "stuff" you put on them ...... get a rain suit for over the top, even a fairly cheap one will do over your "waterproof" leathers.
Oh bloody 'ell, this really, really ain't good ........
My opinion is that SF is (deep breath) correct!
When conditioners refer to "waterproofing" the leather it only means protecting the leather itself from water damage .... and even then it isn't perfect, hence why you have to reapply.
It certainly doesn't stop water coming through your leathers. Even if you could get the leather waterproof, water would still get through the zips and stitching etc.
I regularly treat my leather trousers (textile jacket for the main) to Renapur and it keeps the worst of the rain at bay during quick showers. But if I know it's going to be heavy or prolonged, I put my overtrousers on.
Well they look and feel good anyway We do have waterproofs too but i'm remaining optimistic as regards to the weather and i've had a word with the powers that be (just in case !) If it happens then so be it ! i don't really give a toss as we're going on our jollies ! woop woop ,,,,,,HB x