40 years of saddle soap buildup - need some help

[Curbstrap2]

Hi Folks - I am trying to clean a wonderful custom saddle from the 70's with a deeply carved all over desert rose pattern. This is the problem. When I put water on it, I get yellow soap suds from 40 years of someone hitting it with a glycerin bar. I have been at it with a soft toothbrush, but its a long exhaustive process. Is there a better way?

Edited January 24, 2010 by Curbstrap2

[cowgirlrae]

Hi Folks - I am trying to clean a wonderful custom saddle from the 70's with a deeply carved all over desert rose pattern. This is the problem. When I put water on it, I get yellow soap suds from 40 years of someone hitting it with a glycerin bar. I have been at it with a soft toothbrush, but its a long exhaustive process. Is there a better way?

LOL..... no, I have used wooden toothpicks to help dig out the soap, oil and dust. It just takes time.

Try getting that clean, this image is a close up of the deep carving on my show saddle, it was a nightmare to keep it looking this good.

[Curbstrap2]

LOL..... no, I have used wooden toothpicks to help dig out the soap, oil and dust. It just takes time.

Try getting that clean, this image is a close up of the deep carving on my show saddle, it was a nightmare to keep it looking this good.

Wow, you've done a terrific job. It looks brand new! This is the one I'm working on:

http://i84.servimg.c...44/cimg1811.jpg

More information on this saddle and another pix here:

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=15981

Edited January 24, 2010 by Curbstrap2

[bruce johnson]

My best luck for getting that old petrified stuff out is Dawn, warm water (plenty of it), and a natural sponge. That will get the majority of the stuff off for me, and the detail work with the toothbrush and picks is a lot less.

[superchute]

well one time in the summer i used a not to high presher washer on and cleaned lot off fast then let dry for about 3 hours. Then I went back and oiled it good not shere if was the right thing to but did work and saddle is still ok. But if you do this not use a big powered one and hit at angle not a strait blast that might dig to hard in to the leather.

Russ

[Saddlebag]

Soft toothbrush and tooth picks are still your best bet. Been there, done that.

[gothcowboy]

Hi Folks - I am trying to clean a wonderful custom saddle from the 70's with a deeply carved all over desert rose pattern. This is the problem. When I put water on it, I get yellow soap suds from 40 years of someone hitting it with a glycerin bar. I have been at it with a soft toothbrush, but its a long exhaustive process. Is there a better way?

I've restored several tooled saddles from the 60s and 70s, and have to say I haven't found a better gadget to get tooling completely clean than a super soft children's toothbrush. I use Bickmore's Bick 1 cleaner, get in there with the toothbrush, and rinse with a spray bottle of water as I go. That Bick 1 cleaner really cuts through the sludge of years and years of bar soaps and oil, but you'll need to condition it afterwards. I use Bick 4 conditioner, and then buff it to a shine. It's simple, but the system really works.

Think of dirty saddles like dirty hair - you shampoo, rinse thoroughly, then condition. (You wouldn't leave shampoo in your wet dirty hair, would you?) The problems you see with people using bar/paste saddle soap or glycerine-based sprays is they never remove the dirt, they just get the dirt wet and sticky. That stuff dries, year after year, until you have a gooey crust. That goo loves to take up residence in the tooling.

Unfortunately, I haven't found any shortcuts to cleaning them that gave satisfactory results. This toothbrush/cleaner/spray bottle method is one of those 'do a little at a time' kind of jobs, usually over the course of a few days. It takes me about a week to clean it, let it dry, then go back through and condition it.

[Bonnie]

I use Murphy's Oil Soap on the really dirty tack I have. I will also use a fingernail brush rather than a toothbrush as it covers more area, faster. I also will use a kitchen pots and pans sponge with the plastic scratchy side on one side. Use them carefully when they are new... but they can be used more harshly as they loose their abrasiveness. I have mostly done this with non tooled leather such as harnesses, bridles, etc. I wouldn't get a tooled item as wet as it may adversely affect the tooling.

The Murphy's Oil Soap also does a very nice job of cleaning suede. The kneeroll areas of the older English saddles gets darn nasty with age, and, it can be renewed by using Murphy's and some water with a medium bristle brush, and a smooth edge table knife. Just keep cleaning and scrubbing. When it is fairly wet, scrape carefully, but firmly with a smooth edge table knife (no serrations, if you can find one), and you will pull out all kinds of dirt. When dry, re-oil the smooth leather part of the saddle and brush up the nap of the suede. This would work for those suede saddle seats too.

Bonnie

[Studio-N]

I had a customer recently comment that he put his brush in a cordless drill and it did the best cleanup he ever had. Even better than a toothbrush.

[joe59]

I use Murphy's Oil Soap on the really dirty tack I have. I will also use a fingernail brush rather than a toothbrush as it covers more area, faster. I also will use a kitchen pots and pans sponge with the plastic scratchy side on one side. Use them carefully when they are new... but they can be used more harshly as they loose their abrasiveness. I have mostly done this with non tooled leather such as harnesses, bridles, etc. I wouldn't get a tooled item as wet as it may adversely affect the tooling.

The Murphy's Oil Soap also does a very nice job of cleaning suede. The kneeroll areas of the older English saddles gets darn nasty with age, and, it can be renewed by using Murphy's and some water with a medium bristle brush, and a smooth edge table knife. Just keep cleaning and scrubbing. When it is fairly wet, scrape carefully, but firmly with a smooth edge table knife (no serrations, if you can find one), and you will pull out all kinds of dirt. When dry, re-oil the smooth leather part of the saddle and brush up the nap of the suede. This would work for those suede saddle seats too.

Bonnie

I am not trying to start an argument just passing on some information. I have cleaned, restored, repaired, referbished, and resurrected countless saddles and tack items in my forty year career. I have also tried everything under the sun to clean these items. Several people have told me about Murphy's Oil Soap so I looked into it. On the list of ingretients there were some I could not pronounce. I called the the 800 number on the label and the representitive recommended against using it on leather. It is a fine product to use on wood.

Years ago an old saddlemaker, who helped me get started, told me never to put anything on a horse that was not alive at one time and never use anything on your leather that you would not use on yourself. To that end, I use 100% wool pads and blankets, mohair cinchas, leather reins, headstalls, breast collars ect... I also use natural oils and soaps on my leather. Some good pieces of scrap woolskin with the wool trimmed to different lenghts, a good saddle soap, lots of sweat and plenty of time are the key to a good cleaning.

The folks at Bee Natural make an excellent saddle soap. I tried it a few years ago and it is great. Using the soap and a small amount of water I will work the soap into a lather and wipe it off with a soft colth. I repeat the process until until the lather is clean. I then rinse with clean water and let dry. After the leather is dry, I will use either Olive Oil or Bee Natural's #1 saddle oil. Small amounts of oil several times is better than a lot of oil all at once. I still use glycerine saddle soap( bar, paste and liquid)but I try to avoid petrolium based products or products with a high PH balance.

Joe

[Saddlebag]

I've seen where people have gone after the leather a little too vigorously and wound up creating a fuzzy surface where it was once hard polished leather. That is why the soft toothbrush and toothpics work best, less risk of damage. Oh, and lots of patience. Lol

[savvydreambuilder]

Hi,

I do a quite a bit of saddle restoration and have found that the best thing to cleant the older leather is a gentle bath in a solution of laundry detergent. I know that sounds freaky, but what it does is disolve all the oils and soaps and leaves you with just the clean naked leather.

Before - a Skirt from a 1970 Col Hood Roper

This picture shows the dirt oils and soaps of 40 years emulsifying and rising to the surface of the leather.

Just beginning to scrub off the muck

Beginning to see the results

Of course afterwards it is vital that you replace those fats, so I like to use the saddle soap, and a coat of neatsfoot.

Back ready for the saddle again

Like someone before me said, wash rinse and condition. I like to use a soft natural bristle brush - like used for polishing shoes, that way you have no risk to damaging the tooling.

Make sure you rinse thoroughly or you will leave salts from the detergent behind.

Nicole