Mineral oil bad for leather? Or good? Or neutral?

[fredk]

I'm kinda busy the next few days but I'll devote time to it later in the week

[fredk]

I have an update to do. Later

[fredk]

We are now entering the 9th month of testing. 8 months done.

Set #1, the car set

1. Baby Oil; Both sides are very dark, More flexible than Control 1 (C1), Slight smell of leather, No sign of rot or fungus

2. Cooking Oil (rape seed);   Both sides very dark, Slightly more flexible than C1, Slight cooking oil smell and of leather, No sign of rot or fungus

3. Lard (pork fats);  Light but darker than C2, Flex is about the same as C1,  Smell of leather, No sign of rot or fungus

4.  NFO Compound; Both sides very dark,  Flex is better than C1, No smell, No sign of rot or fungus

5. Olive Oil ( Pure Extra Virgin); Both sides very dark, Flex is only slightly better than C1, Slight smell of cooking oil, No sign of rot or fungus

6. 3 in 1 oil (benzine); Both sides very dark, but back less so, Flex is stiffer than C1, Slight noticeable smell of 3in1 oil, No sign of rot or fungus

7. Vaseline; Very slightly darkened both sides, Flex is only slightly better than C1, Very slight smell of leather, No sign of rot or fungus

 

Set #2 were hung outside on a wood frame. They got light and heavy rain with periods of sunshine,  warm overcast and wind, both light breezes and strong winds

The same oils were used in the same sequence . Control C1A was hung with the other pieces

1. Baby oil; Both sides are very dark, Flex is better than C1A, Slight smell of leather  No sign of rot or fungus

2. Cooking oil;  Both sides very dark, Flex is very slightly better than C1A, Slight smell of leather,  Grain surface feel oiled, No sign of rot or fungus

3. Lard; Is Missing! Its gone! Its disappeared, its AWOL ! The piece and its hanging string 

4.  NFO Compound;  Both sides are medium dark, Flex is better than C1A, No smell, No sign of rot or fungus

5. Olive oil;  Both sides and fairly dark, Flex is better than C1A,  Smells of oil, Grain surface feels oiled, No sign of rot or fungus

6. 3 in 1 oil;  Both sides are a medium dark brown, Flex is better than C1A, Slight smell of oil, No sign of rot or fungus

7.  Vaseline;  Both sides very slightly darkened,  Flex is only very slightly better than C1A, Slight smell of leather, No sign of rot or fungus

This week end I'll re-oil all the pieces and put them out again. 

 

[fredk]

A couple of days later than I wanted but I've now re-oiled/ re-greased all the pieces, except #3 of set 2, and put them out

We'll see what our 'summer' can throw at them

[SUP]

Great. I'm checking my leather sets this week. 

[fredk]

I found the missing #3 piece. It was among the weeds. Its string had broken. I'll get it larded up and a new string on it and get it out today

[fredk]

Well, this is boring

No changes at all to any of my test pieces.

All the pieces hanging outside in sun and rain remain very flexible, more than the Control piece

No fungus, no rotten smells - nuffin, nowt, zilch, nada

All I can say, at this point, almost 10 months along, that any of the products can be used on leather, the only difference being how dark you want the leather to be after application

Anyone still reading this? or still interested? 

[SUP]

I am keeping watch and like your leather pieces, @fredk, mine are just going along, being fine, no fungus, no drying, just darkening, the extent depending on the oil used.  I am thinking of updating every 6 months now, unless something changes. The ones with mineral oil and vaseline are very much darkened but otherwise fine. Those I will  report on more frequently.

 The 2nd interesting thing is, one of the boxes in which I kept the oiled pieces of leather, got tossed around a bit and the leather pieces overlapped each other and I did not notice. Now I see that some have darkened more where they are not covered by another piece of leather. I will check whether those darkened more or the ones away from light lightened over time.

Anyway, regardless of anyone watching this thread, I will continue updating it. It is an experiment, after all. Most people are only interested in the result at the end (whenever it is, for this experiment), while us poor researchers slog on, unnoticed....

 

Edited July 19, 2024 by SUP

[fredk]

I'll do the next up date in just over 2 months time. That'll take it to the 1 year. I reckon thereafter every 2 or 3 months

Edited July 19, 2024 by fredk

[SUP]

Yes. That is a good idea.