help/guidance 100 Yr Old Horse Harness Restoration

[cowagonwheel]

Hello everyone! 

After a death in my family, I recieved my family's very old draft team harnesses.

Initally, I know they were stored in a basement in a darker area in a plastic tote. And honestly I don't know if they have ever been cleaned in their entire lifetime.

Upon examination, it looks like they have white spots all over. After many hours of research and gathering my materials I started with 2 tests to get the white off, only on a very tiny spot. 

1st: Using a hair dryer on low heat and far away from the leather I was trying to see if the white was fat spores coming up. Some did go away while other parts of the white stayed. 

2nd: I used a vinegar and water mix and let it dry on it's own, then used saddle soap. 

After the cleaning step, my next step was to use pure Neatsfoot oil to condition then a neutral leather shoe polish with a horse hair brush and canvas. BUT during the process of cleaning I noticed the leather was almost "molding" and moving itself very slightly( as i touched it with my finger, my finger left a very slight indention.)

Also, when I was dapping up some of the moisture from the saddle soap test, the rag had brought up brown. Again I don't know if its dirt or leather. 

On the test part, where I had originally seen very faint stitching had disappeared. I don't believe the stitching is gone but I did not want to go any further and risk the chance of

So so sorry for a long explanation I just wanna make sure I explained it correctly. Is there other methods I should try? Or should I only condition them and leave them be? THANK YOU!

[BlackDragon]

It's hard to determine what the white is without pictures. It could be mold, sweat, dirt, wax, or some type of chemical. When washing down saddlery it's common for the dye to rub off. Leather becomes soft when wet and can be indented easily, let it dry completely before putting unnecessary pressure.

First thing I do when a saddle comes to my shop is to brush as much of the dirt and grime I can. As I'm cleaning I start determining what needs to be replaced or repaired. I can do small repairs and replacement but if the saddle needs to be broken down I don't take on the job. Normally I remove the stirrups completely but these would not come out and if they were going to be this difficult removing they were going to be harder to get back in.

I then start to wipe it down with warm water to get any mud off as well as softening any waxes.

I then go at it with saddle soap, warm water, and a sponge or toothbrush. I wipe it down with warm water as I go so the soap doesn't dry on the saddle.

Once I'm satisfied with how clean the saddle is I let it dry for at least a day. 

Then I oil it with neatsfoot oil and let the oils soak in for about a day.

At this point I determine whether or not to add some dye if to much dye came off while washing it and let it dry.

I then wax. I use Fiebing's Leather balm with atomic wax and get great results.

Before

After washing and letting it dry

After

 

[Hildebrand]

@cowagonwheel I would ad a caution that leather harness that old with unknown care should most likely be retired for display only.  Really bad things can happen really fast if harness gives way while pulling a load.  You didn't say if you were cleaning for use or display so I thought I would throw this out there.

Todd

[cowagonwheel]

27 minutes ago, Hildebrand said:

@cowagonwheel I would ad a caution that leather harness that old with unknown care should most likely be retired for display only.  Really bad things can happen really fast if harness gives way while pulling a load.  You didn't say if you were cleaning for use or display so I thought I would throw this out there.

Todd

Hi! They will definitely not be used, they are now soley for display! So sorry I should've mentioned that. 

[cowagonwheel]

1 hour ago, BlackDragon said:

It's hard to determine what the white is without pictures. It could be mold, sweat, dirt, wax, or some type of chemical. When washing down saddlery it's common for the dye to rub off. Leather becomes soft when wet and can be indented easily, let it dry completely before putting unnecessary pressure.

First thing I do when a saddle comes to my shop is to brush as much of the dirt and grime I can. As I'm cleaning I start determining what needs to be replaced or repaired. I can do small repairs and replacement but if the saddle needs to be broken down I don't take on the job. Normally I remove the stirrups completely but these would not come out and if they were going to be this difficult removing they were going to be harder to get back in.

I then start to wipe it down with warm water to get any mud off as well as softening any waxes.

I then go at it with saddle soap, warm water, and a sponge or toothbrush. I wipe it down with warm water as I go so the soap doesn't dry on the saddle.

Once I'm satisfied with how clean the saddle is I let it dry for at least a day. 

Then I oil it with neatsfoot oil and let the oils soak in for about a day.

At this point I determine whether or not to add some dye if to much dye came off while washing it and let it dry.

I then wax. I use Fiebing's Leather balm with atomic wax and get great results.

Before

After washing and letting it dry

After

 

Hi thank you so much! It wouldn't let me add photos but I have attached ones in this reply. The last photo is the test photo and I also included the brown that was coming off as well as my products I'm using. There's still horse hair and hay from the last time they were used and so I don't know if I'm taking off leather or dirt. Thank you for your help! 

[BlackDragon]

54 minutes ago, cowagonwheel said:

Hi thank you so much! It wouldn't let me add photos but I have attached ones in this reply. The last photo is the test photo and I also included the brown that was coming off as well as my products I'm using. There's still horse hair and hay from the last time they were used and so I don't know if I'm taking off leather or dirt. Thank you for your help! 

The white looks like mineral deposits from sweat. The brown can be dirt or the leather is deteriorating.

Since you're retiring the equipment you can wet it and lightly scrape the mineral deposits off. There is quite a bit of cracking, that cracking means the leather is failing and in pic #3 on the left side that degradation is pretty severe.

I wouldn't get to deep into cleaning since it's only going to be for display. The deposits just attest to the life and use of the gear. I would just brush it off, wipe it down with a damp rag, let it dry, and add a little oil to preserve it.

[cowagonwheel]

1 minute ago, BlackDragon said:

The white looks like mineral deposits from sweat. The brown can be dirt or the leather is deteriorating.

Since you're retiring the equipment you can wet it and lightly scrape the mineral deposits off. There is quite a bit of cracking, that cracking means the leather is failing and in pic #3 on the left side that degradation is pretty severe.

I wouldn't get to deep into cleaning since it's only going to be for display. The deposits just attest to the life and use of the gear. I would just brush it off, wipe it down with a damp rag, let it dry, and add a little oil to preserve it.

Thank you! I just want to save them so they don't fall apart, and I would be devastated if I did that while cleaning them.. For wiping it down, would you say just use some warm water and a sponge? And then add the neatsfoot oil lightly to just the cracking areas or the entire thing? For the parts that are severely degraded, is there anything you would recommend?

Also, for storage purposes, where would be the best place to keep these? I live in CO, and we have such a variety of weather, so I thought in the house, but didn't know if they should stay in the plastic tote.