What’s a good finish for saddles, motorcycle gear? Neatsfoot, Resolene, mink oil, Clear Lac are some tha

[kurtalderson]

What’s a good finish for saddles, motorcycle gear? Neatsfoot, Resolene, mink oil, Clear Lac are products I’ve used but none are perfect. Minimum coloring, water resistance, ease of use, long-lasting, easy to acquire. 

[AlZilla]

I use Blackrock's Leather n Rich for most things. Hats, Holsters, sheaths, suspenders, all things that get rained on and they just shed water. 

I'm going to move this over to the leather finishes sub forum. It should get more attention.

[kurtalderson]

Tried these on piece of scrap:

Clear Lac- no color effect. Almost no water resistance. No tack. No sheen. 
Mink oil- slight darkening, pretty good water resistance but leaves a little tackiness. No sheen. 
Resolene- more darkening than mink. Good water resistance. No tackiness. Noticeable sheen, not objectionable.
Neatsfoot- slight darkening, less than mink. No tackiness. No water resistance. No sheen. 
For a saddle, Resolene is my choice. 
Thanks, AIZilla for the Blackrock’s Leather n Rich reference. I’ll look for that on the next project!

[fredk]

Have you tried Nikwax?

[kurtalderson]

I had not heard of Nikwax but I’ll pick some up for my work boots and give it a go. Thanks!

[Zonker1972]

sno seal appears to be pretty good. i've used it on a couple of motorcycle items to good effect. it dose darken the leather but i used it on leather dyed black.