40 years of saddle soap buildup - need some help

[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