wolvenstien Report post Posted May 16, 2008 I just went to Tandy and saw they had sides of burgundy latigo on sale for $28.00 a roll. Stipulations were that you could not unroll it..... ok... I grabbed a roll and went to the check out... I got home, and it is covered in a white gray stuff that looks like mildew.... Is this mildew? I have a few smaller pieces of burgundy latigo and it has gotten the same stuff, I just washed it to clean it off before I used it... but this is allot, and all the talk about mold and sickness.... it is kind of scary... Any info would be appreciated. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorsehairBraider Report post Posted May 16, 2008 Huh! Well, I have seen a whitish greyish film on leather before but it was something like wax, not the more exciting mildew. When I scraped it with my thumbnail it just came right off. The one time I saw mildew on leather was when I lived outside of Atlanta, GA. But that was in little patches, not a fairly consistent smooth sheet, and it was darkish, or greenish, not grey or white. So, not having seen your piece of leather, I can't say. Sorry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luke Hatley Report post Posted May 16, 2008 wolvie.... you know what mildew looks like.... i have seen the same thing before and i was told that is is some of the oil or finish that has came to the surface. i re oiled it and all was fine . i was making double belts, knife sheathes and holsters. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JRedding Report post Posted May 16, 2008 Wolvenstein, Not sure what you've got but I once "inherited" some latigo that must have been fifteen or twenty years old and it looked like what you described. Maybe it's just old stock they scrounged up somewhere. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolvenstien Report post Posted May 16, 2008 Ok, here are some pix.... looking at the pix... it dows look kind of green... but I am thinking that is the flash.... with the naked eye, it is gray white.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Johanna Report post Posted May 16, 2008 That's mildew. Wash it with white vinegar and let it dry in the sun only as long as it takes to dry. The leather is probably just fine. Mildew comes from storing leather in damp places. Johanna former resident of Macon, home to mold and mildew they haven't made names for yet... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolvenstien Report post Posted May 16, 2008 LOL, ok...... white vinegar it is.... When you say "wash" what do you mean, rub it down with a cloth? or scrub the heck out of it with a good scrub brush? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorsehairBraider Report post Posted May 17, 2008 LOL, ok...... white vinegar it is.... When you say "wash" what do you mean, rub it down with a cloth? or scrub the heck out of it with a good scrub brush? I'd suggest the latter... that is what we did in GA when the leather got to looking like that, which seemed to take about 3 days. Pretty amazing climate to me, since I grew up in the desert. I'd just suggest to be careful not to scratch the leather. That's probably really nice leather under there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leerwerker Report post Posted May 17, 2008 Latigo is usually so stuffed ful of oil and fats that I find it hard to imagine mildew growing on it. Maybe... In latigo fairly fresh out the tannery, you often see the white eccess fat liquors "seeping" out of the leather - perfectly harmless and good for the leather if you rub it back in .... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolvenstien Report post Posted May 18, 2008 Ok, you want me to scrub it using a brush, and white vinegar. Just wet it down in the area where the mold is and scrub it and leave it? Scrub the whole hide? Once scrubbed, just leave it to dry? or rince it off.... or what? I want to do this without messing up the leather, because it is a nice hide.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ferret Report post Posted May 18, 2008 I've had good results on smaller pieces using neat lemon juice applied with a sponge. Gets rid of mould and no musty smell. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Johanna Report post Posted May 18, 2008 I would get a small bucket and a couple drops of Dawn and wash it with a cloth. After that, I would use white vinegar undiluted on any stubborn spots. The sunshine will kill any remaining mold spores that want to grow again- but you know not to leave it out too long so the leather doesn't dry out. Since it is latigo, you can be a little more aggressive with the cleaning. If it were veggie tan, I would try to get by without the Dawn (it will slightly dry it out). When in doubt (and I haven't seen it, smelled it or touched this hide so I'm guessing here) try cleaning an inconspicuous place first. Let us know what you do and how it turns out. Good luck, Wolvie! Johanna Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwinOaks Report post Posted May 18, 2008 How about a trip to the local tanning salon? You get the really high UV which kills without all the heat. Or just a really good UV lamp for that matter. In fact, I bet you could spot treat with any work light that uses a quartz lamp. Remove the glass cover and there you go. It puts off enough UV to cause minor 'sun burn' in just a few minutes. When I have to work on them, I always have gloves and UV blocking sunglasses, even when working inside (some deli heat lamps are quartz lamps). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hidemechanic Report post Posted May 18, 2008 Can we address that point that the store wouldn't let you look at the hide first? What the heck is up with that? Some bodie's store ethics must not be taking into consideration that if I look at a hide and make my own choice to take it home then the condition of the hide is on me. However if a customer doesn't get to look at a hide before he buys it, gets home and sees a problem then that will reflect poorly on the store. Maybe I'm just getting cranky in my old age(what maybe?) but if I was in a store and they wouldn't let me check the condition of an item I would be telling them that if they think their customers wont bring something back if it turns out to have a problem and therefore they got something out of their store that they thought was questionable, I would be questioning if that is someone I want me or my friends doing business with. Wolv, as to dealing with latago mold usually isn't much to worry about unless it ate it's way into the grain. As was mentioned earlier, the mildew is most likely on top of the fats and not a chore to git rid of. Good luck. GH Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
