LNLeather Report post Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) Hello, I appreciate all of the great information I've found here and I thought this would be a good place to ask this question... I have a job coming up to clean some old sports equipment and I was wondering it there is anyone with experience with how to make an old dried out baseball glove look and feel like new again? Everything looks like it was used hard and put away dirty and wet. There is the body of the glove that says it is real leather and also the rawhide laces that are so stiff you can't untie them. Sooo, is there anyone out there with ideas about this? Also there are old basketballs and foot balls. They also look like they are made out of leather. I was thinking of starting out by just wiping off all the dirt and then cleaning them with a solution of Murphy's oil soap. But I can't guess what would be best to do after that. Edited March 6, 2012 by LNLeather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tree Reaper Report post Posted March 6, 2012 I'd be tempted to pressure wash them, carefully. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoubleC Report post Posted March 6, 2012 Hello, I appreciate all of the great information I've found here and I thought this would be a good place to ask this question... I have a job coming up to clean some old sports equipment and I was wondering it there is anyone with experience with how to make an old dried out baseball glove look and feel like new again? Everything looks like it was used hard and put away dirty and wet. There is the body of the glove that says it is real leather and also the rawhide laces that are so stiff you can't untie them. Sooo, is there anyone out there with ideas about this? Also there are old basketballs and foot balls. They also look like they are made out of leather. I was thinking of starting out by just wiping off all the dirt and then cleaning them with a solution of Murphy's oil soap. But I can't guess what would be best to do after that. Hi Cheryl, it's Cheryl, LOL. I somehow ended up with half the old tack in VT some how, and I don't even know who gave it to me. As for softening it after you clean it, I use plain old Vaseline for everything. Man does it work. I slather it on and rub it in as bast I can and then let it dry overnight, and if it's all soaked in and not soft enough, I do it again. Plus afterward you can still go ahead and redye the glove, or whatever you want to do with it to make it look newer. Say, if it takes three applications to soften it and then you're left with some Vaseline on the outside? Just wipe it off with a cloth and rub it all really good (I use my hands to really try and work this stuff down in leather. softens my hands at the same time, plus I can 'feel' if there's problem spots). This method has worked for me every time I've used it. Good luck Cheryl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LNLeather Report post Posted March 6, 2012 Yeikes... Pressure washer? I can gently get the dirt off, no problem. The question is what to put on them after they are clean. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KAYAK45 Report post Posted March 6, 2012 Cheryl: It doesn't matter how you clean the stuff. If you have a lot of stuff, a power wash at a car wash WILL work! After that, a good coat of LEXOL or similar conditioner is the ticket. Doesn't matter whether leather or rubber, both will work out better for the treatment. Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KAYAK45 Report post Posted March 6, 2012 Cheryl: It doesn't matter how you clean the stuff. If you have a lot of stuff, a power wash at a car wash WILL work! After that, a good coat of LEXOL or similar conditioner is the ticket. Doesn't matter whether leather or rubber, both will work out better for the treatment. Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LNLeather Report post Posted March 10, 2012 (edited) OK, to update here… I had a job to clean old sports equipment for someone – old basketballs, old footballs and old baseball mitts. Since they were not mine, I needed to make sure not to do any damage, and I actually wanted to make them look as good as possible. I had dome a search on-line to see what was recommended and then asked here. The results and recommendations were pretty much the same. After cleaning them up some people swear by Lexol, some swear by Vasoline. I talked with a good friend and she said an old cowboy had restored some dried out reins of hers by putting Murphys Oil Soap on them and working it in for about 1/2 hour. She said they were like new when he was done. So that is what I used on the leather sports equip. First, I brushed off all the clumps of dried on dirt & grass. Then I cleaned everything up with some warm water with some Murphys Oil Soap. I washed everything with that and then let everything dry. The basketballs and the footballs all looked great and not at all dried out. Then I needed to do something with the baseball mitts. They looked alright but the laces were all stiff, hard and dried out. So I used straight Murphys Oil Soap and worked it into all the laces and lightly over the entire glove. When I was done they looked and felt like new. My customer was totally amazed at how good everything looked. Edited March 10, 2012 by LNLeather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
