Restoring Fenders

[morb]

I have an old saddle that I use and would like to fix it up a bit. The fenders are stiff and dark from horse sweat. Is there a way to clean the old sweat and oil from them to make them softer?

Thanks

Ron

[Wenny]

If you're talking about that grey-black gunk that accumulates on the inside of the fender where it lays against the horse, I use warm water and saddle soap to soften it up and then scrap GENTLY with an old smooth plastic butter knife I have. I would never do this on the smooth side of the leather, but it seems to work really well on the rough side. Sometimes that gunk is pretty thick. Once it's clean, follow up with a good conditioner.

[Wenny]

From Russel H Beatie's book "Saddles":

For those interested in the restoration of old, hard, brittle leather to a soft, pliable condition, I recommend John W. Waterer's "A Guide to the Conservation and Restoration of Objects Made Wholly or in Part of Leather", and Per E. Guldbeck's "The Care of Historical Collections", which has a section on leather. British Museum leather dressing can be obtained from the Fisher Scientific Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before using the dressing, it is necessary to clean the leather with Toluene (use care: Toluene is highly inflammable). Another leather restorer is Neutralfat SSS Leather Restorer, obtainable from the Ventron Corporation, Danvers, Massachussetts. Instructions for the use of these products can be obtained from the suppliers.

The book is from 1981, so I have no idea if all of these products are still available. I googled British Museum leather dressing and it seems to still be around. It also turned up this page: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/CRL/conservationmanual/File7.htm about leather cleaning and conservation. Good luck!

[oltoot]

All that is well said but fenders are called 'sweat leathers' also and if the hard spots do not have the 'gunk' behind them but are just smooth and polished in appearance I'm afraid the they are usually 'lost' to softening. This can be prevented with periodic deep cleaning and oil replacement but if all the oils have been replaced by salt not much hope.

[morb]

Thanks for the replies. I tried soaking the fenders in water with some mild soap then cleaned with saddle soap and oiled with a conditioner but it didn't really do much.

I looked that book up on amazon and it's nearly 500$, I'll check the library and see if they have it.

It's not an expensive saddle so perhaps I'll try my hand at making new fenders once I've finished my breast collar.

I'll try some different things with the old ones and see what happens. I may try the method in the link if I can find the stuff it calls for, if I have success I'll post it.

Thanks again.

Edited March 15, 2014 by morb

[Wenny]

Here's one on Amazon for about $8. http://www.amazon.com/conservation-restoration-objects-wholly-leather/dp/0877491801/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid= Good luck with your saddle!

[morb]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[Saddlebag]

I do this outside. I'll pretty much soak the back side of the leather then use a nail brush and a bar of lanolin hand soap. I'll wet my hand, lather and apply as many times as needed and let this all set for 10 or so minutes to let it help lift the gunk. Then armed with the brush, I start dunking it and applying clean water starting at the top of the fender and letting the water run down. Mind your feet because the mud will be flowing. When there's no longer any mud, the saddle sets outside out of the sun for the rest of the day to help it dry. That method seems to get the fenders about as clean as they will ever come. The next day while the leather is damp the topside of the fenders are oiled. I prefer to warm the oil and paint it on with a brush kept for this purpose only. I will assess the leather in about 5 days time as that's about how long it takes for the oil to penetrate deeper into the fibers. (I worked in restoration and had to learn about the molecular structure of leather)

[morb]

Thanks Saddlebag,

I'll give that a try.