Fubar'd jacket

[Gainnawoods]

OK I know I'll get hate for this.

I have a bates highwayman 1 or 2 from the 70's.

It was in bad shape.

I had the sleeves cut to remove damage (luckily I have shorter arms than the guy that originally bought it) and some zippers replaced (I had one side saved, just replaced the blown out zipper side).

I probably won't get too much crap from those mods.

But.

The dye was typical of something that was neglected for 30 years..

I bought a spray can of dye and intended to just recolor the white portions on seams, but went overboard.

Now it looks like a garbage bag (not as bad as you think, but bad).

Can I selectively strip the spray dye off the majority of it without damaging it?

For the record, I've seen a lot of 50 year olds jackets that have aged well and the discolor/no color looks awesome, this was not one of those jackets. It just looked ratty.

For the record, I started riding back in '95 or so. Friend of the family said I needed to be protected so he gave me this jacket.I did my best in my 20's to take care of it but I was young and dumb...

[Mattsbagger]

I'd try posting this in the dye and chemical sub forum. There are a lot of guys doing general work that can maybe help you. Best I can do for you.

[earthling33]

I would try saddle soap.  Here's why.  I use saddle soap on my cowboy boots (on the lowers) to remove black marks and scuff marks.  The boots are brown and they pick up black marks from the shifter on my motorcycle.I have noticed that if I rub in the soap too aggressively it removes the wax and some of the finish.  So, I would think that judicious and targeted scrubbing with saddle soap might give the effect you are looking for. It will dull the finish somewhat, depending on how aggressively you scrub.  And FWIW, I have used saddle soap on my black leather riding jacket, and it cleans it up nicely. Then a coat of leather cream might bring it back to life.

Warning:  Your mileage may vary.

Just my 2 cents.