An actual Leather Conditioner recipe

[ScottWolf]

On 5/17/2023 at 12:40 AM, dikman said:

I just re-read the thread and there's some good info in it (thanks for starting it ScottWolf ).

 Regarding leather conditioners probably the most common/widely used ingredient is medicinal/food grade mineral oil as this blends nicely with waxes to make them "spreadable". This is also apparently considered by some manufacturers to be natural. Paraffin wax is also widely used presumably because it is readily available commercially and no doubt is cheaper than using beeswax. As with the mineral oil the wax is basically a highly refined petroleum product. 

 

No Problem, glad you found the information to be helpful.

As to mineral oil or Parafin wax, Liquid Parrafin or any of the other names used for it in other locations, its all the same, a petroleum derived product. Mineral oil itself is not a leather conditioner like Tallow or neatsfoot, etc, it is a barrier, in that it keeps moisture in, which is why its used extensively in women's skin care products, cosmetics, etc. It can be used as a solvent in a product, as it dissolves other ingredients and is also considered a cleaning agent  as it will break down sebum  and cosmetic residue on peoples skin. For leather, its great for sealing moisture in and works best as a finishing product, after the leather has been conditioned,  and it also adds a polish or shine to the leather.

[dikman]

I decided to re-melt a mix I made up and add some olive oil to soften it a bit (it's pretty stiff in the jar). From memory it's beeswax, neatsfoot oil and tallow. What was interesting was once it was melted there were pieces of "skin", for want of a better term, in the mix. The only thing I can think of is it came from the NFO? Most peculiar.

[MelKel]

@Scottwolf  I'm happy to see your leather conditioner recipe and am looking forward to using it. It's similar to a beeswax hand balm I make.  Do you have a recommendation (or recipe?) for a gentle, natural leather cleaner to be used prior to this conditioner for saddle, tack, and riding boot maintenance?  For the most part I can just dust and condition, but sometimes a gentle cleaner is needed. 

[p51p28]

Thanks a lot for this @ScottWolf. Excited to try this out. The petroleum stuff I've always used has got to go.  

[Kakunka]

Just made a small batch tonight. . .

20g Bee's Wax, 20g Shea Butter, 15g 100% Neatsfoot Oil, 15g Lanolin, 5g Carnuba Wax, 2g Vitamin E Oil

Added the extra high Vitamin E oil as an antioxidant, although Shea Butter is said to contain a bunch. . .

I don't see a problem with Neatsfoot Oil as it is a natural product derived from shin, and feet bones of cattle, and

has been used for leather preservation, and conditioning, more or less, forever. . .

All the other things are food grade, and absolutely no problem with contacting your skin  (unless you're allergic)

Consistency is of a soft shoe polish,  rubbed it in with my hands  seems to work very well. . . 

[CdK]

I made a larger batch of the balm as described in the first post by @ScottWolf with carnauba wax and lanolin added. Came out good and is the consistency of shoe polish at room temperature. Apply just a dab and spread and then rub with a cloth or soft brush and it shines nicely with no oiliness or sticky. I filled 24 x 2oz metal cans and still have a bunch of balm in the large pot I used. The pic was taken before they had cooled down.

 

[ScottWolf]

2 minutes ago, CdK said:

I made a larger batch of the balm as described in the first post by @ScottWolf with carnauba wax and lanolin added. Came out good and is the consistency of shoe polish at room temperature. Apply just a dab and spread and then rub with a cloth or soft brush and it shines nicely with no oiliness or sticky. I filled 24 x 2oz metal cans and still have a bunch of balm in the large pot I used. The pic was taken before they had cooled down.

 

 

Those look good to go. Glad to hear the recipe is working out for you.

[Simone75]

Holy cow! @ScottWolf: Thank you so much for this recipe! I have a pull-up leather sofa that desperately needed some love and care. The "special products" available for this purpose are not only outrageously expensive, but in my opinion, they don't deliver the right results either. I roughly followed your recipe from the first post:

50g beeswax
50g cocoa butter
100g almond oil
15g lanolin
5g carnauba wax
About 30 drops of orange oil

The sofa has retained its character developed over the years, but now it feels like pull-up leather should feel (before, it was "cold" like standard smooth leather). Absolutely wonderful and brilliant! I am so incredibly grateful that I came across this post! Thank you!

Best regards from Germany,
Simone

[spectre6000]

@ScottWolf, I've been coloring/darkening some plain veg tan milled hides in the sun for the last few days, and I'm going to need to condition them in the end to make up for the damage. The application will be a leather jacket, and I'm hoping to be able to leave behind a bit of a waxy/glossy sheen. What combination/ratio of ingredients would you suggest to mix up for this? 

[ScottWolf]

1 hour ago, spectre6000 said:

@ScottWolf, I've been coloring/darkening some plain veg tan milled hides in the sun for the last few days, and I'm going to need to condition them in the end to make up for the damage. The application will be a leather jacket, and I'm hoping to be able to leave behind a bit of a waxy/glossy sheen. What combination/ratio of ingredients would you suggest to mix up for this? 

Adding more carnauba wax would give it a sheen if buffed out but it will be very temporary as the conditioner is absorbed into the leather. If you want a more permanent glossy sheen, you might want to consider using something like Angelus 4 coat satin or 4 coat high gloss urethane clear coat as a finishing product. https://angelusdirect.com/collections/4-coat

[spectre6000]

I'm trying to avoid plasticky finishes. Re-waxing from time to time is acceptable for the project (reproduction of an 85 year old horsehide jacket). You seem to have a good understanding of how the various oils and waxes interact with each other. My assessment is beeswax, cocoa (pretty hard), some liquid oil (thinking jojoba because of the longer saturated carbon chains, and I have a bottle somewhere), and carnauba as the modifier. Percentages are where some experience I don't have would be helpful. Being able to get it applied is obviously important. Not being greasy and leaching oil is also very important. Getting a waxy sheen is a goal.