leather treatment

[Stu]

One of the harshest environments for leather is on horse riding saddles. They are effected by UV ,water ,sweat, mud and of course abrasion of a riders jeans, jodphurs, chaps etc. Saddles are cleaned and treated and last generally for many years. A trip to a horse saddlery such as Horseland should get the right products. Bear in mind that riders also do not want their clothes stained nor do they want an excessively slippery saddle. I cannot see why the products used would not be interchangeable.

There may be a problem using this stuff, as horsey gear is made from vegetable tanned leather, and upholstery leather is made from chrome tanned hides.
They are 2 different tanning methods using completely different chemicals.

If you do try this stuff, try it on a test piece first, or somewhere where it can't be seen as the veg tan cleaners may change the colour of your chrome tanned leather!

Chrome tanned leather used in upholstery are corrected (had the surface sanded back to try and get rid of any scarring) and have lots of pigment on the surface to help protect it from spills and dirt.
Veg tanned leather however, is usually full grain, and the grain is somewhat porous, which is why veg tanned leather has a nice mottled look to it and is usually coloured with dyes, rather than pigments.

Veg tanned leather is also more expensive than chrome tanned leather.

Thanks for the warning Benny

[madboy]

Been following Benny's advice and have been using MrSheen for quite some time now, its a bit slippery for the 1st few times I ride in it then it seems to be fine for another month, over all, good stuff in my books, cheers Benny

[Hammer]

If you want osmething to clean and treat your leather, and don't want to break the bank, try some Mr Sheen in the spray can.
Just spray a very light mist on the leather and buff off with soft, dry cloth.

I've been in the leather business all of my life, and we've been using it in the factory for decades.

Many years ago, a friend of mine bought a new Honda with a leather interior and he asked me what can he do to protect the interior.
I told him to use Mr Sheen on the seats once a month, and when he sold the car some 6 years later, the leather was absolutely perfect, even though the car had never seen a garage in its life and he had 3 kids grinding chips and chocolate into the seats.
The leather was still nice and soft and hadn't discoloured at all.

Thanks for the tip Benny. You should know, you're in the leather business.

Right now, I'm using the Meguiar's stuff - their expensive bottled stuff once a quarter, and their wipes in-between. I'll go and get myself a can of Mr Sheen and try it out.