Cleaning up leather pants

[MX?]

Picked up a pair of leather MX duds today......which have quite a bit of the last 30 odd years of dirt on them. What is the best way to get them looking good again? I had planned to tackle them with a scrubbing brush and soap (mild?) and water....but what then?
Any ideas?

[mike1948]

When I retired about 35 years ago, I cleaned up my leathers with soap & water, then gave them a good dose of the magic elixar, Coacholine, came in a dark red tin, workes great.  Dug them out 3 years ago, still supple & in good nick.  Trouble is, I'm 10kg heavier, squeezed into them for 1 meeting, then hung them back up again.  Still have some of the old stuff in the tin, but I don't know if you can get it know.  Probably lots of other options, check with your nearest shoe repairer.
Mike

[paul]

or check out the local saddlery shop for leather cleaner

[DR]

if the colour is still okay then yeah a simple scrub and some leather treatment would work but if the colour is gone and they look a bit shirty then you can use that vinyl colour spray to make them look swish again. I bought a pair for 0.99c on ebay recently that were blue with a red stripe but exactly my size, since I wanted black and red I simply cleaned them with soapy water, let them dry and masked up the red stripes then sprayed them. They honestly look great now mixed emotions says it'll be a shame to get them dirty at CD6 but then I'm also looking forward to it

[oldfart]

Dubin works well on leather , gives it a new lease on life 

[jimg1au]

when i was a lot younger and lighter i yued to wash my road race leathers in the washing machine and dry them then rub neatsfod oil into them.i still use dubbin on my leather dirt track boots.makes them a bit more supple.most boot makers will have dubbin.

[MX?]

Thanks for the replies! I may have worried about it too much perhaps? was reading the label on the wifes Walden Miller jacket....which has a heap of info on what not to do and not a lot of what to do on it??
Yes the good ole Dubin! had almost forgotten about that, will give it a go.......and I'd never sleep at night worrying about the plight of the poor old Neat if I use Neatsfoot oil. 

[pokey]

Neatsfoot oil is excellent for leather as its cowsfoot leather and what could be better than the original oils it spent a few years in the paddock with?

Dubbin Hmmm is fine for the leather but not the stitching as its caustic and will degrade that part of the garment.

Saddle soap to get rid of all the crap and then a good going over with Neatsfoot oil or even better and milder for the stitching/liner is a product called Oakwood leather dressing
it has lots of good natural oils that will condition the leather and keep it waterproof and supple for years.
 dont ever allow leather to dry out as it will crack and become fragile and tend to crack and rip even after applying a leather treatment.

Anything is better than nothing but for the best results do as above depending on whats at hand.

No I wont make a pair of boots for you but I do have the skills and 20 years experience to do so.
hope the pants clean up  nice.

[MX?]

Now you're confusing me.....and it isn't too hard to do. 
Didn't know that about Dubbin?
That leather jacket I mentioned has a label saying:
"Do not use floor, shoe or laundry cleaners. Do not use shoe cream, cleaning fluid or Saddle Soap

[pancho]

my old leathers are still in pretty good condition. i have used nothing but gee-wy leather dressing and nothing else.i have had them covered in oily mud from racing on the old s/circuit tracks where the old sump oil that was used to seal the surface was mixed with overnight rain and made an interesting emulsion. just rub a heavy coat of gee/wy into the leather and all the rubbish floats out.two more things, dont hang your leathers up it causes the leather to dry out as stiff as a board and it will crack. i have always rolled mine up and shoved them in an over night bag.   2 when you need repairs see Doug Tyerman at DBT leathers 0297901235. he just did the first repairs on mine [and at a very fair price] since i bought them from omedies in 1963 cheers wally

[Lozza]

You all should look very spivvy on the VMX float in next years mardi gras................

[DR]

last time I looked I still had the backside in my pants Loz! 

[pokey]

gee why is .. neatsfoot oil
use that always and often and it works v well.


I just had a shudder run up my spine. lozza in vasalined leather on a float in darlinghurst.

I need another merlot

[DR]

  perish the thought!!

[Rossvickicampbell]

Meguiars leather cleaner and conditioner.  Does not attack the stitching as many older ones do and cleans and protects the leather.

cheers

Rossco

PS available any car shop