Conditioning and Waterproofing Your Leather Jackets

With time and use any leather jacket will get worn out and faded. When leather gets exposed to the hard weather like the rain, the sun and the wind along with body perspiration will eventually dehydrate leather, causing it to get hard and stiff making the dye on the jacket crack and peel off. If you do not do anything to take care of your leather it will ultimately putrefy and rip easily.

To prevent this from happening it’s recommended that you condition and water proof you leather jacket. You can condition them with leather lotions for leather, leather cream conditioners and mink oil. Depending on the use you give to the jacket, that’s how many times you will need to condition the leather jacket or item. If you use it often it is recommended that you condition it every month approximately.

If you do not use it as much you will only need to condition it every couple of months as long as you store it in an area not exposed to the sun and with a cloth cover, because plastic covers will also cause a jacket to deteriorate with time because it will not let it breathe.

When you get caught in the rain or your jacket gets soaked for some reason it is recommended that you let it dry first, then after its dry apply some conditioner or mink oil.

For water proofing there are many sprays, pastes, creams and also mink oil does water proofing as well when it come in its paste form. Water Proofing a leather jacket is recommended when you anticipate being or riding in the rain or moist weather.

Doing this before its exposed will prevent the water to penetrate the pores in the leather, as this is what a water proffer does it seals the breathing pores and blocks moisture from being absorbed.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you can use your leather jacket as a rain coat; although some leather can be water resistant with a little help from both conditioning and water proofing, water and body perspiration will still spend your leather with time.

Cowhide is the most water resistant from the most commonly used leathers, which is why it’s used on most of the motorcycle apparel. Lambskin and suede leathers are the least water resistant leathers, because they are thin hides commonly and suede absorbs any moisture or water.

We hope this helps you take care of your leather jacket a little better, and remember to always condition and water proof your leather.