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Machine washing and drying a leather jacket.

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  • dji
    Senior Member
    • Feb 2008
    • 3020

    #61
    anyone that's tried a Julius moto will know that it fits on the larger side of the scale, after trying and failing to find the perfect one for me I decided to take things in to my own hands with the FW11 MW moto. as it's made from quite a substantial and unprocessed (by _7 standards) lamb leather I figured it'd be a safe bet to try shrinking it to fit.

    pre-wash measurements:
    pit to pit: 46.5 cm
    length: 63 cm

    pre-pics:




    Comment

    • dji
      Senior Member
      • Feb 2008
      • 3020

      #62
      steps:
      • Friday morning soaked it inside out in hot water for around 10 minutes then squeezed out as much water as possible
      • chucked it in a pillow case, pillow case went in the dryer with some towels to pad it on medium heat for around an hour
      • after an hour it was still pretty damn wet so put it in for ~45 minutes on high
      • still slightly damp after that but decided to air dry it for the remainder, turned it right way round and hung it on the hanger outside on a mild sunny day
      • dry to the touch by the evening except the leather bits inside the pockets so gave them a bit of a low heat blow dry
      • let the leather completely air dry for 1 more day

      • leather turned out great post wash, very matte but still retaining most of its softness although a bit stiffer
      • after the leather was completely dry I applied a thin but thorough coating of Grison leather creme (did try a small amount of Nivea creme as some had suggested, shit just sits as a layer on the leather and looked more likely to damage it than anything so quickly removed it), took over an hour to do everything including the inner sections and the inside of the pockets
      • gave the post conditioning jacket a day of drying indoors
      • leather creme returned some of the original luster of the leather, and made it a lot softer (possibly softer than it originally was haha)

      Comment

      • dji
        Senior Member
        • Feb 2008
        • 3020

        #63
        anyway all in all quite happy with the outcome. leather turned out great, soft with not quite as much sheen (although I probably wouldn't recommend this for any of the heavily processed _7 leathers). jacket shrank around half a size in width although the length surprisingly didn't change at all. short of boiling the leather I think this is about the maximum shrinkage you're likely to get haha.

        post-wash measurements:
        pit to pit: 45 cm
        length: 63 cm

        post-pics:


        Comment

        • chaosen
          Member
          • Oct 2011
          • 77

          #64
          wondering if you took any fit pictures pre- and post-wash? looks nice though

          Comment

          • comedyzen
            Senior Member
            • May 2009
            • 279

            #65
            DJI,

            I was really scared for you when first I saw your post. I had the SS10 Moto, and there would have been NO WAY I would've soaked/washed it. Something about it seemed delicate. I am very glad yours turned out well. It does look like your FW11 looks like a different treatment from my SS10.

            Comment

            • dji
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2008
              • 3020

              #66
              thanks comedyzen, yeah I wouldn't be inclined to risk washing the SS10 moto and certainly not any of the FW09 hard washed leathers.

              sorry chaosen, forgot to take pre wash fit pics.

              Comment

              • yoh05
                Junior Member
                • Feb 2009
                • 11

                #67
                good thing it didnt shrink lengthwise (although that seems to be your main objective of the whole ordeal) since the jacket has a zipper down the center

                Comment

                • beardown
                  rekoner
                  • Feb 2009
                  • 1418

                  #68
                  I realize this is a little late now but I found a lot of information from this blog post from blackbird last year when I was going through the same process.
                  Originally posted by mizzar
                  Sorry for being kind of a dick to you.

                  Comment

                  • hamletpowpowpow
                    Senior Member
                    • Nov 2008
                    • 389

                    #69
                    Goddamn! Good job, son. Now yr really making me regret that I got rid of my 07 moto leather...maybe all it needed was a good wash. Damn. And the finish looks nigh-on same, if not better, I'd say. I'm gonna order me some leather conditioner and wash my rick...

                    Curious - what size was this originally, and what size are you?

                    What's everyone's favorite leather conditioner? So far we've seen Grison, Pecard...Eton had some stuff from france...what about using shoe conditioner, something like Saphir? (http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/...enovateur.html)

                    And where can one pick up some of that Grison stuff anyways? That website's a bit strange and out of date...

                    Cheers.

                    Originally posted by dji View Post
                    anyway all in all quite happy with the outcome. leather turned out great, soft with not quite as much sheen (although I probably wouldn't recommend this for any of the heavily processed _7 leathers). jacket shrank around half a size in width although the length surprisingly didn't change at all. short of boiling the leather I think this is about the maximum shrinkage you're likely to get haha.
                    Last edited by hamletpowpowpow; 12-05-2011, 01:25 AM.

                    Comment

                    • dji
                      Senior Member
                      • Feb 2008
                      • 3020

                      #70
                      main objective was to shrink it width wise actually, don't mind the length.

                      cheers hamletpowpowpow, yeah couldn't be happier with how the leather turned out. I'm on the slim side of 44, this was originally about a 46 and now it's a comfortable 44. picked up the Grison from my local cobbler/leather specialist, no where in Melbourne seems to stock Pecard for some reason.

                      Comment

                      • MetroBulotDodo
                        Senior Member
                        • Oct 2010
                        • 1312

                        #71
                        Originally posted by hamletpowpowpow View Post
                        Yeah, I'm considering washing my Rick lamb from 04 - it's a stretched out a bit and I'd love to shrink it down a size.

                        MBD - post yr results!

                        Edit: The conditioning oil - would you want to put this on a non-washed leather jacket? What about boots? I've got some Julius leather/boots that I'd like to keep in top shape...
                        The SS05 Rick kangaroo and SS04? ChloƩ goat, both of which had a paper-like thickness, shrunk almost a whole size and are overall less structured. (The Rick leather feels like the leather thickened slightly.) Both feel and fit like shirts - and can be layered over - so I was fine with that. The Rick had a slightly waxy shine. It now has a matte finish. The Chloe goat has the texture now of the lamb sleeves of one of my oldest DRKSHDW denim jackets w/ lamb sleeves. It's difficult to describe without a macro camera lens, but it looks like a nubuck with an imperceptible grain. Note: the zippers on my Rick kangaroo are *not* wavy.

                        My Rick leather dress in blistered lamb (the version with extreme scarring) did exceptionally well: shrunk a spot more than a full size, which is fine by me. The great thing about it is that there was no texture change whatever. The integrity of the original finish didn't change, which makes me wonder what they hell they did to get that very unusual blistering in the first place: it's seemingly indestructible.

                        (BEFORE/AFTER PHOTOS TO COME, REALLY.)

                        I turned all items inside out and used a front loading washer set on delicate for a single load. I allowed each item to wash on its own. I dried the two jackets together in a commercial dryer on low for 1 hour. Because I wanted the Rick dress to shrink more than the jackets, I dried it on medium for 45 minutes.

                        The question now is whether I should condition my jackets which use delicate glove-like leather . I'd once made the mistake of using honey conditioner on a pair of caramel colored, triple buckle Ann D boots in washed goat. The idea was to darken the leather and get a matte finish. Instead, there were dark, oily patches that didn't completely dry for a year, or more.

                        I ordered 7 or 8 Saphir cleaning products from The Hanger Project more than a month ago (6 weeks), and they just sent an email saying that they're back in stock and my things will be sent this week. So, fair warning...

                        In the meantime, the Saphir copy says their stuff is meant to clean and protect your highest quality suede, leather *and* silk and fabric items - even the waterproofing sprays; "like Scotchguard, but for your finest suedes and leathers" they claim for your shoes. I am assuming "finest" should encompass what is used for your jackets and gloves, too. I'll test the stuff nonetheless before going "whole hog."

                        A big winter project is cleaning and re-waterproofing all my shoes and jackets with Saphir: will report back about this, too.

                        More later.

                        MBD
                        "To articulate what is past does not mean to recognize 'how it really was.'
                        It means to take control of a memory, as it flashes in a moment of danger."

                        -Walter Benjamin. Thesis VI, Theses on the Philosophy of History
                        My rarities and quotidian garments for sale thread. My tumblr and eBay page.

                        Comment

                        • hamletpowpowpow
                          Senior Member
                          • Nov 2008
                          • 389

                          #72
                          Ah, please report back. I was planning on doing the same - cleaning and weather proofing my collection of Julius/Ann combats for the winter using Saphir.

                          I've still gotta re-wax my Julius parka too...man, so much work!

                          As for washing my rick - I don't know that I'd use the Saphir to condition the leather, I may try and get that wacky french stuff. We'll see.

                          EDIT: Maybe this stuff?: http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/...er-lotion.html

                          The Saphir stuff is "beeswax-based cream polish enriched with ultra-nourishing mink oil"

                          The Pecard is "A wax-free water-based formula, cleans, conditions, preserves and weatherproofs all smooth finished and vinyl coated leathers."

                          Thoughts, anyone?

                          Whatever Dji used looks like it worked really well...can you enlighten us on the ingredients? Wax based or water based?




                          QUOTE=MetroBulotDodo;341523]

                          I ordered 7 or 8 Saphir cleaning products from The Hanger Project more than a month ago (6 weeks), and they just sent an email saying that they're back in stock and my things will be sent this week. So, fair warning...

                          In the meantime, the Saphir copy says their stuff is meant to clean and protect your highest quality suede, leather *and* silk and fabric items - even the waterproofing sprays; "like Scotchguard, but for your finest suedes and leathers" they claim for your shoes. I am assuming "finest" should encompass what is used for your jackets and gloves, too. I'll test the stuff nonetheless before going "whole hog."

                          A big winter project is cleaning and re-waterproofing all my shoes and jackets with Saphir: will report back about this, too.

                          More later.

                          MBD[/QUOTE]
                          Last edited by hamletpowpowpow; 12-05-2011, 12:45 PM.

                          Comment

                          • dji
                            Senior Member
                            • Feb 2008
                            • 3020

                            #73
                            Originally posted by hamletpowpowpow View Post
                            Whatever Dji used looks like it worked really well...can you enlighten us on the ingredients? Wax based or water based?
                            according to the mostly french bottle it's 30% aliphatic hydrocarbons, not sure if there are any more details on the ingredients but you can see everything printed on the bottle in the previous link.

                            Comment

                            • hamletpowpowpow
                              Senior Member
                              • Nov 2008
                              • 389

                              #74
                              Yeah, I saw that - but what the heck are "aliphatic hyrdocarbons"…???

                              I guess the main question is - do we want to use water or wax based conditioner?

                              Edit: Okay, the stuff Eton used on his CCP was Renapur, and that's also a wax-based conditioner - "beeswax and jojoba oil". We all know that turned out really well.

                              I'm really impressed w/ how Dji's julius turned out...I'm tempted to try and track down that french stuff...but on the other hand, Saphir has a pretty amazing reputation when it comes to high-quality leather care...

                              Originally posted by dji View Post
                              according to the mostly french bottle it's 30% aliphatic hydrocarbons, not sure if there are any more details on the ingredients but you can see everything printed on the bottle in the previous link.
                              Last edited by hamletpowpowpow; 12-05-2011, 03:48 PM.

                              Comment

                              • mrbeuys
                                Senior Member
                                • May 2008
                                • 2313

                                #75
                                Has anyone here ever put a pair of rick trainers through a wash cycle?
                                Mine are still in good nick but look awful since I took them for a midnight run through muddy Hampstead Heath the other night ( long story ).
                                Hi. I like your necklace. - It's actually a rape whistle, but the whistle part fell off.

                                Comment

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