Help!! Old CWD saddle that’s been sitting for who knows how long. How can I revive it? It looks like there might be some mold on the seat but I’m not sure.
Is there a way for me to clean this up and darken the lighter spots and fix the dark spots below the seat?
What products should I use?
I’d give it a good clean with saddle soap, then Absorbine has a leather restorer that works great on mold. Then a good oiling.
I’d wipe it down with vinegar to kill any mold spores, then a good soaping of something like Higher Standards or really any saddle cleaner.
Then a good neatsfoot oil, then condition to seal it.
The dots might go away with oiling, but unless you dye it, it might be multicolored. Gives it character.
You may be looking at getting the billets replaced. Send it to a saddler and have that looked at. They can inspect the rest of it too, stuffing etc, and fix anything that needs fixing.
Ditto on having billet stitching checked!
I like Murphy’s soap to clean leather.
Ideally the gel form, but even the spray works.
Black Rock is a good, inexpensive leather conditioner.
If you want to strip off old grease that will prevent your new products from penetrating, add a splash of ammonia to the wash water. The old gunk will melt away, you can see what you’ve really got and the leather pores will be open to conditioner. That could help even out the color. I personally like to condition with a thin layer of neatsfoot oil then buff in a thick product like Passier lederbalsam or Stubben hammanol. The older it is, the more often it will need treatment.
With a saddle that is dehydrated and has been sitting for a long time I always run it by my fitter first. No fun in trying to revive leather to find out there’s a twisted tree, uneven panels, dry rot, etc.
A good deep clean, a few layers of a thin oil, and then a layer of balm type product, let is sit overnight, buff, and any decent leather should be brought back to life. If the leather still feels awful the next day I worry about dry rot.
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