So I have a few Jimmy’s bridles that are getting up there in years and all are aging really well but one. The “problem bridle” is sticky and no matter what I clean it with I can not get it to become less sticky (and show everything that comes in contact with it). I live in Northern CA so humidity is not a huge issue and it is specific to this one bridle.
Any ideas of how to save this bridle?
TIA
Have you tried ammonia or rubbing alcohol on a rag. Another is to wash with Dawn dish soap. Squirt Dawn into a sink of warm water. Put bridle in water. Use a soft spong to wash bridle. Allow to air dry and then oil and condition.
Stickiness is connected to your conditioning product. You can scour all the stickiness off your bridle, but then what do you use to condition it?
The lower-priced wipes and spray on conditioners all leave a sticky mess on everything, IME.
Here’s my similar conundrum:
I have a similar issue with an older Stubben bridle that I bought second-hand. Basically, the shine is off the leather, so the leather is rather matte.The bridle is black, so dust and dirt show up immediately.
I cleaned last week and scrubbed with glycerine saddle soap and a terry cloth, dunked the whole thing in a bucket of hot water. That absolutely got all the dirt and stickiness off, but left the leather feeling dry.
So then I had to slather on a generous amount of Passier Lederbalm on both the rough and smooth side of the leather. I like how it conditions leather, but on this particular bridle it does seem to leave it sticky. And it was picking up visible dust as soon as I put it on the horse!
I like how the Passier product cares for leather in general and haven’t had this problem on other gear. But I think for this bridle, I will need to experiment with different conditioners.
When I’ve had to resurrect genuinely old tack, like the pile of dried-out straps from 40 years ago that is now a perfectly fine double bridle, I have washed and soaked them, then tossed them into a tub of mineral oil for a week, or in the case of the double bridle, six months. This has actually worked really well, once the excess oil has dripped off a bit. But I can’t bring myself to do this to anything that is still more or less “good,” i.e., recognizable as a bridle :). It’s more a last-ditch “can this bridle be saved?” move.
I did get a sniff of someone else’s Effax Ledersbalm, and it looked like it might be less greasy and sticky than Passier, so I might ask to borrow a dollop to try on the Stubben bridle.
OP what product and method have you been using until now to clean it?
All in one cleansers and conditioners often leave reside that ends up sticky.
Soaking in in gallons of oil is often a bad idea as the fibers will soak up too much oil and puff apart quite often.
Glycerine soap is a humectant: it pulls moisture from the air which is why it works so well on leather.
I would take apart the bridle, lather it up well with glycerine saddle soap then quickly rinse it in warm (not hot) water. Pat dry with a towel, then before it’s dry apply Stubben Hamanol or Passier Lederbalsam. The next day, use a just damp sponge to apply saddle soap all over. When dry from that a coat of beeswax based sealant like Bee Natural will seal it all in.
I have been using regular glycerine soap (the fieblings bar) with rare deep cleanings. I actually figured out what happened, my groom had noticed the bridle was very dry after not being used for a number of years. He ended up dunking the bridle in neatsfoot oil and unfortunately it was not stripped prior to this. So apparently what happens when you oil dirty tack is that all the dirt kind of constantly keeps it filthy despite regular cleaning.
I ended up going with a short soak in dawn soap with a very deep cleaning to strip off all the oil and old dirt. I have cleaned with glycerine soap and conditioned with Voltaire conditioner (by hand with out much of it)… So far it is much better, we will see what happens over the next few days when it goes back to work.
Thanks all for your help!
Castile soap. Try it! It pulls everything out safely and without damaging the leather. Used it to pull the wax finish off new tack, clean build up off and also for a good general clean. If all else fails, try the effax stuff in the tall bottle with a red top. It’s almost like a stripper, but safe. Pulls off saddle tite out without a problem or damage!
I was also going to recommend Castile soap to get rid of any stickiness or residue. Effex LederCombi is a cleaner/conditioner that is easy and effective and does not leave any kind of residue. Higher Standards is a great conditioner too.
glycerin, IMHO, leaves a sticky residue on most tack. over time it will accumulate, especially since glycerin tends to clog pores - if you oil after glycerin, the oil tends to not penetrate too deep because the glycerin has kind of made an ‘impermeable’ layer on top of the leather.
for that reason i prefer castille soap, but it will also leave a residue if you do not wipe it down with a warm rag after.
it sounds like the stickiness is residue from past cleanings & conditionings. passier lederbalsam i love, but not for strap goods as i find it collects too much dust which does not help the stickiness.
for those sticky bridles, and i have a few as i tend to be a bargain shopper and pick up old/damaged bridles –
take them apart, wipe down with hot rag to get outside/exterior dust/film off
add 1-3 drops castille soap (i prefer the liquid form) to a fresh damp rag, scrub vigorously
wipe down w/ hot rag
rinse/repeat until no residue comes off on rag
you can soak leather with hot/near scalding water and it will bring all the residue to the surface - i have done that in the past with nearly all my leather goods that needed a deep cleaning. so long as you keep it under five minutes and you wipe down/condition ASAP, it should not harm your leather - it WILL darken it.
as far as conditioning for strap goods, i used to be a die-hard glycerin and neatsfoot fan, but after experimenting with several conditioners i’ve found that the leather never stays sharp looking for as long as i like. i’ve found the following to leave the least amount of residue, accumulate the least amount of dirt, and keep a rich almost shiny patina on the leather for multiple rides:
tad coffin saddle buff
effax ledersoft
effax leder-combi
passier bridle spray
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