Whats the best way to rescue an old leather jacket?

Question asked recently, Leather David gave EXCELLENT advice, I copied & pasted his response for you: Leather David 0 Best Answer - Chosen by Asker It saddens me to see the mis information that is rife when it comes to leather care. I have worked in the Leather repair and restoration industry for over 11yrs and work with one of the founders of the modern Leather restoration industry who has 40+ yrs experience. Water based cleaners will not hurt leather as long as it is a finished leather ( one with a surface coating) naked leathers will absorb water or cleaners etc. NEVER use saddle soap, murphy's soap, armor-al etc or garment/furniture grade leather....they are tanned completely differently from saddlery leathers and this will create massive pH damage. Leather is acidic ( 4.5-5.5 pH approx) most soaps are very alkaline so create damage. Facials soaps or woolite in warm water are closer in pH so are a better "cheap" alternative to quality pH balanced professional cleaners. Leather NEEDS OILS but not in pure form ( ie dont just apply mink oil or neats foot oil etc) a good conditioner has the correct ratios ( my company makes our own cleaners and conditioners so we know exactly what is in them and that they are doing what is needed) The leather used to be attached to a cow- where it got the oils etc from the animal- it has been removed and has a residual oil content- this decreases over time and has to be supplimented by you in the form of leather conditioners...not doing so dramatically reduces the life of leather. You do not need to go to the expense of professional cleaning. Clean yourself and use some of the money you would have spent to buy a good quality leather conditioner that will last you multiple applications to the jacket and other leather goods you might have. Good luck David If you want to learn more about leather care,chemistry, tanning etc we have alot of info on one of our sites www.advleather.com (this is not a solicitation for you to buy anything, just if you want to learn more)

The best ways to protect and clean leather. * An easy and inexpensive option for cleaning leather is to take a damp cloth, wipe it across moisturizing soap (it has neutral pH) and lather the leather. Don't rinse -- buff for a nice shine. * Remember: When removing spots from garments, always test any cleaning method on an out-of-the-way spot first. Good luck!!

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saddle soap and febreeze. saddle soap cleans leather and makes it supple - febreeze will make it smell nice altough I would do a test on it first - ie just spray a bit of febreeze on a part that can't be seen just in case it marks it or anything. I'm glad it's too heavy to go in the washing machine cos that could be disastrous. You could also take it to a dry cleaning service cos they can offer a service for cleaning leather garments.

Try some saddle soap, usually available from shoe repair shops or saddleries