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Thread: How to restore a Sheepskin Coat – the leather seems pretty dry, and might start to crack!

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  1. #1
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    Default How to restore a Sheepskin Coat – the leather seems pretty dry, and might start to crack!

    I would appreciate your advice on a couple of problems.

    After reading the washing instructions of a number of websites of companies that sell sheepskin, I washed a sheepskin coat with water and Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap.
    The leather side seems pretty dry and might start to crack if left as it is.
    Judging from the page on your site on how to condition a sheepskin rug, I am guessing I should do the same and use the Leather Doctor® Sheepskin Leather Care, Hydrator-3.3 - (250ml) and Fatliquor-5.0 - (250ml) to moisturize the leather side of the sheepskin.
    Am I right?
    What are the prices for these two products?
    Do I have to protect the wool from coming into contact with the hydrator 3.3 and the fatliquour 5.0 when I apply them?
    And should the wool side be conditioned/moisturized?
    If so, with what?
    After moisturizing, what should I use to protect the leather side and the wool side?

    2) Please also find pictures of the sheepskin coat for which I was hoping the sheepskin products would restore.
    I have been told that nothing could bring it back to life.
    I would appreciate your opinion on that.
    Would Kit H4 bring it back to life?
    This coat also has a rip which will take effort and money to fix.

    3) I see you also sell dyes.
    How does one go about identifying the right colour?
    I have a few items that might need redyeing.

    Catherine

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  2. #2
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    I would appreciate your advice on a couple of problems.

    After reading the washing instructions of a number of websites of companies that sell sheepskin, I washed a sheepskin coat with water and Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap.
    The leather side seems pretty dry and might start to crack if left as it is.

    Judging from the page on your site on how to condition a sheepskin rug, I am guessing I should do the same and use the Leather Doctor® Sheepskin Leather Care, Hydrator-3.3 - (250ml) and Fatliquor-5.0 - (250ml) to moisturize the leather side of the sheepskin. Am I right?


    First picture shows that the sheepskin tensile tear strength has diminished resulting in tears to the suede. The rips, tears or holes are reparable with leather Bond-3D. We shall go into details how we can do it if you are interested to repair them.

    Second pictures shows wrinkles and creases suggested that the leather has shrunken. Hydrator-3.3 will relax the shrinkage and stretch it back with a smoother surface. Fatliquor-5.0 with fat and oil will maintain the structure fullness with excellent flexibility without fear of cracking the leather.

    This shearling leather-safe problem-solving guide will be your source of reference.



    Leather-Safe Problem Solving Guide (Sg) – Shearling Leathers




    Leather-Safe Problem Solving Guide (S.n) – Napa Suede Leathers


    Kit H4 is the recommended kit for Shearling Suede for cleaning the double-face, both the wool face and the suede face.

    Leather Doctor® Kit H4 : Hair-on-Hide - Standard Care Kit


    Do I have to protect the wool from coming into contact with the hydrator 3.3 and the fatliquour 5.0 when I apply them?

    These products are leather-safe, wool has a pH close to 5.5 and leather pH is 3-5. Product suffix denotes its pH value.
    Cleaning generally starts with the wool face first, after they are dried that the suede side commence.



    And should the wool side be conditioned/moisturized?
    If so, with what?
    After moisturizing, what should I use to protect the leather side and the wool side?

    Both sides and face of the wool and suede are protected with the same products. Protector-S+ is a non-stick, rub-resistant leather-scented protector that imparts a silky feel.

    2) Please also find pictures of the sheepskin coat for which I was hoping the sheepskin products would restore.
    I have been told that nothing could bring it back to life.
    I would appreciate your opinion on that.
    Would Kit H4 bring it back to life?

    As long as your suede side is able to be hydrated and relax first with Hydrator-3.3, it can be soften to as soft as you wish. You can also smoothen all that unwanted creases and wrinkles too if you wish after fatliquor is replenished sufficiently.


    This coat also has a rip, which will take effort and money to fix.

    Fixing the rips will have a darkening effect and I would recommend that the entire suede face be dyes to camouflage the repairs as well.


    3) I see you also sell dyes.
    How does one go about identifying the right colour?
    I have a few items that might need redyeing.

    Simply post the items and I shall help you out with the closest color.


    Roger Koh
    [email protected]
    Last edited by Roger Koh; 01-22-2013 at 10:05 PM.

  3. #3
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    Hello Roger,

    Thank you for all the information and answers to my questions. I appreciate it.

    Please bear with me, I would like to clarify a couple of things.

    1) "As long as your suede side is able to be hydrated and relax first with Hydrator-3.3, it can be soften to as soft as you wish. You can also smoothen all that unwanted creases and wrinkles too if you wish after fatliquor is replenished sufficiently."

    Based on your experience, would the leather regain its tensile tear strength, as healthy leather typically does, or is it still going to be weak and tear easily? Could you please clarify what you meant by "as long as your suede side is able to be hydrated..."? Are there situations when a piece of leather is not able to be hydrated? Do you think my coat can be hydrated?

    How can I tell when I have applied enough of the hydrator and fatliquid? If a bottle typically be enough for a job like this?

    2) About the tear:

    The tear is pretty big. It is not a little rip. It kind of zigzags all the way across the upper right arm. Seeing the tear, do you still think it's worth fixing? This coat has no sentimental value to me. I just like it. So if it's not worth fixing, that won't the end of the world to me.

    My ideas are a) searching for a piece of sheep skin in a similar colour and replacing the whole panel (both arms to make the appearance match). Is that wishful thinking? Do you sell pieces of sheepskin?

    b) If it is to be patched, I would think the tear has to be sewn or glued to a piece of fabric (perhaps leather) to help support the weight. Then the patch would surely be very visible and needs to be decorated to make it look as if it's meant to be there.

    Or c) Would it be advisable to glue a piece of leather the same shape as the panel on top of the suede ?



    Could you kindly also provide shipping rates/options?

    Do you ship from Canada, the US or elsewhere?

    Many thanks.

    Catherine
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  4. #4
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    1) "As long as your suede side is able to be hydrated and relax first with Hydrator-3.3, it can be soften to as soft as you wish. You can also smoothen all that unwanted creases and wrinkles too if you wish after fatliquor is replenished sufficiently."

    That is a general statement. All sheepskin suede like the one yours is easily hydrated and fatliquor replenished. The rejuvenating process of topping up with fat and oil will plump the leather up with fatness. Only with fatness and when completely dry that indirect ironing will produce your desired result.

    Based on your experience, would the leather regain its tensile tear strength, as healthy leather typically does, or is it still going to be weak and tear easily? Could you please clarify what you meant by "as long as your suede side is able to be hydrated..."? Are there situations when a piece of leather is not able to be hydrated? Do you think my coat can be hydrated?

    The strength of the leather lies in the percentage of fat and oil in the leather structure. When leather is easily darkened with liquid, they are able to be hydrated.
    A typical leather car seat is an example of difficulty to hydrate the leather because of its protective coating. All low-end furnishing leather has this difficulty to be hydrated as well, that’s why you see them crack, as fat and oil turns into gases and evaporates with heat.


    How can I tell when I have applied enough of the hydrator and fatliquid? If a bottle typically be enough for a job like this?

    Fatliquor is replenished at intervals to allow the water contents to wick up and evaporates.
    With repeat application one will observed that the fatliquor takes a longer time to be absorbed into the leather.
    When dry the leather will increase in suppleness as well.



    2) About the tear:

    The tear is pretty big. It is not a little rip. It kind of zigzags all the way across the upper right arm. Seeing the tear, do you still think it's worth fixing? This coat has no sentimental value to me. I just like it. So if it's not worth fixing, that won't the end of the world to me.

    Fixing is only recommended when the leather is rejuvenated with suppleness and strength.
    As it is when you put a needle through it will tear – the loss of tear strength.
    When leather is rejuvenated with fatliquor it will increase the tear strength, that is when you begin the repairs.
    Repairs in such cases is done with a combination of fine stitching first, the follows with laying with suede fibers (scrap from the other hidden areas to donate to the stitching cover up) and bonding together with leather Bond-3D (same technique as working with fiberglass).



    My ideas are a) searching for a piece of sheep skin in a similar colour and replacing the whole panel (both arms to make the appearance match). Is that wishful thinking? Do you sell pieces of sheepskin?

    You may get “shearling” from Tandy leathers or other leather craft stores that sells sheepskin (shearling).

    b) If it is to be patched, I would think the tear has to be sewn or glued to a piece of fabric (perhaps leather) to help support the weight. Then the patch would surely be very visible and needs to be decorated to make it look as if it's meant to be there.

    The repair suggested above will give you an invincible repair except a darkening effect just like healing scar of our skin.

    Or c) Would it be advisable to glue a piece of leather the same shape as the panel on top of the suede ?

    You will need to “bond” with protein/resin ingredient and not all glue can do the job, a bond becomes part of the leather making the repair homogenous.

    Contact cement of any other types will fail very soon.



    Could you kindly also provide shipping rates/options?

    Do you ship from Canada, the US or elsewhere?

    Please email me for prices and shipping rates worldwide.


    Roger Koh
    [email protected]

  5. #5
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    Hello Roger,

    In the last reply, you described how to patch this gigantic rip by placing scrape suede from hidden parts of the coat over the rip. There is no scrape on this coat. All the suede parts are on the outside of the coat. The only possibility is the pockets. I think I will try finding pieces of shearling from a leather store before I sacrifice the pockets. I also can't envision how patching it would be "invincible". Are there examples of patching jobs in the forum?

    In another post about the red leather aniline skirt, you said Protector s+ won't prevent staining. With this coat, after all the steps moisturizing and applying Portector S, if I want to minimize staining, should I spray it with regular leather protector?

    The coat has been washed with water and soap. It doesn't need any more cleaning. Should I skip the cleaning step and go straight to the hydrating step?

    I will send a private email about shipping, etc.

    Thanks.

    Cathy

  6. #6
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    The fiber is scraped from the surface of the suede still leaving the suede intact.

    This technique is used when repairing fur as the fur skin when dry of original fatliquor becomes brittle.

    I will give you more details of the process when you have the leather Bond-3D at hand.

    You can see pictures of how it is done with fur coats.

    #1


    #2


    #3


    Roger Koh
    [email protected]

  7. #7
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    I purchased the Rinse 3.0, Degreaser 2.2, hydrator 3.3, Bond 3D and fatliquor 5.0 to hydrate and repair this coat.

    I am not planning to clean it. I just want to recondition it. Could you give me the instructions on how to condition it, I suppose with the hydrator and fatliquor?

    Thanks.

    Cathy
    Last edited by Cathy; 12-09-2013 at 09:11 AM.

  8. #8
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    >>> I just want to recondition it. Could you give me the instructions on how to condition it, I suppose with the hydrator and fatliquor?

    Conditioning as to rejuvenate the thickness of the leather for softness and tensile strength involves the Hydrator-3.3 > Fatliquor-5.0 process.
    The Hydrator-3.3 is used as a pre-conditioner to check for surface tension for even absorption to void any blotchiness if any. The deeper the hydrator has penetrated the deeper the Fatliquor-5.0 will follow suit. See more details. . .


    Name:  a20791e12d02371dec74f1_s.jpg
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    Leather Doctor Hydrator-3.3

    Leather Doctor® Hydrator-3.3 is a waterbased pH 3.3 leather-safe hydrator. It is a fatliquor preconditioner with multi functional abilities. Surface application is primary to check for even surface tension free of blotchiness prior to fatliquor replenishing. Structural application will require saturating to an optimum level with moisture oozing out when gently pressed between thumb and fingers.
    The multi functional abilities include:
    a) to check for surface tension for an even appearance free from blotchiness prior to fatliquor replenishing.
    b) To plumps, relaxes and separates crushed, shrunk and stick together fibrils for manipulating away-unwanted creases and wrinkles.
    c) To rectify alkaline overexposure areas by facilitating colloidal water movement to redistribute the leather constituents from surrounding areas.
    d) To activate the dormant dyestuff within the leather structure for color refreshing.
    e) To facilitates colloidal water movement within the inter-fibrillary spaces for wicking foreign soiling particulates to resurface.
    f) To stabilize, pH balance and charge the protein fiber below its iso-electric point (pI) ionic positive to hydrogen bond with the ionic negative fatliquor more effectively. This universal Hydrator-3.3 is for all leather types including pigmented, aniline, vachetta, nubuck, suede, hair-on-hide and woolskin.

    Instruction:

    A. Surface Tension Inspection:
    A1. Spray Hydrator-3.3 evenly and wipe with lint free towel to free of surface tension for an even appearance prior to fatliquor replenishing.

    B. Stiffness, Creases and Wrinkles:
    B1. Saturate the thickness of the leather to an optimum level with moistures oozing out when gently pressed between thumb and fingers.
    B2. Cover up with plastic wrapping to control evaporation and let it dwell for softness.
    B3. Manipulate by stretching and cross flexing to relax the leather prior to fatliquor replenishing.

    C. Rectify Alkaline Overexposure:
    C1. Saturate the thickness of the leather to an optimum level with moistures oozing out when gently pressed between thumb and fingers.
    C2. Cover up with plastic wrapping to control evaporation and let it dwell for redistributing of the leather constituents from surrounding area.
    C3. Observe for appearance and test by finger for tactile squeaky feel prior to fatliquor replenishing.

    D. Activating Dormant Dyestuff to Resurface:
    D1. Saturate the thickness of the leather to an optimum level with moistures oozing out when gently pressed between thumb and fingers.
    D2. Cover up with plastic wrapping to control evaporation and let it dwell up to 72 hours for excess dyestuff to resurface.
    D3. Remove plastic cover and let it natural dry to observe color improvement prior to fatliquor replenishing.

    E. Removing Penetrated Stains:
    E1. Saturate the thickness of the leather to an optimum level with moistures oozing out when gently pressed between thumb and fingers.
    E2. Cover up with plastic wrapping to control evaporation and let it dwell up to 72 hours for foreign soiling particulates to resurface.
    E3. Remove plastic wrapping, replace with tissue paper without airspace to trap stains as it dries instead of remaining on the surface.
    E4. Peel tissue paper when crispy dry and erase with Eraser-4 or Eraser-5 for suede accordingly prior to fatliquor replenishing.



    Name:  a20791e12d023aaf10f42b_s.jpg
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    Leather Doctor Fatliquor-5.0

    Leather Doctor® Fatliquor-5.0, a micro emulsion of fat, oil and water is an anionic charged pH 5.0 fatliquor for rejuvenating all leather types. It relaxes coarse breaks, creases and wrinkles enhance suppleness and prevent cracking. It softens the leather with stretchability, compressibility and flexibility, while enhancing its rip tensile strength greatly. It is for replenishing the original fat and oil that diminishes thru sun-bleaching, ageing, heat and alkaline overexposure or cleaning. On application, the water-encased molecule breaks free when hydrogen bond attraction takes place between the fat and oil with the protein fiber. The excess free water content wicks out leaving a breathing space behind for leather natural transpiration. The fat plumps the leather with fullness from easily collapsing into creases and wrinkles during stress or flex, while the oil lubricates the fibers so that they slide over one another smoothly like millions of inter-connecting hinges. Thus helps to keep leather at its optimum physical performance and prevent premature ageing. This universal Fatliquor-5.0 is for all leather types including pigmented, aniline, vachetta, nubuck, suede, hair-on-hide and woolskin.

    Instruction:

    1. Apply Fatliquor-5.0 and redistribute with foam brush until saturation.
    2. Repeat application each time water contents evaporate until fully saturated.
    3. Drive remaining surface remnants free of milky fat and oil until it turns clear with Hydrator-3.3.
    4. Allow natural drying for extra softness.

    Tips:

    1. When crispy dry, prior surface contaminations/damages may darkens as soiling particulates resurface.
    2. Removes soiling particulates with Eraser-4 for all leathers including nubuck and Eraser-5 for suede.
    3. Stretching the darken areas lightly will also lightens the appearance.

    Roger Koh
    Leather Care Consultant
    www.LeatherDoctor.com

  9. #9
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    Hello Roger,

    1) I read the safety warning for the hydrator 3.3 and Fatliquor 5.0. It says to avoid contact with skin. I can't help but wonder if these products are harmful to touch or inhale during application and after the hydrating process is done. It's hard not to touch the liquid during application. Even if one can avoid that, if they are applied to garment or furniture, the products will certainly come into skin contact. What are the contents of these products? Are they safe to touch?

    2) I applied the hydrator according to the instructions and the coat is sealed up. My understanding is that after the coat has be dwelling for 72 hours, I can apply the fatliquor, i.e., I don't need to let the hydrator dry up first. Is that correct?

    Apply Fatliquor-5.0 and redistribute with foam brush until saturation.
    2. Repeat application each time water contents evaporate until fully saturated.
    3. Drive remaining surface remnants free of milky fat and oil until it turns clear with Hydrator-3.3.

    3) Can you clarify Step 2 please. Does that mean I apply the fatliquor, let it dry and reapply until saturated; or do I apply it, simply let it soak in, then reapply until it is saturated with the fat liquor?

    4) What does fully saturated mean in this case, until the fat liquor oozes out when squeezed?

    5) If I don't let the hydrator dry up first, wouldn't the leather be already almost saturated with the hydrator and not be able to absorb the fatliquor?

    Thanks in advance for clarifying.

    Cathy

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