Hi,
I have a shearling coat that I would love your expert advice on. The coat was a gift to me from an ex-gf ( : I may note that she gifted it to me after we broke up : ).
I have owned this coat for about 15 years and exposed it to large amounts of alkaline dust (ahem Burning Man ahem). I wore it almost yearly for 13 years with minimal maintenance.
About 2 years ago I took my chances and took a hose to it with a gentle soap. It came clean and wore well the following two years.
This year I decided to wash it again to rid it of the dust before storing it. I used a mild vinegar and soap mixture in the bathtub. I aimed a fan at it to dry it over the coarse of 48 hours. It is once again clean but it is *showing signs that it needs rejuvenation. The leather has shrunken and stiffened.
I started out doing my online research as the coat was drying knowing that I would need to rejuvenate the coat. I have Lexol handy, read about not using Mink Oil, looked at Olenauf’s, heard of a couple other products, and know the ancestors used olive oil on their leathers. I still wasn't convinced.
Well tonight I somehow happened upon the proper search terms for cleaning and rejuvenating a shearling coat and to my great relief and surprise I found your site.*
I am attaching pictures but I am guessing that I could use a Hydrator and Fatliquor followed by a Protector.*
http://imgur.com/44tvcS6
http://imgur.com/oHR9xVD
http://imgur.com/bQhxWBF
http://imgur.com/TRLwBaI
http://imgur.com/fYZBOuT
http://imgur.com/qlzuHPo
http://imgur.com/n9V5OCh
http://imgur.com/CgSkbsv
I have a couple questions:
1) What type of coat is this?
2) I would like to know what your recommendations are, especially considering the coats history.*
3) What is the longevity of such a coat (given it’s past and my willingness to take care of it properly going forward).
4) Where can one source a similar coat?*
5) How hard would it be to make a coat like this, given that I have the pattern and moderate haberdashery skills?
6) If I wanted to, how would I dye it blue again?
For a little background, I don’t necessarily take any issue with the coat’s current aesthetic (though I am in favour of aesthetics), I am more wholeheartedly interested in preserving the utility of this coat going forward for years to come.
Any help would be very much appreciated!
Thank you, Thank you,
Best,
esc*