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Thread: Very dry and stiff Shearling coat

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Posts
    2

    Default Very dry and stiff Shearling coat

    Hello,

    I’m new here. I’m trying to repair an original shearling coat. When I got it, the state of the coat was fairly ok, still very soft even though some areas were stiffer and a bit rough. Especially around the collar.

    However, after a year I was at party and some guest poured an entire glass of some juice on it and left it like that without a word. I didn’t notice it until next morning as I woke up at the party. Having consumed large amounts of liquor all through the night, once home my mistake was to soak the coat in the shower with hot water and leave it to dry in the bathroom that happened to be very hot before passing out in my bed. As a result, the leather is very dry, some parts are much stiffer than others, and some look like they might even tear.

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    So, I purchased the Ss4 Suede kit and have completed the cleaning and rinsing steps. I still have one spot on the back that I am having troubles with, but I'm hoping to eventually get it sorted out. You can probably see that this stain is on the middle of the back. In fact, I wouldn't call it a stain, looks like the leather is a bit messed up there, but that was already there when I got the coat.

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    I have also completely used up the 250ml Hydrate 3.3 bottle that came with the kit. Although, due to the extreme dryness of the coat, I was very far from being able to saturate the leather. To give you an idea, the leather soaked the hydrator so fast, that it seemed almost useless to wrap the coat in plastic film, as it had all been absorbed/evaporated with very little dampness left.

    While these steps seem to have already improved the overall state of the leather, I realised that I did not have nearly enough product to actually properly pre-condition the leather, nor enough Fatliquor 5.0 to actually replenish it.

    The whole coat weighs approximately 1.3kg and I assume the fat content is very low:

    How much Hydrator 3.3 should I need? Will a Quart/1L be sufficient?

    As for the Fatliquor 5.0, I was considering a Quart/1L to be sufficient since I still have a full 250ml bottle on hand, but given the calculations you provided per 100gr of leather with a 1% fat/oil content, I’m not sure. Will a Quart/1L be enough, or do I need the 250ml Concentrated solution to apply enough coats to fully replenish the leather?

    Also, do you advise applying Fatliquor 5.0 after the pre-conditioner has totally dried out, or while it is still somewhat damp?



    Best regards,
    Johann

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Greater Vancouver, Canada.
    Posts
    5,102

    Default

    >>> When I got it, the state of the coat was fairly ok, still very soft even though some areas were stiffer and a bit rough. Especially around the collar.

    The collar is where the sweat has been absorbed and when it ferments the sweat contamination turns alkaline and this alkalinity denatures the suede and push or leach out the original fatliquor, sometimes you see white residues are the leach out fatliquor.
    To rejuvenate this sweat contaminated area will require to pH balance the alkalinity over exposure with a low pH cleaner like CleanPro-1.5 > Acidifier-2.0 system (note the product name suffix number represent the pH value of the product). The pH balancing process recharge the protein leather fiber ionic positive (+ve) so that the ionic negative (-ve) Fatliquor-5.0 hydrogen bond to return to the suppleness of the suede. To rejuvenate the leather for suppleness will require Hydrator-3.3 > Fatliquor-5.0 > Hydrator-3.3 process.


    >>> How much Hydrator 3.3 should I need? Will a Quart/1L be sufficient? As for the Fatliquor 5.0, I was considering a Quart/1L to be sufficient since I still have a full 250ml bottle on hand, but given the calculations you provided per 100gr of leather with a 1% fat/oil content, I’m not sure. Will a Quart/1L be enough, or do I need the 250ml Concentrated solution to apply enough coats to fully replenish the leather?

    Ratio of Hydrator-3.3 : Fatliquor-5.0 is 3 or 2: 1. Will need more Hydrator-3.3 to fully soak and relax the suede and stretch back to size prior to Fatliquor-5.0. Both of these products have a long shelf live up to 5 years minimum and left over may be used again in other project as well. 250ml Fatliquor Con (= 1.58 Quart when mix with distilled water). 60ml Hydrator-3.3 Con (= 1.64 Quart when mix with distilled water). Minimum you will need 2 bottles of 60ml con Hydrator.


    >>> Also, do you advise applying Fatliquor 5.0 after the pre-conditioner has totally dried out, or while it is still somewhat damp?


    pH-Balancing, Cleaning, Stain Removal, Hydrating and Fatliquoring is a continuous wet process.
    If there is juice stain you may want to treat with CleanTannin-3.5 first and let it dry before going over with the rest of the wet cleaning process:
    CleanTannin-3.5 > CleanPro-1.5 > Acidifier-2.0 > Hydrator-3.3 > Fatliquor-5.0 > Hydrator-3.3

    Kit-Ss3
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    See standard instruction from this link:
    http://www.leatherdoctor.com/kit-ss3...uede-care-kit/


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    Roger Koh
    Leather, Skin, Eye, Hair & Acne Care System Formulator
    Consultant / Practitioner / Instructor / Coach
    web: www.leatherdoctor.com
    forum: www.leathercleaningrestorationforum.com
    email: [email protected]
    Last edited by Roger Koh; 09-09-2019 at 11:40 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Posts
    2

    Default

    Thank you for the detailed information.
    Have a great week,
    Johann

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2022
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    30

    Default

    You may use a leather conditioner which you can easily find in the market to soften your dry and stiff leather.

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