A2 in HOT WATER !!

[silhouette53]

I've seen various references to making a horsehide A2 look a little more 'vintage' by using "hot water treatment". [huh] Does anyone know exactly what this involves ? Is the jacket totally immersed in hot water for a pre-determined period or what ? Does it work and what are the pros & cons of such a venture ? Any help / advice greatly appreciated

 

[DiabolicalAngel]

Careful here ! I did an 80's Aero A-2 in the washing machine, 30 degrees wash, it did a Micheal Jackson on it and came out ten shades lighter than it originally was! Also when it dried out it shrunk slightly having stripped all of what was left of natural oils in it. I also felt very brittle. Good luck on how you do it but as for the Hot Water Treatment - give it a miss it's bound to do some damage !

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Here's an in depth thread on this subject.

Seems rather radical to do to an expensive jacket.


http://www.thefedoralounge.net/showthread.php?t=6667

 

[silhouette53]

RE-THINK !

Thanks guys for the responses - you're right - it all seems a little reckless, I was just curious as to what was involved - guess I'll stick with the 'natural' method and just wear it a lot !

Thanks

Colin

 

[DiabolicalAngel]

Major Nick - The jacket I did was my first ever flight jacket I bought, it was put away for the best part of 20 years and was covered in mildew and smelt a bit musky. Since having the leather reconditioned, relined and new cuffs put on it, my son has hijacket the jacket and wears it with pride, so it hasn't gone to waste but he has gone a bit OTT with the patches tho !

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

So you had nothing to lose.

Major Nick - The jacket I did was my first ever flight jacket I bought, it was put away for the best part of 20 years and was covered in mildew and smelt a bit musky. Since having the leather reconditioned, relined and new cuffs put on it, my son has hijacket the jacket and wears it with pride, so it hasn't gone to waste but he has gone a bit OTT with the patches tho !

And managed to salvage the jacket. Good deal! How much did the leather actally shrink? And about the knits, did they not survive the process?

 

[DiabolicalAngel]

The shrinkage was rather visible on the whole back especially on the edges of the waistband and cuffs. I thought it would be best to replace the knits all round as where the leather had shrunk the cuffs and waistband didn't sit flat but rippled. Some parts shrivelled up and some parts were fine, collar, pocket flaps. The sleeves bowed in slightly especially under the sleeve seam. Other than that, I won't be doing that again !!:eusa_doh:

 

[green papaya]

I walked 3 miles through the cold rain with my A2 last night to give it the "weathered" look lol

constant wet / dry conditions while wearing your jacket should give it a natural worn appearance.

I wouldnt put it in hot water, wearing it often would be a better way [safer]

 

[greyhound68]

For those of you who would like to try the Hot water treatment here is how John Chapman does it. He is a master of this technique and has done a couple of jackets for me with no bad results. It is also not a quick process as one can see from his instructions below.

For the hot water technique, I simply let the leather sit under running hot water for about 30 seconds, and then dry it off (not letting the non-leather elements get wet). I then wrinkle the leather and try to get natural texture to come out, sometimes with very vigorous mashing of the leather with my hands. Afterwards, I let the leather sit and dry naturally, or wear the jacket, as the leather really is completely wet. Since the leather's been mashed, the natural texture comes out and it looks a lot more like the older leather, rather than stiff and straight. The modern techniques of tanning tend to add a little too much pigment or finish on the top of the leather, and it becomes too stiff and featureless, so hot water relaxes it. I've never completely removed the top finish, but have only softened it to a state of looking more natural, or realistic as an original does. It takes a little while to work all the leather of a jacket, and your hands will hurt after about ten minutes of such activity, so it may take a couple days to get a jacket softened. Using hot water on leather may cause it to shrink a little, and become stiff at first once it dries. If it's mashed over a period of time, it will be even more soft than when it was new, so the work involved can be quite a bit.
Now the result of one of his hot water treatments:

 

[DiabolicalAngel]

That is a sound looking jacket now ! Great tip on correct way of doing it !! When you say 'mash' it do you mean scrunching the leather or physically beating the hell out of it?

 

[Katt in Hat]

Try to hook up with a Storm Chaser this Spring

Seek out a likely hail producer.

Drive like hell...

Get out of the car!

wear a hat...

:arated:

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Ahhh,....so THAT'S how it's done!

For those of you who would like to try the Hot water treatment here is how John Chapman does it. He is a master of this technique and has done a couple of jackets for me with no bad results. It is also not a quick process as one can see from his instructions below.

For the hot water technique, I simply let the leather sit under running hot water for about 30 seconds, and then dry it off (not letting the non-leather elements get wet). I then wrinkle the leather and try to get natural texture to come out, sometimes with very vigorous mashing of the leather with my hands. Afterwards, I let the leather sit and dry naturally, or wear the jacket, as the leather really is completely wet. Since the leather's been mashed, the natural texture comes out and it looks a lot more like the older leather, rather than stiff and straight. The modern techniques of tanning tend to add a little too much pigment or finish on the top of the leather, and it becomes too stiff and featureless, so hot water relaxes it. I've never completely removed the top finish, but have only softened it to a state of looking more natural, or realistic as an original does. It takes a little while to work all the leather of a jacket, and your hands will hurt after about ten minutes of such activity, so it may take a couple days to get a jacket softened. Using hot water on leather may cause it to shrink a little, and become stiff at first once it dries. If it's mashed over a period of time, it will be even more soft than when it was new, so the work involved can be quite a bit.
Now the result of one of his hot water treatments:

Thanks Greyhound, now that makes more sense than what I had heard or imagined in the past about the hot water treatment. I've actually done it ,....but WITHOUT the water! Just sort of wrinkled the leather vigorously to get some grain started in it. Kinda does work but it's a lot of tedious effort.
Not allowing the wool knit elements to get wet makes perfect sense, as I am well aware of what can happen to wool items of clothing when they are soaked. The results can be frightful to say the least.
As to the leather getting a bit dried out after it's been treated, ....is there a good leather conditioner available for this? I'm not a fan of such treatments as mink oil,( ).....or neet'sfoot oil, ( whatever that is [huh] )
I believe Aero Leather makes one that is considered to be best?

 

[dr greg]

vinegar

I found this totally covered in mould in an old shed, utterly white and stiff as a board. Scrubbed it with vinegar, left in the sun for a fortnight, soaked it in neatsfoot oil, left in the sun for a month or so...voila..how old think u all, fifties?

 

[Pilgrim]

I'd call that a truly remarkable revivification!

You used the vinegar to kill the mold, correct??

 

[dr greg]

mould

yep, just the cheap stuff and a shoebrush and rags, I usually use lemon juice for small spots that pop up here all the time due to the humidity, which is bad at the moment...but it's heresy to hope for too much dry weather in a farming area! Just gotta keep an eye on shoe and jacket maintenance.And hats as well, the mould will get into the felt if it's too moist from sweat etc.

 

[dr greg]

more

the buttons were all gone too, as the threads had rotted, so it's fitted out with WW2/Korea Australian Army greatcoat buttons which burnish up nicely on the map in the centre, I had to back them up on the inside with some bakelite ones I had lying round to take stress off the old sewing points.

 

[MudInYerEye]

Earlier than 50's. My unexpert opinion is that jacket was made circa 1925-1935.

 

[dr greg]

ageing beauty

Wow, big call.. it also doesn't have what I think Levi's called 'fruit pockets' when introduced to the denim jacket, so it would sit well with those old high-waist trousers Robert Ryan would wear

 

[bburtner@moran]

I've seen various references to making a horsehide A2 look a little more 'vintage' by using "hot water treatment". [huh] Does anyone know exactly what this involves ? Is the jacket totally immersed in hot water for a pre-determined period or what ? Does it work and what are the pros & cons of such a venture ? Any help / advice greatly appreciated

Washed my Eastman Roughwear A2 ,took a gamble.Washed in cold H2O and even dried the damn thing.Came out 50 years older!

 

[bfrench]

Washed my Eastman Roughwear A2 ,took a gamble.Washed in cold H2O and even dried the damn thing.Came out 50 years older!

Would you mind elaborating as to how you did it exactly.

Did you completely soak the jacket in the washing machine, how long, did the lining get wet?

How did you dry it - in an automatic dryer - or just let it sit and dry out?

Bill French