Advice on Aero jacket

[AeroFan_07]

Rikard, I'm with you here completely. I have a Cafe Racer I bought about 4 years back and some of the wear patters seem, well, odd to me. Having had well-oiled leather boots since I was a teenager (Red wing Pecos pull-ons then) I understand and value leather maintence to a degree. So it was difficult for me not to apply some type of oil or wax to these jackets upon noticing the wear. It's with me today, and has softened up extensively, and I'm very used to the finish (tea-core Horween leather) at this point.

Any new fit photos showing the break in?

 

[Rickard_H]

Great to hear AeroFan! So you never waxed or oiled your Caféracer and it turned out nice with some wear?

 

[Rickard_H]

Another thing, I'm just getting more and more certain that it was right to choose the longer Wayfarer instead of the shorter Half Belt. It's great to have a little longer back on windy days.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Hello Rikard, so I actually never have touched the CR with oil or wax at all. When I'm back from travels I'll get some photos updated which show it with 3+ years of wear & tear. It's Steerhide. I really like the front design of your Wayfarer, very neat appearance. Neat that you enjoy photography, that's a hobby of mine as well.

 

[Woodyear]

Don’t overthink it, leather is incredibly resilient which is why it’s such a utilitarian material. I find that jackets need a treatment after 5-10 years depending on use at the very earliest and often not even then. If you do it more often you’ll have a greasy, heavy jacket with no patina. There’s nothing worse than a car that someone has slathered for years with armor all or something equivalently greasy and shiny. Depending on the type of oil it can also go rancid and rot cotton stitching. When new it is literally full of oil, anything you apply will just sit on the surface attracting dirt and making things sticky and shiny. If your jacket is heavy which I’m sure it is, it’s because it’s packed with waxes and oils. For contrast you can compare to a rawhide dog bone which is just dried out cow hide and extremely light.

 

[Rickard_H]

Great to have you guys