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Aero Cordovan FQHH cracking/peeling problems

JanW

New in Town
Messages
43
Hi all,

I'm enjoying my Aero highwayman (a bit under a year old) and its breaking in nicely. However, I noticed this patch of cracking/peeling leather near where my right elbow stretches.

This does *not* seem like patina/the top finish peeling off as I think the peeling is quite deep, almost as if it was scraped across a jagged surface (only I've scraped other parts of the jacket along a jagged surface, and those have held up much better than this). It also does not feel dry enough to crack, it actually feels quite soft and supple. I've used a tiny bit of saphir renovateur on the area, and rubbed it down so its less noticeable, but I understand a jacket this age shouldn't need any conditioning.

The photos are after the renovateur:







I'm really liking the jacket so far, and am worried that this might be a symptom of something more serious involving the leather. Any ideas?

Thanks!
 

Mark

Practically Family
Messages
638
Location
UK
Are you sure you have not just rubbed it against something? Ask the Aero folks for their opinion, i have always found them to be very responsive and helpful in the past when i have had problem with a jacket.
 

Sloan1874

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,425
Location
Glasgow
It does look as if it's been dragged across a rough surface - none of my Aeros have had anything similar to it. As my response to all these sorts of things is: get in touch with Aero, they'll be able to tell you whether you have a serious issue there. My feeling is that it's a thick seam and unlikely to cause you any problems.
 

JanW

New in Town
Messages
43
At this point I *hope* its just inadvertent wear. I would actually have no problem if that was the case.

Have sent an email to Aero with the pics, hoping this gets sorted out.
 

Lean'n'mean

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,086
Location
Cloud-cuckoo-land
I've seen the 'dragged accross a rough surface' look like this on cheaper leathers (top grain/corrected grain) at stress points, where the underlying fibres start to break, causing the artificial coating to crack & peel. I've no idea if this is your problem but the leather in the photos doesn't look that great.
 

JanW

New in Town
Messages
43
The strange thing is I actually *have* dragged another part of the jacket across a rough surface (a shoulder seam through an unfinished concrete wall), and it looks nothing like this. See the photo of the other part in question:


multi hosting

Given this, It's very odd.
 
Messages
16,805
Nothing to worry about.

CXL has a very heavy top coat / finish that just isn't very durable so it's just peeling off at this part. The thing is, if it was anywhere else but on the seam, I'd maybe be a little bit worried but being at the seam, I'm actually surprised this doesn't happen more often. The seam is hammered before being stitched 'cause the leather is very hard to fold so there's a lot of stress done to it and the top coat (and just the top coat) may start cracking a bit like that but honestly, there's nothing to worry about.

The leather underneath looks perfectly fine, no damage to the leather has been done whatsoever, there's no cracking... And if you say it feels soft and fine then you're good. It's just the top coat. You could've scraped it across a wall or something and the same thing would've happened.

With time, you'll be discovering this sorta thing all over your jacket 'cause the CXL scuffs easily. Like, extremely easily. It's actually designed to do that so while it may lose that brand new look very quickly, CXL itself is extremely durable hide.

Forget about the fancy leather conditioners and lotions - You can literally cover this with some cheapest brown shoe paste and you won't know the difference.
 

jacketjunkie

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,318
Location
Germany
This fuzzy, napped surface I have only seen on very old leather jackets before, you know, the ones that start to disintegrate into dust because they have seen too little care..

That being said, the spot is tiny, the leather incredibly thick and it's more than unlikely that this phenomena is contagious. I think you are good.
 

Hh121

Banned
Messages
3,004
That is not uncommon for horween cxl leather, I remembered there is a post in reddit about complain crack in horween CXL boots. Also, there are numbers people encounter the crack in shoulder part of their jacket.
 

Butch_Coolidge

Familiar Face
Messages
85
This is the exact reason why you don’t put elbows on the dinner table. You keep them neatly folded in your lap. But really, wouldn’t you say that the greatest stress point on any jacket would be the elbow? I’m sure it would be further affected depending on being light or left handed. I think the wear is minuscule. Just wear and enjoy [emoji6] IMHO.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

TREEMAN

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,564
Location
USA
All those peels look like there going in the same direction... it was rubbed or scraped on something....maybe you forgot or didn't realize it. I think if it was peeling on it's own it would look different. Sure you didn't lean on something very hot ?
 
Messages
15,563
Location
East Central Indiana
I have several Aero CXL FQHH jackets in different styles and have had others along the way. I think I bought my CXL Highwayman ( first Aero jacket )in 2001. Newest jackets were purchased in 2011. Never had this peeling or flaking problem, but I don't scrape my jackets against cement, brick or stone walls and the top coats have never started deteriorating with wear. So I don't get the idea that this is common for this leather. Not for me. If it was I'd never buy another.
HD
 
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JanW

New in Town
Messages
43
I really don't think it was scraped on something hard. Likewise, the leather hasn't been damp for a while, certainly not before I noticed this.

The best I can think if is my sitting position and that part constantly scraping against my desk, but my desk isn't rough and shouldn't cause that much damage.

Area is small, maybe 1 1/12 inch along the elbow seam.
 

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