HD gave me a good tip that I should polish the jacket with sheep wool.
His good tip combined with my creativity (read: laziness) led to this:
Stage 3: the powertool
For this stage we need a polishing machine with a woolen pad:
Definately a worthwhile stage! Its hard to capture it with photos, but the leather has regained lost shine and it isn’t so matte and nubuck-like anymore.
I will continue polishing tomorrow and see if I can make it even better!
The leather is starting to be really really soft and buttery at this point.
A rotary polisher is something I would NEVER have considered. I still remember my almost-new car that I burned a section of paint with a rotary polisher.
But I am surprised at the improvement on your jacket. Did you use anything with the wool pad, or just applied it dry? Just for informational purposes…
I’m firmly in the camp that favors natural aging. But this thread is interesting, and your jacket is looking nice…