TT Leathers jacket resto

[barnabus]

Spurred by a few recent posts on here, and a restless PayPal account, I bought a battered (battered) old TT Leathers quilt-padded jacket.

I scored a proper bargain, I think (you'll remember I operate at the very bottom echelon of jacket pricing), because the eBay seller helpfully used utterly unenticing pictures in his listing, and nobody else even bid.

I'm waiting to hear back from Val at Scott Leathers (who took on the remains of TT Leathers when they fell over) with hopefully some ID and dating info, but in the meantime I can tell you this:

It's badly scuffed and well worn, with sadly a couple of small rips that weren't evident in the seller's photos or listing description. The lining is in good nick and the hide itself (cow, natch!) is absolutely fabulous; thick and tough, but so so soft, pliable and luxurious-feeling. The hardware is still bright and clean, free of any oxidation, and the zips are intact, chunky and foolproof.

Here's the jacket, straight out of the box:

And fortunately for me I think it fits really well. Ok, I like a trim-fitting jacket, and this certainly is one. I'll admit I couldn't have it any smaller. Sleeve length is bang on, back length is too, and open the jacket just looks right. Zipped closed I wouldn't want it any shorter, but I don't think it's too short.

Here's some fit photos:

Of course it went straight in the washing machine, and now it's airing outside in the garden I've noticed there are a few niggly little paint spots visible. They'll have to go. As will the small rips that I already have a plan to deal with.

Watch this space, I think.

 

[JMax]

Wow, nice score. That looks really cool. Length and how it looks zipped is spot on. That is how I like my jackets, trim fitting and at the belt.

 

[marmalademan]

I like the way you operate @barnabus

Another win methinks

 

[handymike]

Looks very Mad Max!
Cool.

 

[bn1966]

You are the Man!!...Great score & style

 

[Monitor]

I don't think I've ever seen a Lewis Leathers that looked as good on someone. Exactly like a motorcycle jacket should fit. It's exactly how a proper racing motorcycle jacket fits. This would've been $2K piece in Japan. Stunningly beautiful jacket. Creases and wear you could only wish for. You may have just doubled the prices of TT jackets... This company was clearly way ahead of the game back in the days.

 

[ton312]

I used to like you @barnabus. Now I'm just filled with jealousy. LOL. Seriously man. That's incredibly cool, fits like it was assembled by nanobots for your frame, and looks badass! Well done! You're batting 1k and it shows!

 

[Gamma68]

I'm not a big fan of padded jackets, but @barnabus, you make this one look really really good, straight out of the box! Does yours also have the Newley-branded snaps like mine?

I think TT Leathers are a real sleeper brand. Not much information available about them as they existed in the shadow of Lewis Leathers. But they seem to have made some very nice jackets. I've received some compliments on my red TT CR when I was out at the bar last week. So their relative obscurity makes them a great deal online. Grab 'em now before the prices shoot up.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Really awesome jacket, and fit that's as perfect as it gets!!

So, washing machine...was there an odor that was bad with it? It just seemed rather clean to me, especially with the bright red lining...

 

[barnabus]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

@ton312, a small taste of your own medicine finally, after constantly posting your own killer jackets and awesome fits!

@Gamma68, plain snaps on this one, unlike yours. Possibly this might be a later example from TT? Hopefully I'll find out when Scott Leathers come back to me.

Absolutely agree about the sleeper brand status too. This is almost as nice a jacket as I've handled, the hide is genuinely lovely, whilst still being clearly thick and robust. I might weigh it later once it's dried fully - at the moment it's still damp and weighs an actual ton.

I certainly got lucky with the combo of under-the-radar brand and lack of seller effort here, because the eBay listing looked almost as though he was trying not to sell it - bafflingly unhelpful photos and scant description. All that meant that there was no other interest in the jacket and the price I paid was ridiculous.

@AeroFan_07, washing machine is my default for anything old. In this case the lining was dirtier than it looks in the photos - the red has dwarfed the visibility of a few stains which I wanted to get rid of. There was a mild residue of cigarette smoke on it, but while it's damp unfortunately that's become more noticeable. I'm sure that will go again before long though.

I actually have some proper plans in mind for this jacket, that I formulated from the seller's pictures before I even bid on it, which is why this thread is titled "resto".

It all starts with the wash, and then I plan to repair the small rips (on the back of the left shoulder there's a small hole, and a scratch that's almost through the hide, and the end of one of the sleeve gussets is a bit chewed), before re-dying the jacket back to black, and then treating it with the Renapur I used on my other old double biker.

I've mentally pictured a clearly-old and well worn jacket that still looks glossy and clean. Let's see.

e: here's a picture of the rear damage. Not the end of the world, but it would be nice if I can satisfactorily deal with it:

e2: also, that added picture gives a hint of how much grain there is evident in the leather. There's some smashing stuff going on here and I'll add some more close up pictures later on.

 

[barnabus]

Just a quick update: everything's dried out now after the wash. No harm done! No crispy hide, no failed seams, no broken zips. Even though it came out of the pillow case withing thirty seconds of the washing machine starting.

The leather is still beautiful, soft and flexible - genuinely lovely to feel. And now the lining looks cleaner and brighter too.

The next stage is to repair the rips and scratches once my repair kit arrives, and then I'll be opening up the black dye.

I'll say it now: I really love this jacket.

 

[Monitor]

How could you not! Did anything at all change? I'm thinking of tossing the Lewis Leathers into the washing machine as it stinks and is quite dirty but I'm scared...

 

[barnabus]

No fundamental changes; just a cleaner looking and better smelling jacket.

All the fantastic creases in the sleeves etc are still there just the same.

I'll get some pictures asap, when I've got some daylight to work with.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Given how much this seems to be referred to here, I think you would do well Monitor to try it, especially if it stinks. As Barnabus did indicate, while it's still wet it *may* smell worse until fully dried out.

I think the harm might be done if you try to dry it quickly. Just air-dry at ambient temps should be fine. Might take a few days. If your washing machine has a "Hand-wash" cycle or Gentle cycle, that may be best. Go sparingly on the detergent. Actually Barnabus, what detergent did you use and how much? Would something Woolite be best?

I'm going to hunt for a "dirty, smoked in" mall jacket in a resale shop in the near future just to try this concept myself.

 

[barnabus]

I confess that I just use whatever detergent we've got in at the time - in this case it was Fairy Non Bio. This TT jacket was washed at 40°, right way round and inside a pillow case.

You're right though that the key is letting it dry naturally I think. I hung the jacket outside on a big broad-shouldered hanger, for several days until dry. Every so often I put it on and wear it a little while while it's damp, just to make sure it stays human shaped and doesn't develop any weird creases from hanging.

Overnight I'll hang it on the same hanger indoors, in the sunniest window, just to keep things moving along.

I think it's also important to replace the oils that the detergent takes out, so Pecards or Renapur or something.

But I've never been afraid to wash a leather jacket. They're tougher than we give them credit for!


e: I've just realised I said at night I hang it in the sun! I mean that I hang it indoors in the window where the sun rises, so it gets more natural warmth in it even before I put it back outside.

 

[barnabus]

Ok, apparently this design was called the Essex jacket. Scott Leathers have not been able to date it any more closely than "eighties", but that puts it at at least thirty years old.

It's in astonishing condition when you think. Perhaps we've become blasé about vintage jackets, such that thirty years old doesn't seem all that long?

 

[Monitor]

Post some pics of how it turned out.

In any case, this thread encouraged me to go through with it. Threw the LL into the washing machine. Two cycles. Machine was spewing out foulest looking water I've seen but the jacket came out perfectly clean and intact. The leather was moldy when I bought the jacket and full of greasy stains but all that is gone now. It looks better than it ever did and more importantly, no odor whatsoever.

However, the jacket is literally 2 sizes larger. Sleeves got 2" and I'm not even kidding! They're almost 27" now and they used to be 25". Ditto for the chest and waist. I wonder if it'll revert back but I have to admit it's really a lot more comfortable now...
What's interesting is that all the zippers used to be a bit wavy before I washed it but now they're straight. I wonder if this is the jackets final form?

Some crappy photos of the jacket straight out of the washing machine.

 

[Gamma68]

^ @Monitor, please let us know if the sleeves and other areas revert back to the original measurements when the jacket is completely dry.

 

[technovox]

Jeezus! That's a beautiful looking jacket! I've become a big fan of padded jackets lately, and that one is a beaut! What a score.

And after all this wash talk, I'll have to consider throwing my vintage padded Bates in the washing machine. The Bates has a smoky smell...more like campfire smoke. I don't mind it actually, but a big bonus if the arms got longer like in the case of Monitor's jacket.

 

[barnabus]

Post some pics of how it turned out.

A quick phone pic, I'll take some better, daylight ones when I can: