What happened to the leather here and what can I do about it?

[Bluechel]

Just got a nice old A2 from ebay but it arrived with THIS...what?

 

[Boyo]

could be paint, dirt a scuff? not all leathers are brown under the top coat, many are gray/grayish. is the surface worn off here?
in any event start with the least aggressive- a damp cloth and water.

 

[Bluechel]

I tried BICK 4 right away, no impact whatsoever.

 

[Hayes Nash]

If paint or similar, a little bit of rubbing alcohol on a small rag, start with light touch. I have removed paint from leather this way. The harder and longer you rub can eventually remove the color on the leather so take your time.

 

[Bluechel]

It almost looks like it was exposed to alcohol already there?

 

[Rich22]

It looks like coating has come away, perhaps due to exposure to a solvent or heat? It's hard to tell from the photos what exactly we're looking at.

 

[Bluechel]

Agree, that's the problem ultimately. I think I'm going to assume it's solvent exposure and let it stand for a long time then try and spot dye it. BTW was there a "how-to" somewhere on applying dye here?