Bathroom Guide
I found an old piece of deer skin leather in a closet. It smells funny and is dirty. How can I clean it?
It is basically just a large piece of leather with a little bit of short fur on one side. I don't know how old it is, but it is still soft and flexible. I want to cut it up and use it as covers for journals, but I want to clean it first. How can I do this without ruining it? And once I make the journals, should I cover them with anything to make it last longer? I looked at some of the Lexol stuff, and the lexol-ph looks like it would work fine if I can find it. But if I use that, do I need to condition it afterwards? I am working with a very limited budget, so I'm trying to find a cheap way to do this.
Public Comments
- It might be a good idea to take it to like a dry cleaners and get it cleaned there. They will know what to do without ruining it.
- Lexol is probably your best bet for a leather cleaner, if you can't find it then saddle soap will work. Whether you should cover the journals depends on how the leather is finished. You can buy several leather finishes depending on the effect you want to achieve. I tend to use Carnauba cream, but there are some waterproofing products like neatlac or super shene that might be more appropriate for the effect you desire. You might try your local tandy leather factory or craft store for more options.
- You can use one of 2 things: Cow Care which is a cleaner specifically designed for leather with the hair on (hair on hide) rhis safely cleans the hairs without overwetting, any overwetting will cause the hairs to come out. It also acts as a protector and can be used once you have covered the journals to jelp keep them in good condition If there is any sign of mould on the leather then you should use an enzyme cleaner like Em Clean to help kill the molud. This should only be used on the suede side of the leather and not the hair side, General leather cleaners like Lexol will soak the hairs too much and could lead to problems. Leather does not need conditioning only rehydrating so please do notuse conditioners as these could lead to major problems in the leather particulalry one that has hair on it
