A few tips to start the cold season:
Carefully go over your leather to see if any repairs are needed, broken zippers, seams giving out. Better to find out now than when you need it. Oil the zippers with sewing mach oil.
Water Proof - A spray water repellent will not hurt your leather. A water repellent will help any unfinished brushed or naked leather. However, if you get caught in a downpour, don't expect any water repellent to keep your leathers completely dry! Water will eventually soak into the leather. Once again, try any water repellent on a hidden area before spraying it on the outside of your garment. One thing I like to use spray water repellents for is leather care and conditioning for my boots. I saturate my boots with the repellent, that way when I get water spray when riding or if I walk through puddles in winter after the parking lots have been salted I have a chance of keeping the salt from soaking into my leather and leaving that terrible salt line behind. I have never found a way to get that salt stain out of my boots once its there. Incidentally, it's not the water that spots leather, it's the minerals in the water that stay behind once the water evaporates. ALWAYS, ALWAYS SPRAY WATER REPELLENTS IN A HIGHLY VENTILATED AREA, OR BETTER YET, OUTSIDE. Some water repellents have been known to make people dizzy or cause other health problems if they have a lot of silicone in them.
Many people swear by mink oil to condition and waterproof their motorcycle leather. There are really two fundamentally different approaches to motorcycle leather care: The way I describe mink oil vs. a Lexol-type leather conditioner, it's like putting Vaseline on your hands vs. Jergens lotion. Mink oil will clog the pores of your leather, just as Vaseline creates a barrier between your skin and the environment. That's why it will make your leather motorcycle accessories waterproof. It will also eventually dry out your leather because the pores are clogged. You will also notice your leather accessories may have a whitish haze to it. That's what happens when mink oil solidifies in cold weather. To answer the question, it makes more sense to put mink oil on your boots, if you so desire, and use a conditioner specifically designed for leather care and the conditioning of quality Deer, Elk, Buffalo, and Cow hide.
Tips for how to keep motorcycle leather from fading:
If left untreated, all leather is subject to fading from the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays. There is really only one leather care product that effectively prevents your leather from doing the slow-fade dance: 303 Aerospace Protectant. With regular use, this leather conditioning product prevents fading up to 100%. In addition, it conditions your motorcycle leather so that it is highly soil, oil, and water-resistant without clogging the pores of the leather or making them slick or sticky. An effective sunscreen for your leather will help ensure that your leather accessories will look better and last longer.
More information at http://www.k9az.com/hotdealswebpage/leathercare
Many of the inferior imported leathers and boots will salt stain without being exposed to road salts. Especially the urine tanned products from Pakistan and the near east. Many will also retain an odd aroma that lasts and lasts.
Lonnie
Any chrome or vegtable tanned leather will devlop salt stains. The only way to get get of salt stains is before the item dries dunk the whole thing in hot tap water and let it dry evenly. Many of the cheap imported boots come with salt stains because the entire boot was not wetted or mulled evenly before lasting. The pakis and indians are devloping better tanning process but the stench comes from reusing rinse water in the wet blue stage and poor fleshing techniques. In other words the smell is rotting meat not urine. The salt is not neccesarily from road salt but is internal to the leather it is leached out from wetting. Once it is there the only way to cure it is to redye the leather with a high ammonia content die such as Lincoln dye. Alcohol and oil dyes can sometimes make it worse by fixing the stain permantly.
Tom
www.civilwarboots.com
It isn't a good idea to use petroleum based oils on the zipper, use wax. it will last longer and will not break down the stitching or leather.
Lanolin based leather treatments are best, they restore the lost moisture of the leather.
I have used sewing machine oil on my zippers forever. I don't soak it just put a dorp or 2 and run the zipper up and donw. Finally broke the zipper a couple years ago on a MC jacket I bought in 1964
