hi all, i,ve had my dainese suit hanging in the wardrobe for about 4 years now and took it out today for a look and to see if i could still get in it lol. i,ve only worn it once and still looks like new but leather is looking quite dry but not cracking. whats the best stuff to use to put some life back into it. thanks all
I use the turtle wax leather cleaner and restorer mate, great for digging the grime out and feeds the leather too
Feed it as explained Rocket, but build up the feed over a few days, one application at a time to let the moisturiser work its way through the thickness of the hide.
Hey, I have tended to stick to two product lines for my leather needs, Either Autoglym's Leather cleaner and Leather Care Balm or gliptone's Liquid Leather Cleaner GT12 and Liquid Leather conditioner and Water proofer GT13. Both these product lines have the added benefit of having a waterproofing element to the conditioners and very easy to work with. I use the cleaner with a damp microfiber towel rapped round a bug sponge so I don’t lean too heavy when cleaning as it’s easy to lift dye if scrubbing too hard. Also utilise a nail brush to gently remove any bug guts from the stitching. Once done another damp microfiber to apply conditioner leave 10 mins to dry and gently buff off with a dry microfiber. HTH
Ken, I'm not sure this is still the case as new leather products tend to get a polyurethane dye painted onto them rather than the old dye techniques as it’s stronger and easier to maintain. I know this is the case for car interiors but not sure about MC leathers.
The gliptones gets the thumbs up from me too for conditioning them , but for cleaning I have best results with good old fashioned warm soapy water . I use a fairy liquid soap bar and gently lather it up ! Works a treat and so simple
thanks guys i,ll try the autoglym as recommended here i think as always used there polishes with great results. well i,m on a cleaning fest (i hate winter nights lol) what about cleaning a textile bike jacket. its silvery / white in colour and shows up everything. would half hour in the washing machine hurt it ?? or is there a better way?
Thanks for the heads up Shiny. In a previous life many, many years ago part of my remit was to clean and re colour leather and suede. No fancy long chain molecules to help back then. The elderly, brown coated, nose end spectacled chemist that taught me his trade swore by Oil of Ulay for the dried up, cracking areas of old leather. Made it smell nice too. You know I've always used Autoglym on the leather in the cars but never thought to use it on my bike gear. Mind you, love them or hate them, the Dainese stuff really retains its suppleness well, no matter what and I've found leather care wet wipes great at debugging. Then I use a nail brush on the Lycra inserts. My missus wets herself that I use more 'product' on my kit than I do my skin. Washing textiles is a bit of a gamble. Is there a care label on it? They're designed to get wet but most of the damage done to "do not wash" gear in a washing machine is down to the agitator ion process, not the water. When textiles get wet the fibres soften and can be distorted. That's how you make felt out of wool. Dry cleaning doesn't use water, it uses solvent which doesn't soften fibres. This is why you can dry clean Kashmir safely. If you can see a care label on it that says its safe to wash it I'd use a soft nail brush and something like soap flakes, detergent will destroy any waterproofing chemicals its been treated with, and only rub with the weave and be prepared for ground in crud to stay there, scrubbing at it can cause even Kevlar to 'felt'. And that's part of why I wear black.
I use Zymol leather cleaner to get all the bugs and mess off them and then feed them with Autoglym leather care cream. It leaves the leather a bit shiny but it seems to moisturise it really well and I really only care about keeping the leather in good condition so that'll do for me.
I also have a Dainese leather suit and its still looking as new as when I bought it 2 years ago. I use Renapur gentle leather cleaner and a soft cloth to clean the leather. I also use a toothbrush on the more stubborn bits of dirt using a gentle swirling motion. Then i would dry the leather using a micro fibre cloth and then apply some Renapur leather balsam to help feed and protect the suit. A small amount goes a long way and it brings up the leather to near as new as you once bought it. Its a bit pricey but it does last and will protect all leather clothing, suites etc.
Wet wipes as recommended to me by a chap who works in Moto gp for Daniese. That or Gliptone leather cleaner and Autogym are both excellent
