TwelveOClockHigh
New Member
I recently acquired a B-3 made by Aero Leather Co. It is in very good condition. While the leather and zipper are in excellent condition, the shearling lining was very dirty. It seemed as if the owner(s) had left it under an idling B-17, a dark soot covering the trunk area of the jacket. If I wore a white shirt underneath the jacket, it became somewhat grey. So after inquiring and hunting around the net, the consensus seemed to be just use warm water and a clean cloth towel. Detergents and soaps are discouraged as they remove oils from the fleece.
I have tried a product that is especially made for cleaning shearling. It’s called Eucalan and the great thing about it is you apply it by hand or cloth and wipe off as much as you can with a dry towel. No rinsing required. It has lanolin in it so the shearling remains pliable. I could actually see where I missed spots the next day, it was that dramatic. I went through 7 hand towels getting the sooty residue off. It also removed the petroleum-graphite smell.
I am going to try it on a musty Links RAF jacket I have. It could almost be used for cannibalizing as it has rotten leather, incomplete zippers, broken stitching and really dry leather. But I can’t bring myself to this, so I’ll experiment by cleaning the fleece.
Hope this helps.
Mark
I have tried a product that is especially made for cleaning shearling. It’s called Eucalan and the great thing about it is you apply it by hand or cloth and wipe off as much as you can with a dry towel. No rinsing required. It has lanolin in it so the shearling remains pliable. I could actually see where I missed spots the next day, it was that dramatic. I went through 7 hand towels getting the sooty residue off. It also removed the petroleum-graphite smell.
I am going to try it on a musty Links RAF jacket I have. It could almost be used for cannibalizing as it has rotten leather, incomplete zippers, broken stitching and really dry leather. But I can’t bring myself to this, so I’ll experiment by cleaning the fleece.
Hope this helps.
Mark