A2 RW on EBay

[Erwin]

Identified Wright Field Ohio Pre WW2 Leather Jacket A-2 AirForce Army Military • $445.00

IDENTIFIED WRIGHT FIELD Ohio Pre WW2 Leather Jacket A-2 AirForce Army Military - $445.00. FOR SALE! This authentic period jacket belonged to Walter W. Woodard. I was told he was in Troop C 107th Cavalry Ohio. I do have a photo from 1929 of the 107th on horseback that I will be posting and was...

picclick.com

 

[johnwayne]

Nice and a decent size albeit prob more akin to a modern 40” but be interesting to see what it ultimately goes for! Always quite liked that patch!!

 

[WW2 Buff]

I love the jacket! However, what about the small white spots? Is that mildew or paint drops? The seller wrote the specs should clean off, but they're historical. I ask because I know from experience, sometimes these vintage jackets were in a room while the room was being painted and the jacket would get paint spots.

 

[mulceber]

Definitely mildew, imho.

 

[Silver Surfer]

I can't really tell if its paint or mildew. either way, if the spots were to be cleaned off, it will leave tell tale light spots where the spots were. the jacket looks smaller than a size 42....at least to my eyes.

 

[caddyd]

That original Rough Wear's a nice one with good, solid hide and will probably bid high.

 

[Anorak]

Definitely mildew, imho.

Can you clean mildew?

 

[mulceber]

Yeah, a good damp rag will get rid of it, at least the visible traces. There might be some more advanced and thorough treatments.

 

[Dany McDonald]

Can you clean mildew?

An effective way to actually get rid of mildew (the fungus) is Borax mixed with water. Its non-toxic and safe, especially for leather.

Because of the pattern and how its spread, I am unconvinced its mildew.

Cheers,
D

 

[Anorak]

Yeah, a good damp rag will get rid of it, at least the visible traces. There might be some more advanced and thorough treatments.

Ok cool, so if it was mildew it is not necessarily detrimental to the jacket?

 

[mulceber]

Not to the degree that red rot would be, at any rate.

 

[coolhandluke]

Because of the pattern and how its spread, I am unconvinced its mildew.

Cheers,
D

+1, it looks like it very well may be "white bloom" rather than mildew growth.

 

[warguy]

I agree white bloom or residue from old conditioning. My experience is this stuff cleans off pretty easily.

 

[Dany McDonald]

+1, it looks like it very well may be "white bloom" rather than mildew growth.

To my eye, its looks very much like paint speckles. And mildew or mold have a different pattern of spreading, with denser areas or star like dots going outward, etc...

I'd prefer to deal with a mild case of mold, like I said, Borax with water is very very efficient with getting rid of that. Paint is a different game, you need a solvent or thinner to lift the dot without affecting the surface, leather in this case.

Or you just leave it alone, and that's ok too.

But a nice jacket for sure!


D

 

[mulceber]

+1, it looks like it very well may be "white bloom" rather than mildew growth.

That’s fair - tbh, I’m really not sure it’s mildew specifically, but I am pretty confident it’s a minor fungus. I’ve seen stuff like it on leather before and it comes off pretty easily. I haven’t tried the borax+water treatment, but I could believe it.

 

[coolhandluke]

That’s fair - tbh, I’m really not sure it’s mildew specifically, but I am pretty confident it’s a minor fungus. I’ve seen stuff like it on leather before and it comes off pretty easily. I haven’t tried the borax+water treatment, but I could believe it.

It just thought that it looked very similar to the white bloom that I've encountered after using Pecards on vintage leather holsters, rifle slings, and baseball gloves. I actually stopped using Pecards because of it. The "bloom" is just displaced salts, waxes, oils, etc that have leeched onto the surface after being treated with a leather preservative. A couple examples are shown below. If it is white bloom, it isn't harmful, but some cases of it can be quite stubborn and hard to get rid of.

 

[mulceber]

Wow, yeah, that is a match, both for that RW and what I’ve seen in the past.

 

[Anorak]

It just thought that it looked very similar to the white bloom that I've encountered after using Pecards on vintage leather holsters, rifle slings, and baseball gloves. I actually stopped using Pecards because of it. The "bloom" is just displaced salts, waxes, oils, etc that have leeched onto the surface after being treated with a leather preservative. A couple examples are shown below. If it is white bloom, it isn't harmful, but some cases of it can be quite stubborn and hard to get rid of.

View attachment 157765

View attachment 157767

How would you remove white bloom?

 

[coolhandluke]

How would you remove white bloom?

It literally just wipes off. It's just a crystalized powdery residue. The issue is keeping it from coming back. Supposedly heating the surface to help draw out the leeching salts and fats helps speed up the process. There's specific leather care products for treating spue, but I wouldn't use them on vintage leather with any substantive value. On the pieces that I have that were effected, I just gave the piece a periodic wipe down and the bloom slowly dissipated and stopped over time. The only item that would not stop blooming was a modern reproduction M1907 sling. I ended up dunking it in rubbing alcohol and that cured the issue. I would never suggest such a drastic treatment on anything vintage though.

 

[Micawber]

Lots of conjecture and good advice but obviously in hand examination is the only way to be certain.