Caring for an original United Sheeplined A-2

[Kennyz]

That jacket looks great after the vaseline treatment, mulceber. Congratulations on this purchase, and enjoy.

Ken

Pilot suggested sealing it in a plastic bag and putting that bag in the freezer for 48 hours, just in case there were still any bugs hanging around. Glad to know that it wasn't necessary, but the jacket seems to have come out the other side just fine. I just finished putting a light coat of vaseline on the jacket (mostly just rubbing the vaseline into my fingers, and then massaging the leather with my hands), and it's already at least half absorbed, which tells me I didn't overdo it.

 

[mulceber]

That jacket looks great after the vaseline treatment, mulceber. Congratulations on this purchase, and enjoy.

Ken

Thanks! I think I struck a good balance with it: the leather feels a bit more "lively," but not tacky at all. Now all I have to do is repair the knits, and it should be ready for regular wear.

 

[B-Man2]

If you get a chance would you post a few before and after photos of the knits and repairs for all to see. This could be a new option to knit replacements.

 

[jeremiah]

Thx...not at all...just a few years older than you...with a bit of try and errors behind...
Thx. anyway...and “ no guts no glory” ( saw this as art work on a jacket).

Fair enough. (Since the age gap associated with knowledge comes up)The advice on the kerosene in the oil pan example was from “old timers” who should have known better though.

 

[mulceber]

Will do. Pretty much the biggest difficulty so far has been color-matching. Computer screens aren't reliable for this, so it basically involves going to a yarn store with a big selection and finding the closest match that you can. The fact that the knits have faded unevenly over time (the inward-facing side being darker than the outward-facing side) makes this even harder.

Managed to find these two, and they look pretty good. At any rate, they're close enough that the difference won't be noticeable when mending small holes.