Care to elaborate? Except for the fact that it's not "authentic", I've found almost nothing written about it.
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Educate me on A-2 leather finishes
- Thread starter Banzai
- Start date
Camel24hrs
Active Member
I have spoken to 3 different people who purchased five star jackets with pull up leather. All of them regretted it. I have yet to hear from someone who bought five star pull up leather that liked it.
That’s good to know. I did some google searching of this forum, and TFL, and came up with just about zero info.
Camel24hrs
Active Member
denny@aero
Well-Known Member
Aero don't offer Chromexcel in any of their A2 jackets,( as you have said it is nothing like what was originaly used) we offer Jerky which is Chrome / Pigment , Vicenza which is Veg / semi aniline , Badalassi which is Veg / full AnilineNo offence but people come on here several times a year asking these same questions. It doesn't matter with the tanning or "finishing", NOBODY MAKES LEATHER THE SAME AS THEY DID IN THE 30S OR 40S.
The "finishing" by which I think you mean top coat and/or sealing after tanning won't really change anything.
By the way "pull-up" leather which Aero uses as a term is nothing like wartime A-2 jackets. And Aero's CXL leathers - whilst beautiful - are also nothing like original A-2 leather, trust me, I have one
Sorry, I didn't mean Aero offers Chromexcel on the A2, but just in general on a lot of other jackets. "Pull up" is a thing I learned about just a few days ago, and wondered just how viable it was for a jacket, since one maker offers it for A2s. Someone pointed out that Chromexcel is the OG "pull up", and since Aero seems to use it in a lot of models, it must be pretty ok for a jacket, even if not A2 appropriate/accurate.
denny@aero
Well-Known Member
"Pull Up" leathers are great for jackets. Pull up is the dissipation of oils / waxes beneath the surface of aniline finish leathers, giving a "marbeling "effect , is you fold the leather you get a lighter line long fold , that can then be rubbed back in and disappear
Blackboxr1200S
Well-Known Member
Had no idea as a noob ... Interesting read about leather.
And as for this top grain vs full grain discussion.
The leather shown in the QC pics, doesn't look very different from the RW I got in May 2023.
Just know, it's holding up pretty good.
15 months period between the pictures. Ages just fine.
P-47 thunderbolt
Well-Known Member
Although pigment finish is correct for a WW2 A2 jacket, the pigments today are different from those used in the 40s. Pigment is essentially a paint finish. Modern pigment especially on the lower priced leathers tends to be plastic and shiny.
Unsure but I expect 40s pigments had lead in them.
Anyway 40s pigment was had a matte finish.
This would wear over time to the full penetrated dyed, chrome tanned leather beneath.
More subtle than the wear on modern pigment finishes hides.
Less contrast as I see it.
That is why aniline/semi aniline finishes make for an accurate looking repro.
Unsure but I expect 40s pigments had lead in them.
Anyway 40s pigment was had a matte finish.
This would wear over time to the full penetrated dyed, chrome tanned leather beneath.
More subtle than the wear on modern pigment finishes hides.
Less contrast as I see it.
That is why aniline/semi aniline finishes make for an accurate looking repro.
Juanito
Well-Known Member
Sure lots, ranging from Lost Worlds to Five Star.
Pilot
Well-Known Member
And others
Southoftheborder
Well-Known Member
Of course it begs the question of what kind of accurate repro the makers are trying to reproduce? Is it a new in the box wartime jacket which looks the same as an issued one in 1942 or a well used many decades old one which might pass as an original to someone who was not an expert? I'm in the original in a box camp - and as I posted in another similar thread a few days ago an early chrome tanned pigmented hide GoodWear I had was the closest I've seen to that.
Using veg tanned aniline hide can make a jacket look like a well used original once it's well broken in if that is what the maker is aiming for, and for film use or something like that it might make sense. But remember the jackets were new once and most in use did not have time to get very old and well worn.
I hadn’t even considered the lead potential. That would be no good.
Low-level radiation shielding?
Nickb123
Well-Known Member
I could be dead wrong, but I recall this photo as a reenacter wearing a U.S. Authentic repro?
flyincowboy
Well-Known Member
Yes the more i read the more confusing it will be! Do not forget that all the hide are" wet blue" once tanned (chrome tanned )then the finish is either semi veg tanned , with anylin , fat s and dye... just to shortenning the time for the hide to become a workable leather... with a lot of different finishs.
@the shop when we ask for some leather we have the choice veg tan or chrome tanned ..... For car seats we use chrome tanned leather which to me is the best . waterproof .abrasive resistant supple and uv proof. veg tanned leather is suitable for saddlery bags satchels belts and a lot of other goodies.
@the shop when we ask for some leather we have the choice veg tan or chrome tanned ..... For car seats we use chrome tanned leather which to me is the best . waterproof .abrasive resistant supple and uv proof. veg tanned leather is suitable for saddlery bags satchels belts and a lot of other goodies.
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That looks amazing! Which leather option did you pick for that jacket? I was planning on ordering one in their Premium HH Russet, like the kind they used on the Werber 1729 they just released.
Southoftheborder
Well-Known Member
I could be wrong too but I don't think so. I archived that photo a long time ago.
Camel24hrs
Active Member
I once had a cockpit USA fully vegetable tanned goatskin mustang jacket. It would get spots on it from a rain drop. Wife’s purses do that and both stained easily.
If I had a vegetable tanned jacket today I would be scared if I saw a rain cloud.
With my chrome tanned jacket I don’t worry about the rain at all. Water just runs right off of it.
Probably one of the properties the Army Air Forces valued.
