Oldie but Goodie...my grand old dame of flightjackets...

[Griffon_301]

...and the first real repro I got myself.
Eastman House B-3 purchased around before the Euro was introduced, sometime in 1998 IIRC...
It shows its age by now, it has quite a few scuffs, the lacquer is crumbling (it really looks like a crusty jacket) but the fleece is still good and to me it still looks great...
Just got it out of it's box today for some out time in the days to come...

Sometime I will have to get a new B-3 I think, those are really great jackets....

 

[Silver Surfer]

peeling away like an original. good?, bad? dunno, but me likee.

 

[John Lever]

...and the first real repro I got myself.
Eastman House B-3 purchased around before the Euro was introduced, sometime in 1998 IIRC...
It shows its age by now, it has quite a few scuffs, the lacquer is crumbling (it really looks like a crusty jacket) but the fleece is still good and to me it still looks great...
Just got it out of it's box today for some out time in the days to come...

Sometime I will have to get a new B-3 I think, those are really great jackets....

Wowza !

 

[silvio76]

Nice jacket.

 

[foster]

Can the sheepskin be redyed / recolored? Apart from that is looks like it is ready for another 20 years faithful service.

 

[Griffon_301]

Can the sheepskin be redyed / recolored? Apart from that is looks like it is ready for another 20 years faithful service.

I was thinking about having redyed it too already and might ask if Eastman would do it (the.zip is also a replacement and could be substituted for a good repro again) but then again I like the jacket just the way it is now...it has character.
And for heavy usage I have other jackets now, this one is taken out only rarely and then only for special occasions

 

[John Lever]

No no no...
There is no dye, its a paint and clear lacquer. Carefull don't ruin it. Dye does not peel off it sinks in. The skins are spray painted then lacquered.
This is a jacket from the batch from Fenland that was rejected by Eastman, the tannery refused to take back the skins because they had already been made into jackets and so the relationship ended. The jackets were never the same afterwards

 

[Griffon_301]

Could the lacquer be reapplied theoretically? My main concern is that the leather might start to break/rot at the bald spots...could there be done something to prevent this from happening without destroying the looks?

 

[John Lever]

An exact colour match would be needed and applied to the bald areas.
IMO a bad repair is worse than no repair. If it were my jacket I would leave as it is.
I know someone who has completed a course on car leather seat restoration, he can do remarkable work. The problem is the thread will get coated and the jacket will look brand new afterwards.

 

[Griffon_301]

I guess you have convinced me finally to leave the jacket as it is ...as said it has loads of character in its current form and with good care and sparse usage I hope to be able to use it for a few more years...it has proven a sturdy and reliable companion in the coldest of weathers and foremost, my first dog, a golden retriever slept cuddled in it for the first night when she came to me that memory alone is worth it

 

[John Lever]

Good decision.
In Sweetings there is a description of how to refinish shearlings with paint and dope....

 

[DiamondDave]

Gorgeous as is. I say leave off unless you have actual hide damage to it anywhere. Paint is no biggie and just adds to it in my mind.
DD

 

[Griffon_301]

As said, my main concern is to prevent the leather from breaking on the bald spots...I have tried bee-wax on some small areas just to give the leather some sort of protection and it did not change the colour of the leather if applied carefully so that might be the way to go in that regard...