Original goatskin G-1 cleaning

[Brettafett]

Hello everyone,

I cant find any of the past threads regarding cleaning and original G-1 jacket.
So I wanted to ask those who have successfully done so, to please offer constructive advice/ techniques/ suggestions.
Im one of those OCD pedantic types, I wont be able to wear this, unless I give it a clean

The jacket itself is generally good, the leather needs a bit of conditioning, but otherwise no dramas there.
Theres no bad smell per se, but it is a touch musky.
Its a 52 years old jacket, I do want to give the lining (slightly soiled here and there) and collar a clean.
I do NOT want to wash it.
The zipper needs cleaning.

Thanks in advance

 

[Flightengineer]

I cleaned my G-1 jackets with liquid soap and a sponge, carefully both the lining and the leather itself. I spread it on the floor. Didn't wash, just rubbed. First with a damp cloth, then with a soft sponge and soap, then with a damp cloth and then wiped dry with an old towel and left to dry for several days.
I really washed the collar with hair shampoo. All storage odors are gone. The main thing is not to dry it in the sun

When it dry, applied a little pecard or other conditioner and everything is OK.

 

[Brettafett]

Excellent, thank you Dmitry

 

[Spitfireace]

I put mine in the bathtub. Just water, no soap. Then hung it up to dry. Applied Vaseline after it was dry. Found that the aluminum replacement zipper it had, started losing teeth. So I had to replace it with a NOS Conmar from MASH Japan. Other than that, got rid of the sweat stains in the liner and no other problems.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

I’m thinking some laundry soap, like Sunlight maybe, and some careful sponging is your friend Brett. Reminds me I need to give my Martin Lane a little TLC

 

[CombatWombat]

I wonder if this works for a heavily quilted horsehide bootlegger I've got.....who's former owner must have been a chain smoker......or a used car salesman.....

 

[Flightengineer]

I wonder if this works for a heavily quilted horsehide bootlegger I've got.....who's former owner must have been a chain smoker......or a used car salesman.....

unlikely, the smell of tobacco is hard removed, although this is possible, but soap will not help much here

 

[CombatWombat]

unlikely, the smell of tobacco is hard removed, although this is possible, but soap will not help much here

Ahh it doesn't matter....the damn jacket doesn't fit right so I'm going to either return it or try and sell it to some hipster on The Lounge

 

[mulceber]

I've had experience with two ways of removing smells that have worked pretty well:

• Natalie has a WAAC trench coat that reeked of tobacco when she first got it. We put it in a garment bag with a bowl full of dry baking soda at the bottom and hung it up in the closet for a couple weeks. When we took it out, we could still smell the tobacco, although it was greatly diminished. We then let it air out in the apartment for a just a couple hours, and the smell was totally gone. Press it to your nose, you'd never know the original owner smoked.
• Activated charcoal sachets. You can get these on Amazon. Leave them in direct sunlight for 2-3 hours to activate (iirc, it's the UV radiation that does it) and then put them wherever you need to remove smells. They seem to work about as well as the baking soda, although I was testing them on mothball smells, rather than tobacco odor. Since they did the job I needed, Natalie and I have been hanging them on doorknobs around our place as a sort of passive air freshener and they've worked pretty well.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

This thread seems a good place to post an update on my Martin Lane G-1 7823(D) WP. When it came to me the Scovill paperclip zip needed replacing as the pin had almost completely frayed away from the tape, the pocket snap had torn out of the lining on one side and there was a light patch running up the back panels. The collar was also a bit crushed, tired, and, well, dynel. So, some TLC was needed.

First off, with some tips from Burt, I started with some work on the discolouration:

Keeping Your Jackets Looking Mint, What!!

I know what most of you are thinking right now, that the whole concept of keeping a jacket looking mint is blasphemy! But in spite of what most of you may think, there are a few here who actually get a little nervous when that high end ELC or GW jacket, that they bought last week, and paid...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

Since then Donna Howard from The Bespoke Aviator Jacket Company https://thebespokeaviatorjacketcompany.co.uk/ has tidily replaced the zip for me with a Conmar zipper I got from MASH:

Donna also neatly repaired the torn pocket snap:

I used some laundry soap to clean the dynel collar. See also:

Brill 1971 G-1 cleaning

i just acquired my first vintage flight jacket. It is in good shape but is a little musty smelling in the Dynal collar. Stopped by a dry cleaner to inquire about cleaning. There are a few small moth holes in the waistband and and the cuffs have a larger hole from wear, possibly from...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

I massaged the soap suds well into the dynel, sponged rinsed and then let it dry naturally. This has refreshed the collar and although the photos don't show it has given it back a bit of body.

After:

I think that's all made a big difference to a very wearable jacket.