Original Ralph Edwards G-1- should I have it re-dyed?

[Capt]

I’m also late on this, It might be just an affect in the photos, but looks like some of the external stitching is green also pointing to a reaction to an over applied conditioner. A suitable leather cleaner for leather might be worth a try you will soon know if it comes off, as applying a re dye might not even take.

 

[FlakMagnet]

I’m also late on this, It might be just an affect in the photos, but looks like some of the external stitching is green also pointing to a reaction to an over applied conditioner. A suitable leather cleaner for leather might be worth a try you will soon know if it comes off, as applying a re dye might not even take.

can you recommend a leather cleaner that I should use?

 

[Capt]

There is bound to be multiple brands that make a cleaner, over here in the UK I use Nikwax at present however, have used Bickmore Bick 1 in the past which is US based. Amazon should have lots as well.

 

[Micawber]

Try a bit of rubbing alcohol on a hidden area. Damp a small piece of cloth with the isopropyl alcohol and lightly rub the hidden area, check the cloth to see if has changed colour due to picking up any conditioner or finish. Check the leather for colour change.

 

[Greg Gale]

Callsign: Shrek

Nice jacket, and a great find for that money. You’re the one who sees it in person, and it’s up to you whether you like the color. If it looks weird and it’s not a big hussle to redye it, go for it. The collar is defo dynel, but looks nice.

 

[tda003]

I'm late as usual. The collar looks like Dynel to me. In one of your photos, there is an odd strand of it hanging down. Snip it and burn it. Dynel melts and mouton burns like any hair/fur with the added benefit of an awful smell. That cowhide is pretty tough stuff. Try a spot. the back of the wind flap is a good place to try. If it holds up, and it should, you can clean the whole jacket. Although it's generally seen here as blasphemy, saddle soap cleans well and I've never had any ill effects using it. When it's dry, use some Vaseline. John at GW uses it. Just be sparing in its use. There's a thread or two about applying leather conditioner in this forum. These jackets were made to endure and can take some punishment and Edwards made quality products well into the early E models. I've done what I'm advising on some of my G-1's with good effect.

 

[Capt]

If its not been mentioned already, I recall reading somewhere that if you wet the collar with water mouton will give off smell like a wet woolly jumper, Dynel won’t.

 

[FlakMagnet]

It begins…

First coat of (dark brown) Tarrago leather dye in and I’m loving the results already. You can see what the leather used to like in the sleeve above.

 

[blackrat2]

I have to say that does look nice ,certainly not so much like chocolate

 

[dbtk44]

Edit: opps, sorry didnt see the last post!

Maybe try a good leather conditioner in a small spot, and see if it darkens/deepens the color?
I know there are plenty of leather conditioners out there that will darken leather (especially dubbin-types), and conditioning it would most likely be a Good thing. Get the leather warm in the sun, and put a little on and let it absorb for a while.

Just an idea...Cheap experiment, and can't hurt.

 

[FlakMagnet]

Edit: opps, sorry didnt see the last post!

Maybe try a good leather conditioner in a small spot, and see if it darkens/deepens the color?
I know there are plenty of leather conditioners out there that will darken leather (especially dubbin-types), and conditioning it would most likely be a Good thing. Get the leather warm in the sun, and put a little on and let it absorb for a while.

Just an idea...Cheap experiment, and can't hurt.

I’ve tried everything. The leather conditioner certainly darkened it, but to a darker poo-green shade. I’ve cleaned a small section with saddle soap and leather cleaner, but it didn’t do much other than clean it. I’ll post pics of it later, but I reckon all it needed was one light layer of dark brown dye. I may do another pass later in the future, but I’m absolutely stoked with how it turned out. (Mind you I only used half a small bottle of dye to cover everything)

 

[FlakMagnet]

Re: collar- defo synthetic, not real mouton.

 

[FlakMagnet]

Before redye:

After one light coat of dark brown dye

I was worried the dye wouldn’t stay on as I’m aware that modern jackets have flame retardant coating that may prevent dyes from penetrating, but I’m stoked that the dye I used worked a treat.

the photos don't seem to do the new colour justice, so I'll post another later today.

 

[Erwin]

This is a very interesting project FlakMagnet, well done! I got recently a minty BrillBros G1 from the end of the '70s or the beginning of the '80s, jacket had dry leather which made it a bit grayish. I used some petroleum jelly and was so surprised that the leather is way better now and also gladly has no more grayish tone.

 

[FlakMagnet]

You can see the contrast of the dyed and undyed areas in the slit pocket here. The old poo-green is just nasty to me.

 

[Erwin]

If you rub a white cotton cloth on the coated/re-dyed surface, does it leave any dark traces? BTW results of using petroleum jelly on the wind flap vs the area where it was not applied jacket.

 

[dbtk44]

I’ve tried everything. The leather conditioner certainly darkened it, but to a darker poo-green shade. I’ve cleaned a small section with saddle soap and leather cleaner, but it didn’t do much other than clean it. I’ll post pics of it later, but I reckon all it needed was one light layer of dark brown dye. I may do another pass later in the future, but I’m absolutely stoked with how it turned out. (Mind you I only used half a small bottle of dye to cover everything)

Glad you're getting closer to where you want it to be, that's excellent! Great job!

 

[FlakMagnet]

If you rub a white cotton cloth on the coated/re-dyed surface, does it leave any dark traces? BTW results of using petroleum jelly on the wind flap vs the area where it was not applied jacket.

Yes I’ve done this before with a little petroleum jelly. It darkened it for sure (in this case a shade of dark green-brown), but eventually wore off after a week or two. I wanted something more permanent, hence the redye. After the re-dye, i buffed the jacket with an old white tshirt to get rid of excess pigment, but it didnt leave any dark traces.