Can Someone Please tell me hoew to properly clean Leather

[Keelenorth]

Funny I have been around horses my whole life and never learned to do this .I remember having the nicest set of braided reins and oiled them ,following that I had very skinny braided reins .Any how after leading several yearling stud colts out of the barn today I noticed my hands were filthy .I don't think they clean leather here I saw them using mineral oil on halters that were stiff .Anyway somebody give me a dummies version of this PLEASE

[tinknal]

First clean with murphy's oil soap and then lightly oil with neats foot oil (not neats foot compound which sold for cheap at sales barns).

[oregon woodsmok]

Wash with glycerin saddle soap bar. You can scrub it, use generous water with the soap and then immediately rinse thoroughly and dry the leather off.

Once it is dry, rub with a small amount of neatsfoot oil. Rub it in, let it soak for 5-10 minutes and then rub off all the excess.

If you want to spend the money, you can rub on a little bit of leather balm. It's made for boots. Kinda expensive to do a whole saddle with, but it is good stuff.

Do the leather where it doesn't matter if you make a wet mess. Soap and water; you are washing it. Just dry well and don't leave the leather wet when you are done.

[Grey Mare]

You want your leather to be nice for longer...look on line or ebay for harness honey. We have a large bottle of it and it lasts forever, you only need to use a little bit, as it goes a long way! Wonderful stuff too. That is all we use on our leather saddles and harness as it keeps the leather nice and supple, soaks in well and keeps the leather soft longer.

[Keelenorth]

thanks I will look for it.How do you apply it ?

[Irish Pixie]

I do basically what Tinknal does but I use spray Leather New (liquid glycerin soap) first and then real neatsfoot oil.

You have to get the dirt and grime off before you can condition the leather.

[Grey Mare]

Originally Posted by Keelenorth

thanks I will look for it.How do you apply it ?

I use a soft clean rag, dip it in the oil, just a little on it then start cleaning with circular motion. As I said, a little goes a long way too.

This is where I get mine from. I have talked to the owners on the phone and they are great people.

http://www.leatherhoney.com/

Hope this helps. I find other oils just doesn't do what this stuff does.

[Work horse]

I start by wiping off with a fairly damp (not soaking wet) cloth or sponge. Then I use a soap of some kind (glycerin soap bar or I have a tub of a different cream soap, can't remember the name). I then wipe off the soap with a damp cloth or sponge. I dry off any excess water, then use a leather conditioner or lederbasalm if needed. I love cleaning tack!

[LisaInN.Idaho]

Here is the United States Pony Club method, which is pretty traditional and a little longer. But does keep tack beautifully:

http://bristolhills.ponyclub.org/cleaningyourtack.html

[Pat-wcWI]

I clean and condition my tack, and then in humid weather it molds. Is there anything that will prevent that?

[Teej]

I'm in the same boat Pat, hopefully someone will have an answer.

[Hamzakian]

Be careful not to over-oil the seams, you don't want the fabric to rot. This has never happened but I have heard horror stories of saddles falling apart =0 Also just a tip: never oil synthetic leather, might seem like a no-brainer but people still do it.

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by Hamzakian

Also just a tip: never oil synthetic leather, might seem like a no-brainer but people still do it.

I have a better tip, never own synthetic leather..................................

[where I want to]

I differ from most as I saw during my stint as a tack repair person that neatsfoot oil will rot both stitching and leather if used other than very rarely. I only use it for new leather and for the occasion piece I was to try to bring back from serious neglect or water damage.
Otherwise I have used glycerin bars for cleaning, which automatically provides enough protection for normal use. Been doing it for 40 or more years.
It's the oil that holds onto dirt. Leather cleaned with glycerin will do much better at staying clean.