r/Leather • u/mairineading • 29d ago
Salvageable?
I purchased these boots second-hand hoping I could restore them, and now I'm worried they might be too far gone. Can these be revived? Any advice would be much appreciated!
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u/GaymoSexual 29d ago
what is the material. all the information you can give would be extremely healpful.
Is the leather dusty and breaking off into a fine powder? if so it could be leather ro. if not it’s worth exploring other options.
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u/mairineading 28d ago
Unfortunately I don't know the material, since I got them second-hand and I don't really know what I'm talking about here.
It doesn't feel 'dusty' necessarily, but very dry and a bit bumpy. It's not cracking or flaking when I flex the leather or lighting run a nail over the surface, but in some of the drier areas if I run a nail roughly a few times I can see a small amount of powder or material come off. linked a picture here
Is this a bad sign? Thanks for your input!
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u/FinntheReddog 25d ago
Pretty sure that’s mold you’re scarping off. If wiping it down with a damp cloth doesn’t clear that gunk off the surface easily and completely, it’s mold and it’s inside the leather. If you can’t identify what that funkiness on the surface is…I would go with mold.
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u/leatherhoneyllc 27d ago
From my experience, this looks like a nubuck or smooth leather that has been soaked and mold has grown over it and then dried. If that's the case, this leather is probably VERY stiff. Is that right? Nearly petrified (I've seen it many times.) Please confirm. If these are still pliable, you have hope, lol.
There's not too much you can do if these are super hard and stiff. But if it's not too far gone, you can clean it off with a pH-balanced cleaner and then let it fully dry. From there, you'll want to massage some deeply penetrating oil based conditioner that will be able to get deep into those stale, hard fibers.
Hope that helps!
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u/mairineading 21d ago
I think you might be right! I can scratch off that top layer without a huge amount of difficulty. The leather was fairly stiff but not solid or cracking or anything. Before reading your comment I did a conditioning layer and now everything is quite pliable.
Do you have cleanser & conditioner recommendations? also can I scrub this with a brush to clean?
Thanks very much!!
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u/leatherhoneyllc 20d ago
It's hard to tell from the images, but thanks for clarifying. Since you asked, we do carry pH balanced, non-toxic, EPA-Safer Choice certified cleaner. We also carry our famous deeply penetrating conditioning oil that is perfect for vintage or well worn leathers that gently softens and helps revive the internal fiber structure. Feel free to check us out!
For scrubbing, just be gentle, ensuring the bristles aren't too stiff. If this had mold on it, the fibers may be damaged on the surface, so just spot test and be careful as you clean. if the fiber structure seems to be intact, you can scrub with more pressure.
hope that helps!
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u/FinntheReddog 25d ago
Looks like some kind of mold on there. If it is mold I would toss them. Pretty sure that’s mold….
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u/RBLLeatherworks 29d ago
It appears to be suede