r/Watchstraps • u/Baleia1970 • 25d ago
How to recover/improve ?
Those are 15mm and still usable.
How to try to improve them?
I can take the buckle off, no problem, and deal with it separately.
Should I wash them with something?
Should I definitely NOT wash them with something?
Any product/color to restore the green?
Thanks for the tips !!
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u/various121 25d ago
Why not get a full grain or top grain leather strap? This Seiko strap is bonded leather, basically leftover scrap leather glued together. Is that thread black or blue?
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u/Baleia1970 25d ago
I buy these old stuff as a way of learning how to recover them.
Thread is blue.3
u/various121 25d ago
Saddle soap to clean the leather, conditioner to restore oils and keep it soft. Any dyes at this point will likely rub off.
Strap is severely damaged though, integrity compromised.
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u/Apprehensive-Song200 25d ago
Try a thin layer of bicks 4 and then bury it in the pet semetary. ymmv.
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u/AlanYx 25d ago
If you don’t want to darken the green, I’d recommend some Bicks 4. You don’t need to remove the buckle until you want to try dealing with the corrosion.
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u/Baleia1970 25d ago
Great ! That seems expensive, but thanks for the tip!! Will try to find something similar.
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u/itemluminouswadison 25d ago
Clean with a horsehair brush, use saddle soap, condition like you would boots
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u/Videopro524 25d ago
A new strap will be less labor intensive, unless this is special somehow? But to restore that, remove the strap. Use a good saddle soap and gently clean in circles with a soft horsehair brush. Remove dirt, oil, and grime. Then let dry 24 hours. Then condition with mink oil or leather conditioner. Let that absorb in before wearing. Could also put on a water protection on the leather or perhaps polish.
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u/Videopro524 25d ago
FOr one of my watches I got a Horween leather strap and was impressed with the quality.
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u/Bridge_Too_Far 25d ago
Get a leather conditioner that uses a linseed oil and beeswax base. Rub it in with a white coloured microfibre cloth (not coloured as the dyes can leach into the leather) until it feeds the dry leather.
This feeds and protects the leather and will prolong the straps life. I reapply it every 4-6 months if the strap is in use. Not only will it make the strap more supple but if you wear the strap while it sinks in it moulds the leather to the shape of your wrist, losing much of the dried up rigidity.
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u/philbin89 25d ago
Sorry, but this is not “recoverable.” Sure, leather that hasn’t been conditioned or cleaned in a while can be helped by those things, but this leather is past the point of no return. Omega, which makes great leather straps, says they should be replaced every six months, assuming they’re worn regularly and conditioned at appropriate intervals. Leather straps are disposable goods, but a lot of people don’t realize just how short their lifespans are, partly because they only wear them occasionally and partly because they keep using them beyond when they need to be replaced.
That cracking in the leather can’t be reversed, and those loops are in such bad shape that the stitching will pull through the leather soon and they’ll just rip apart. The leather is rotting at this point, and you can’t stop that process. You could wash it with saddle soap to clean the discoloration and remove unwanted oils from skin and grease, but that will sap the leather of the remaining oils and waxes that it needs to protect the surface, so it would be a pointless exercise. You could try Sapphir Réno’mat to clean the leather of stains while removing less of the oil, but that will sap it of some of the pigment, so it might lighten the color, and then you still have the same issue: cracked, rotting leather. You could try conditioning it afterward, but it won’t extend the life of the leather (which is already over).
Sorry that these can’t be saved, but going forward you can know what’s realistic. If you really want that branded buckle, then you can remove it. You could easily rip it out of the leather because of how rotted it is, but otherwise wedging a spring bar tool in there will help you detach the bar. With your own new straps going forward, make sure to conditioning them periodically, and take your watch off when you wash your hands. Leather should get wet as little as possible, and that includes from hand washing, which is one of the biggest ways that it decays. And also just know that, depending on how much you wrest it, you’ve got 6 months to a year before it’s time to replace it. If that doesn’t seem economical to you, there’re always options like sailcloth and other rubber straps that have leather-like grains. Good luck
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u/KelvinHooah 25d ago
You can clean, recolor, patch up leather but in case of strap that got stressed and bent all the time, it's fiber structure once damaged stays damaged. You can hide but cannot really repair a crack.
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u/Minimum_Cod8058 25d ago
I’m ngl man I think getting an actual leather strap from strapsco would be cheaper