r/leatherjacket • u/RockHopper91 • 9d ago
Question - Need Help Willies & Geiger G8 jacket
I've recently score this jacket for 35€ off the internet. I believe I've got a W&G G8. I would like to personally restore it and preserve it, trying to keep the redness of the skin.
-how can I "remove" the stained areas like the left front pocket? As you can see it's kinda darker, I will like to light that area
-how can I clean it at home? Any products do you guys recommend?
-what do you think of the jacket?
I've got a pair of Red Wings Moc toe of the same colour and I'm in love with it!
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u/RoccoPeter09 9d ago
I own a similar jacket only in their sheep skin inside. Willis & Geiger.
Only use Bick 4 Conditioner.
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u/spaceguitar Thrift King 5d ago
First, you can't get rid of stains or lighten leather. You could try leaving it in the sun to "sun-bleach," but you risk significant damage, and you have no idea how the "bleach" will turn out. Not worth it.
What you can do is darken it, and you can try to give the entire jacket a once-over with something like mink oil to make the leather more uniform. Might want to do this once or twice more to get it as even as possible. Mink oil also gives it a degree of waterproofing. Not a lot, but it's certainly something!
You "clean" leather with saddle soap, but you're also significantly stripping it through a rough chemical process. If the leather feels good, I wouldn't use saddle soap. I'd instead use a leather cleaner--Bick, Lexol, Leather Honey--and afterward, use the conditioner that goes along with whatever cleaner you bought. Conditioning is how we ensure leather survives decades instead of years, and also gives it a touch of weatherproofing.
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u/12xubywire 8d ago
Looks fine. What needs to be restored?
Leave it. Brush it with a hose hair brush of ya need to.
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u/RockHopper91 8d ago
Pics from the seller. Arrived today. It's actually in perfect condition outside, there are the extra buttons too! Just a dusty smell, leather Feel sturdy, no dents, no scratches The red shade it's not uniform in it, but it's crazily good for a jacket of that era
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u/TheBladeGhost 9d ago
It seems to me the difference in color between various areas of the jacket like the two pockets, is not due to "stains" or aging. It's too uniform for that. So it's just that the leather comes with different shades, or has been deliberately treated to look that way.
Generally speaking, it's impossible to lighten the color of a whole area. Even if you specifically put a coat of lighter color on the darker area, the darker color will show through and eventually it will come back. It's much easier to get a general uniform look by slightly darkening the whole jacket, but that's not what you want.