How to dry leathers?

[1fastmofo]

Guys and gals,

I just raced this weekend in the POURING rain. All of my gear is soaked. My leathers weigh about 40 lbs, or at least feel like it.

How do I go about drying out my gloves, leathers and boots without damaging them? I'm assuming that I will have to use some type of leather conditioner afterwards as well. Please help.

Thanks,
Ray

[Jeff]

hang them in your trailer until next race weekend...  ;D

No, seriously...  Hang them in an air-conditioned or low humidity room.

Leather conditioner?  Just soften them up by sliding on the pavement 2-3x per season and they'll be fine...

[Protein Filled]

There is a post sometime back from Alexa on how to take care of them. Just lay them down to dry. I think she mentioned using hand lotion with lanolin or something like that after you dry them out. You may want to try searching for her old posts.

[ecumike]

I had the same issue but they got soaked and muddy from a slip-n-slide into a mud puddle at Summit.

I just hung them in the garage till they dried, then went to Wal-Mart and bought some Kiwi Outdoor Saddle Soap, and Mink Oil. Cleaned them with the soap and then applied the Mink Oil. Now they smell good and look brand new!

[spyderchick]

Edgar, Edgar.  ;D Won't be hiring you anytime soon. :o ::) ;D

Remove as much armor as possible first.  

If you have lots of mud, etc, you can hose 'em off and scrub them with a medium soft brush to remove the debris.

You'll want to hang your leathers to dry, as Jeff suggests. Gloves, boots Etc, should be opened up to allow for circulation. An air conditioned or low humidity place is ideal. Look for a leather conditioner at any leather shop or harley dealership. Condition them after they dry.

Do not excessively condition the rear end of the leathers or the palms of the gloves unless you want to do a slippy slide dance the next time you're on the bike.

If you have a removable liner, remove any armor and throw it in the washer, line dry, or tumble dry on the lowest setting.

Good luck, and feel free to email me with any questions.

[Clay]

While we're on the subject Alexa...

How do you actually "wash" your leathers?  I had heard you could actually throw them in the washer on the gentle cycle or something.   :o  Please, tell those of us with stinky leathers how to properly wash them.  ;D

[duc995@aol.com]

Alexa...are you supposed to soak them in the water/vinegar mix after each use, if you live in AZ and ride in 100F plus temps and soak your leathers in sweat every track day? ;D

[Jeff]

Search:
string - Leather Care
user - spyderchick
age - 180 days

Result:
http://www.racemotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=ccs1;action=display;num=1084995469;start=7

[duc995@aol.com]

Thanks Jeff!!

[tshowrench]

At Suzuka, Dainese had a group of regular dryers. They didnt use any heat, and had the armour removed, but they just tub washed them, and cycled them through the dryer.

I understand its a bad idea to hang dry your leathers.. Unless you use a special hanger, the weight of the wet leather can cause damage to the sections  in the shoulders, etc...

[Clay]

Ah, thanks for the link Jef.  :)

[Protein Filled]

 ;D ;D ;D Hey, I am not a leather person. I am more into latex.


OK, now I remember where I read that. It wasn't Alexa, it was Barnacle Bill on the WERA board. And I quote:


"...the way we clean leathers. got a big old washing machine and we remove the armor and throw them in. sometimes some brands will strugle a little but I keep a ball bat ( louisville slugger) handy next to the washing machine to show these unruly and usually smelly leather gone bad who is the boss. a few old towels to help balance out the load helps to and adds some scrubbing action as well. when they come out they will weigh about 50 lbs. do not hang them up. they will stretch a mile. lay them on a flat surface ( turned inside out) before they get dry turn them back and apply a lanolin based conditioner."

It cam from this thread:

http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42585&highlight=Washing+Leathers

And the part about the hand lotion came from this one:
http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56055&highlight=washing+leathers



 ;D ;D