WWII leather A2 care question

[gary]

A friend asked if I could advise her how to care for her dads A2, it has artwork on the back and she worries about damaging it if she applies anything to the leather for the dryness and cracking. She is also afraid to send it anywhere for fear it would get lost.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Gary

[Curtis Block]

I use Lexol on my grandfathers jacket, and it works great. However it is not painted.

[The Inspector]

Have her look in the area for a cleaners that specializes in cleaning and treating leather, also search for upholsterers that do leather furniture or high end classic autos, can't be much difference between a 63 year old A2 and the seats in a 46 Buick or Packard-it's money well spent

[jamesintucson]

A friend asked if I could advise her how to care for her dads A2, it has artwork on the back and she worries about damaging it if she applies anything to the leather for the dryness and cracking. She is also afraid to send it anywhere for fear it would get lost.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Gary

Proper treatments for leather is a difficult subject. There are entire graduate level courses on the subject. The best thing for your friend to do is to contact a local museum with a good conservation department and ask them for help. Most museum professionals will be willing to take a few minutes to talk about this kind of thing, after all preserving artifacts is what we love doing. If none of the local museums have a conservator ask to talk to their curator they may be able to direct you to someone that they have used in the past. Most importantly don't do anything to treat the leather until you have talked to a professional with experience dealing with vintage leather clothing. If the jacket has survived this long it isn't going to disintegrate while she spends a little time looking for trained assistance.

In the meantime, proper storage will greatly assist in protecting the jacket. Don't just hang it in a closet. It should be stored with the painted side up in an archival quality textile box. Carefully pad the interior of the jacket with archival tissue or foam, this will help the jacket retain its proper shape and not develop creases that will crack while also not introducing unwelcome chemicals. There are several companies that supply museums and archives http://www.metaledgeinc.com/ is one of the best. If the jacket has already become flattened out and hardened don't try to force it into shape you'll just speed the process of cracking at the creases.

Hope that helps a little,
James

[Fleet16b]

Hi

I have been collecting vintage leather flight jackets for years.
Also I belong to an online forum ( Vintage Leather Jackets) and all of us collectors agree the Picards Antique Leather Treatment is the best product.
I have used it many times and still do.
It can be bought online directly from Picards and is undr $50 depending on the size of you want.

Fleet16b

[Hawkeye]

I agree with Fleet, Pecards is generally regarded as the best way to go, and is used by museums to preserve their leather garments. You can purchase the medium size tub on ebay for under 20.00, and I've managed to do 3 or 4 whole jackets so far, and still have enough left over for at least one more. And if you do get a chance, sign up to VLJ, theres tons of great jacket stuff there.

[Django]

Agreed on http://www.vintageleatherjackets.org

Any pics? What group was he with?

[gary]

He was a tail gunner on a 457th BG B17 out of Glatton, no pictures, I will work on getting one
gary