Restoring old leather saddlebags?

[Finn]

The HD saddlebags on my Springer are very dry - not yet brittle but dry. They are old, I think they were put on back in 1997 as an accessory.

What product should I use first to make them elastic again? I 'think' that I should keep putting on some sort of product as long as the leather absorbs it and only then use some leather conditioner or such.

Suggestions?

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[Finn]

Perhaps this might be suitable. Should be easy to apply. 

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[tdrglide]

I picked up a pair of old fxr leather saddlebags that had probably sat in someone's garage for 30 years. Very stiff and dried out. I first used some Lexol leather conditioner and then finished with Fiebings Aussie leather conditioner. Came out very nice.
Check out the horse saddle and tack forums. Like oil threads 

[thunderrat]

On dried out bags like yours I prefer Obenauf's leather Oil (made in Idaho) applied til they don't take any more   followed up by Doc Bailey's Black Again............ted

[jmorton10]

Lexol leather conditioner.

That is what the horse people I know use on tack/saddles etc. & that stuff is really expensive so you know they will use the best stuff available to protect it.

I've used it for years on my Corbin leather seats et.

~John

[a_disalvo]

Crisco, cheap and it works! Frank

[Barrett]

This worked for me. 

[phillyfan]

The absolute best for leather is the Leatherique system. It is a system that is different then all others for sure. I have used it multiple times on vehicle seats that are uncoated leather.
First, put a couple drops of water on a bag. If the water drop soaks in then it is uncoated.

Follow the directions, it takes a while, but the results will be fantastic. Oil first, then the clean

https://www.detailedimage.com/Leatherique-M8/Rejuvenator-Oil-P65/32-oz-S2/

https://www.detailedimage.com/Leatherique-M8/Prestine-Clean-P64/16-oz-S1/

[jmorton10]

Leatherique looks like a great product, but how is it better than something like Lexol that is kind of the industry standard for leather care ??

~John

[PoorUB]

Crisco, cheap and it works! Frank

Plus your bike smells like fried food when the bags get hot from the pipes!

Seriously, I would avoid any vegetable oil or animal fat. They can go rancid and rotten.

Use products designed for the purpose.

[jty]

https://www.prisma.fi/fi/prisma/horse-power-valjasrasva-08l
in case you want to source the product closer to home.

[Dan89flstc]

On dried out bags like yours I prefer Obenauf's leather Oil (made in Idaho) applied til they don't take any more   followed up by Doc Bailey's Black Again............ted

I`ve been using it on my boots for years, never tried it on leather bags,  I have an old original set that came on my Softail, (they look worse than the OP`s saddlebags).

Another project to ward off cabin fever

[Finn]

https://www.prisma.fi/fi/prisma/horse-power-valjasrasva-08l
in case you want to source the product closer to home.

Yep, noticed that today. 

That Carr's Leather Oil appears to be available at Puuilo.

https://www.puuilo.fi/CarrDayMartin-valjasoeljy-leather-oil-300ml

[nibroc]

I use neatsfoot oil

[tdrglide]

After you oil/condition the leather, stuff the bags with packing paper to help stretch them back into shape. Let sit for a week. I then used the Fiebings Aussie conditioner to finish off cause it also has beeswax to help waterproof.

[jmorton10]

Seriously, I would avoid any vegetable oil or animal fat. They can go rancid and rotten.

Use products designed for the purpose.

Neatsfoot oil falls into that category.......

~John

[MikeL]

This is what my shoemaker friend uses and recommends

https://www.urad.com/welcome.cfm?lang=en&gclid=CjwKCAjwvOHzBRBoEiwA48i6AltThLQj15tZhdoWMGbRHKm_bk03hSGztKEjt9wlVnEp6biZq3TgcBoC6Q4QAvD_BwE


                                                                                                    MIKE

[sharkoilfield]

Seriously, I would avoid any vegetable oil or animal fat. They can go rancid and rotten.

Use products designed for the purpose.

Neatsfoot oil falls into that category.......

~John

Yet Neatsfoot oil is what real cowboys (and cowgirls) in the country use. I asked them; applied with a paint brush and let soak in.  Looks gross if the bottle gets too cool; warm it up and shake it.  It may seem strange that a natural animal product would be used on a natural animal product...but it's worked for me for years.

[vafatboy1]

If you have a tach shop nearby and see what they recommend

[db13]

good old linseed oil

[JW113]

No product will fix the damage already done from not caring for the leather in the first place. But you can keep the leather from further damage and make it look better with just about any "oil" product. Leather is made up of a bunch of fibers, which when dried out tend to rub against each other and break. They also shrink up when dried out. I personally use Lexol on external leather, but don't endorse it over any other leather treatment. I find they all work pretty much the same. For internal leather (like my car seats), I find animal oil based products tend to feel "greasy". Surprise! So instead I use McGuires's leather care.

Just one more voice in the sea of 'experts'!


-JW

[phillyfan]

Leatherique looks like a great product, but how is it better than something like Lexol that is kind of the industry standard for leather care ??

~John

Leatherique works a lot different then anything else. How you use it is to rub the oil all over the leather and let them get hot, not in direct sun. The oil goes down into the pores and pushes all the crap out of the pores of the leather, this takes hours. Sometimes more oil is needed, sometimes not.
Once the oil is done working you use hot water and the clean to remove everything. It is really amazing combo for leather.
I have used Lexol before but on uncoated leather that is dirty, Lexol isn't in the same ballpark with this stuff.

On light colored leather you can see the crud just being pushed out of the leather.

When it gets hot outside, put this stuff on the bags and put them in a shed or inside your car for hours. The more time with the oil, the cleaner they will get.

I put the oil on the seats, start the vehicle and turn the heat on. If it has seat warmers I turn them on too. Get it hot and then turn the car off

[dmrdn]

The old timers always used Neats Foot Oil to keep the harnesses & reins and all the straps they used with the horse's soft and pliable and prevent cracking

[boooby1744]

I use Obenauf's on all my leather.

[screem]

I bought a pair of dryed out , misshaped bags for my fatboy, edges of the lids were curled, the were sunk in and pretty much looked like a taco. I started soaking them with Fieblings liquid saddle soap and conditioner for a few weeks and got the leather more plyable. I stuffed the bags tight with news paper while applying more liquid saddle soap (glyserin Based) and i taped down the curled edges of the lids. Once every thing was pliable and shape had come back into the bags,  i sent them to Leatherlidinserts.com. the company happens to be in my home town, so i was able to just drop them off, the Owner Ray is a pro at getting bags back into shape. I would 100% recommend him to to bring your bags back to life. He was reasonable in price, he installed stiffeners inside the bags and under the lids, i still use the liquid saddle soap on them every few months to keep them supple and looking great