Two products. That is the whole shelf.
One to clean it, one to feed it. Everything else sold as leather care is someone selling you a fifth bottle you do not need.
Leather Conditioner
Beeswax, olive oil, castor oil and cinnamon oil, cooked and tinned by hand. It puts back the oils that daily carrying takes out, and leaves a light water-resistant barrier behind.
- Clean it first, so you are not sealing dirt in.
- A pea-sized amount on a fingertip, small circles.
- Leave it 10 to 15 minutes to sink in.
- Buff with a dry cloth. It looks too dark at first and is right by morning.
Leather Cleaner
Alcohol-free and non-drying, so it lifts dirt and old product out of the grain without pulling the oils with it. This is the step almost everyone skips, and it is why conditioner sometimes seems to do nothing.
- Shake the bottle well.
- A small amount onto a soft cloth, never straight onto the leather.
- Gentle circles across the whole piece, not just the dirty part.
- Wipe with a dry cloth, air dry, then condition.
What happened to it?
Open the one that matches. Most of the time the answer is to do less than you think.
It got soaked
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Do not use heat. No hairdryer, no sun, not on anything warm.
Blot it with a dry cloth, stuff it loosely with paper to hold its shape, and leave it at room temperature for a day or two. Once it is completely dry, condition it — water pulls the oils out and they need putting back.
It is scratched
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On oil pull-up and wax leathers, rub the scratch firmly with your thumb. The warmth moves the oils back and most of it disappears.
On everything else, leave it. That mark is the start of the patina, and in a year you will not find it again.
It has gone dry and pale
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It wants conditioning. Clean it first, then a pea-sized amount worked in and left overnight.
Twice a year is plenty. Over-conditioning softens the fibres and the piece goes shapeless — the most common way a good wallet is ruined.
There is a stain on it
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Ink and dye are usually permanent on full grain. That is the trade for a surface with nothing sealed over it.
For oil or grease, cover it in cornflour, leave it overnight and brush it off. For anything else, the cleaner and patience. Never a solvent.
The stitching has come loose
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A saddle stitch will not unravel — that is the whole reason I use it. One loose thread stays one loose thread.
If I made it, bring it back and I will restitch that section.
It smells of something
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Leave it in open air for a few days, out of the sun. If it needs more, put it in a paper bag with a spoon of bicarbonate of soda for a week.
Never spray perfume or deodoriser on it. Alcohol strips the finish.
To God be the glory
