Chemical Guys Leather Cleaner and Conditioner: amzn.to/3P8nOig Chemical Guys Metal Polish: amzn.to/3bYs1a4 Fiebing's Saddle Soap: amzn.to/3ajmFFC Soft-jaw eyeglass repair pliers: amzn.to/2DDBumg Disclaimer: Tested may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through the links here.
I'd highly recommend "Neatsfoot oil" [any good brand name] for long term conditioning of heavy leather such as that. Also be very wary of Saddle soap, the stuff is caustic / alkaline (around pH10) and while it may clean, it is likely to cause long term degradation of leather.
I love how when i went to the comments to try and see if anyone guessed what it could be ... no one is even trying to guess because they don't want to spoil it for other people! such a wholesome community Adam and Tested have fostered
Im not typically into these kinds of videos but I swear Adam could make a toothpick restoration interesting. He always does things with such passion it's incredible
I know! I love listening to people that are knowledgeable and love what they do. They are the kind of people I love to work with, and what I wish more teachers would be!
You are so right about some of the restoration channels out there. One was restoring a toy car that he found in his garden. It quickly became obvious that he had bought a new toy car, scratched up the finish a bit then buried it in mud for a few days so he could find it on video. A big hint was that he refused to wash any of the mud off until after he had disassembled it, hiding its newness for as long as possible. He got hammered in the comments.
Adam, a few tips on restoring leather. 1) Saddle Soap is not a finish. It is exactly what it says. A soap. A little water and work up a lather to clean. This is a first step product rather than a final step. 2) Fiebings also makes 2 other products perfect for this type of project. The first is Leather Balm with Atom Wax. It is wax based sealer that allows you to buff in your finish (satin to gloss). The other is called Aussie. This is a leather conditioner I have used religiously on my projects. It is basically neatsfoot oil, petroleum, and beeswax. This is a final step or a rescue step that rehydrated and adds additional water proofing. I have even saved saddle bags that were left outside on a bike for 3 years with this stuff. Give them a try. And no. I do not work for Fiebings. I USE to work for Tandy as head of their West Zone, but I have also been a leathersmith for over 20 years. If you do cross the bay (since they closed San Bruno) and visit the Fremont Tandy tell them I say hi.
@@iammik saddle soap is exactly what it says, soap. It is a cleaning step. Once cleaned you would want to let it dry completely then apply your finish.
These videos of Adam just quietly tinkering or making or restoring stuff are my absolute favorite. I was having an anxiety attack and put this on to calm myself down. Helps every time.
Don’t by from companies who won’t help with repairs. 30 years ago I bought a Michael Kors leather purse at a ridiculous price thinking I would have it for the rest of my life. The leather handles degraded and they said there was no way they could be replaced. I now REFUSE to purchase from companies who do not support their products. I have a commercial grade sewing machine and some leather tools and I was able to do it myself, but I learned this fix things before you trash them a long time ago. Thank you for all your tutorials Adam!!!
Leather cleaners can be very harsh and dry out leather. That is why you condition after. So protecting the bench from overspray makes sense. Ir it is just habit because he is "spraying something".
Nice job! As a leather worker, this video makes me equal parts happy and terrified :D (especially when the alcohol and spirits came out to remove the sticker residue). Few Notes (this is just from personal experience): The needles for general leather stitching are commonly called "Saddlers Harness Needles". Try to avoid heating leather, it naturally wants to shrink in heat, especially when damp. Saddle soap should be applied with a damp sponge or cloth and will get a bit foamy. Let it dry and then brush it down. You'll also want to apply a wax conditioner like Feibings Carnauba Creme or Saphir Renovateur and brush down after it's dried. Gives a nice seal and shine (without looking like plastic). If you want a leather glue without the solvent horribleness then try Aquilim 315. Water-based but works just as well, if not better, than Barge.
Yeah, I was sad to see the way the saddle soap went (and the lack of a conditioner afterwards). Would've been nice to see the final product go through those steps. Curious your thoughts on the first leather cleaner... in my experience they're no better than just doing a proper lather and brush with saddle soap.
What was the Tandy product he used?? It was an Ecoflow product, but I didn’t hear it mentioned. Yes I clean with saddle soap first and then re-feed the leather with an oil of some sort. I like the design and shape of that bag a lot.
@@jonanderson5137 It depends on what leather it's made from. I'd try saddle soap to start and then get brushing with a horse hair brush after it's dried. Gentle strokes working the length of the whip on all sides. That should get into all the plaits and get the dirt out. You can also look at oils (neatsfoot, mink) but these need to be done carefully, as you can drastically change the colour and flexibility. Then I'd go with a carnauba creme to give a light protective finish. That's applied lightly with a paper towel and then more brushing.
I always love when I see Adam restore or work on something and just throw in either products he's trying out or more obscure tools that are a boon. I can similarly echo that soft jawed pliers arfe something you'll not use everyday probably, but will save you in a pinch. THank you Adam for the little tips like this.
I would really like to see you restore vintage tools. Maybe an old bench vise or some old wood working tools. I really enjoy the enthusiasm that you bring to your work.
I’ve been using chemical guys stuff on my cars for a few years now. Love them. They always smell amazing too. I hadn’t thought to use the leather cleaner on anything other than a vehicle. Nice work!
You never thought to use a leather cleaner on anything other than a vehicle? That's... a bit short sighted, my guy, it's called LEATHER cleaner, so you can use it on Jackets Hats Gloves Briefcases Shoes Baseball gloves Upholstery Basically literally anything made of leather, hence the name... How did you never think to use leather cleaner on leather products? That's... that's the whole point of it existing. I'm so confused, how did you not think to use leather cleaner to clean leather? That's like buying window cleaner without realizing it can be used on windows that aren't on a car...
@@Louzahsol leather is actually no longer skin. It is turned into something else via tanning. Some things that are good on your skin can mess up your leather. They just sit in the leather and go rancid/oxidize.
The tape recorder from diva is a super sick piece of tech. Looking forward to that video! Holy crap just looked up how much they sell for and it's over $8k.
People will spend a fair bit restoring them too. Reel to reel players/recorders have seen a real surge in popularity amongst collectors in the past few years. (I work in electronics repair and we fix audio equipment)
Let me make one suggestion. Nokona Leather Glove treatment is quite possibly the best leather conditioner. And the bonus….if you use it, whatever area you are working in smells absolutely incredible for a good while after! I use it on new baseball gloves and to condition new leather footballs before taking them out on the field.
Love Chemical Guys products, Adam! Bought the whole line up when I was working as an auto parts tech and I’ve never gone back. Great to see them go to use in other applications though. Well done on the resto! 😁
I picked up a 36 year old Harley Davidson that had a set of soft bags. I treated them much the same way. Deep clean, dye touch up and leather softener treatment. Turned out very nice. It was fun to watch you doing it too.
That was incredibly timely. I've inherited a large number of leather items (bags, coats, vests, etc.) recently and want to make sure they are well-preserved, whether retained or passed on to future owners. Your video saved me a ton of research, as I'm sure your own was fairly exhaustive, and from a much more informed viewpoint than where I would have started. Thank you.
I never work with leather, but I still learned an awesome technique, you didn't even call it out! Putting upside down tape on your work surface to gently hold small pieces is an awesome technique!
I noticed you applied the saddle soap without using a damp/wet cloth (if I saw this correctly). You absolutely need water to open up the fibres of the leather to take the glycerin in the saddle soap. Saddle soap is usually used to clean the leather and open the fibres so that is what I use before adding any wax or oils to care for the leather.
ok I watch a TON of restoration videos and I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking that some of those channels definitely pre-weather their items by hand lol
Agreed! @HandToolRestoration is the best! He seems very authentic. Their are so many fraud “Restoration” channels now though. With painfully obvious artificial aging. As with @PrimitiveTechnology and @JimCantSwim. So many copycats doing terrible impersonations. This is why we can’t have nice things…. We are no longer satisfied with standing back and appreciating the craft, now everyone is an “expert” and wants to turn a dollar.
If I catch them in an obvious “pre-weathering”, that is the end of watching them. I am not picky about the subject being restored. I don’t care for the bad resto-mods either. Good resto-mods are always welcome.
Beautiful work on that case! It looks awesome! Can't wait for the video on its occupant. I wish I had the spare cash to afford one of these machines. I've been collecting tape recorders for years and the one in question has been my "holy grail" for just as long.
Adam's level of ADD and his brainstorm reactions mirror my own, enough that it is cathartic to watch him do it. The "OH! that's an idea! oh....it's a good idea! Do I still have that thing i need? Now where did I put it??? *Runs off camera*".
Not that you need my direction 😂 but I like when you tell us what you’re gonna use and what it’s supposed to do! I don’t know why but having that knowledge makes the restoration more satisfying. LOVE THE VIDEOS!
matchbox restoration videos are amazing to watch and I think you're right some of them are manually weathered/aged as there's no way for them to have such a perfect sheen when the paints taken off if it's real rust haha
@@jamesb3557 enjoy the restoration binge, I don't know why I enjoy it but the end results are always impressive even if some of them are fake the process is always interesting, I don't have any Matchbox cars or hot wheels cars but the process to fix them is relaxing to watch haha
Diva is my favorite movie, ever! It played at the Cable Car Cinema in Providence RI every Thursday night for months, and I saw a lot of those showings.
Best I've found for leather is Montana Pitch Blend. Beeswax, pine tar & mink oil. After cleaning, either by a heat gun or placing article in the sun "opens" up the leather pores. Generously apply the pitch blend, place article in the sun and let it soak in, repeat until product remains on all surfaces (meaning all that can be soaked in). Bring in doors to let it "cool" then wipe off, back out in the sun, cool off, wipe off and repeat.
The best thing I've found for maintaining leather is Renapur leather balsam. I don't know whether you can get it in the US. A tub of it lasts for ages because it goes a long way. I've been using it for years and years to keep my Doc Martens in shape, but I found a long leather coat in a car boot sale just before the pandemic all dirty and battered to heck. Used nearly a tub of Renapur but it's come up fanastic. Softened the leather, restored nutrients so dealt with a lot of the cracks from it drying out, brought out the colour perfectly. They give you a sponge in the tub which is fine if you're using it on boots or stuff but for restoring the coat I used a microfibre cloth and a lot of elbow grease so I could work it in to every nook and cranny a bit at a time. Took me best part of 12 hours to go over the entire coat. It looks spectacular. I'm a novice maker and never done any resoration type stuff before but I am ecstatic at how it came out. Best friend wore it to London Film and Comic Con a week or so ago as Neo.
Great video! Interesting you used saddle soap for a final application. My experience is, saddle soap used with a small amount of water is used to clean leather. All in all though it looks great and should last a long time!
@@LeetsWorld I like to use Leather Honey Conditioner. It's thick like honey. Best if you warm it up in a large cup of hot water for a bit to thin out the viscosity. Apply and rub in. Let set a few days, or overnight if really dry cracked leather and re-apply several times. Then let dry several days and then wipe and buff. I always used Saddle soap as a cleaner buy mixing in a teaspoon or less of water in top of container with small round natural bristle brush to make a lather. Apply the cleaning lather in circular motion to clean. Wipe off with a slightly damp cloth. Let dry and then start the rehydrating/conditioning process. This is the way I was taught by an old leather man down here in Texas whom I trusted very much.
@@LeetsWorld I was taught to clean with saddle soap and finish with mink oil for most things. It moisturizes the leather, helps to water proof it, and has a nice bit of shine.
I have long thought that Adam would appreciate the specialty tools found in the Hilco, Amcon, or Dynamic Labs catalogs. Then he pulls out double nylon jawed pliers, and I'm like, ooh, he'd REALLY like the content of those catalogs.
More restoration videos please! I love doing this type of work. I subscribe to art restoration channels, ceramic repair, antique furniture even Christmas ornament repairs. Would love to learn more techniques for toys in particular. Thanks Adam.
Almost 30 years of owning custom made outdoor boots for hiking/hunting/fishing and wilderness canoe travels. Fiebings Glycerine Saddle Soap, Obenaufs LP Cleaner & Treatment, Pecard Silicone Water Proofing for chrome tanned. And washing in water with the saddle soap, inside and out. I have a 25 year old pair of chrome tanned stalking boots that look near new.
I experience the same zoom in-out (micro to macro) with new purchases. My college JBL L100 just replaced (delayed as I was searching for my exact pair). Then I cycled thru most of the 70s music played on them - especially the woofer-blows-out-the-candle songs.
I honestly can't see what the difference is before and after. But, I'm not knocking it. I'm glad it made Adam happy; I've watched so many of these and will merrily watch more.
Diva was actually the second book in the Serge and Alba series by Daniel Odier writing as Delacorta. It would go to 6 books in total. Wonderful series, and if you ever have a chance to pick up Cannibal Kiss (not in the series), I recommend it.
I think that "scenicing" you're mentioning is likely shoe cream the original owner used. That light brown rust color was probably the original saddle dye.
OK, that's me off to watch Diva in preparation for Adam's upcoming future video. 😁 I want to be ready & able to fully appreciate absolutely everything, the moment it lands!!
I recorded all the sound from my short films on a Nagra tape recorder 30 years ago at AFCOOP, the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative. I still have the reels!
Can you imagine being Adam Savage's business attorney, or something? He comes into your office for something, you spend three hours discussing the vintage green glass lamp you just bought off ebay, you finally get his signature on whatever it was, and as he leaves you realise you can only bill him for 10 minutes.
That case had to be made for thing and one thing only! Can’t wait to see what new trinket you purchased that fits it!!! And of course, Adam being Adam couldn’t resist telling us what he bought to put in it, lol!
Did a Bookbinding course as part of my initial art education - Learned so much about so many things! We started with making our own paper, marbling end papers and ended designing and embossing the covers!
I think if the bag in an antique store I like is still available, I might have to buy it tomorrow and add those zips to the edges because I think I need that in my life.
The thing that fits the Thing is a Thing in and of itself. That leather bag is fantastic, I'd love to have something like it to fit any of my tech, from my tablet to my cameras to my laptop, or even my phone.
I watched The Diva in my senior year of high school, 04' in a film appreciation class. It was a very compelling film and yet somehow if was pushed out of my mind till just now. I know exactly what Adam is cleaning. Thank you for the wonderful content.
Used one of those Nagras regularly in my first job out of high school: as a location/field sound recordist with a national news broadcaster. Back then we were still recording news on film but was on the rubicon of the 'eng' (video ) revolution .The nagra was used when we went 'Sep Mag' which meant the sound was recorded on a separate magnetic tape (on the nagra) to the film and we used a clapper - crazy for a news report but we still did even if at times it had to be an end clapper. The more mobile version was ComMag (common magnetic) which was when we soundies were linked via a cable to the camera operator and the sound from our boom mic or mixer was recorded on a magnetic stripe on the film. We also used the so called spy nagras for 'special ' reports. I understand your nostalgic fascination.
I absolutely love The Chemical Guys leather products. We also tried out their car air freshener sprays. We use them in our office to combat the chemical ink smells.
I have never seen the film. But a quick look shows that Dominique Pinon is in it. That has now made it part of my "must watch" list. Now pardon me, I must go watch "Delicatessen ".
Watching and listening to Adam always gets my gears turning about the possibility of healthy materialism. One could easily make the snap judgment that Adam is too focused on the things with which he quite literally surrounds himself, but I can’t help but think about the philosophical difference between Adam and a fast fashion shopper or someone with a 15 car garage. I don’t exactly know what that difference is on a deep level but I recon it has something to do with using these things to better understand and appreciate the world. It’s a spectrum for sure but I assume there’s some form of understandable continuity somewhere in there.
i dont know if it would successfully clean something this old but years ago i learned lotion actually makes a fabulous leather cleaning solution though it is likely more expensive than a more standard leather cleaning solution. in my experience using it, its results are very impressive
My father was a radio field reporter/journalist around 80's, in Romania and, he had one of them "recorders".... I used to tease him for having a bigger and heavier purse than mom"...His case had a huge strap.
My understanding is saddle soap should be used with water and lather is wiped off. A local saddle maker in Laurel MD says water does not hurt leather as long as something like Bick4 is used afterwards to re-condition the leather.
There are few things as satisfying as treating and maintaining old leather. I have a pair of 30 year old Alden shoes that are still fantastic due to good maintenance. The soles have of course been replaced, but the leather itself, which by the way is from hardy leather made from the hind quarters of a horse (known as cordovan) still has a fantastic quality and appears almost new.
Just looked up Diva on Wikipedia. The first paragraph of the synopsis gives away the piece of tech Adam is probably getting! I was expecting it to be harder.
Saddle soap is exactly what it says, you are supposed to rub it in, then use a damp rag to remove it. Neatsfoot oil, or leather phane is the final product used to hydrate, soften and protect.
Adam, *don't* use _regular_ CA glue on leather - use _flexible_ CA glue instead! (like Loctite Power Gel or the like). Regular (rigid) CA glue makes leather incredible brittle - it _will_ eventually fail around the rigid-to-flexible border. Flexible CA glue makes it to behave as if it was, and had always been, a single piece of leather.
@@dwarvinicus He knows how to do things fast, and made for movie use. CA glue is absolutely the last thing to use on leather. Contact cement, or maybe as mentioned above, some kind of flexible CA is preferred for any kind of durability.
@@dwarvinicus He may, but working on props, and doing something that might last longer, is something different entirely. For my taste, Adam could use CA a lot less and do things a little more to last. CA doesn't last, it turns crystalline in a relatively short time and falls apart. Its a fast and dirty way of gluing things, not a quality way.
@@dwarvinicus notfeedy is correct and Adam asked for the input 30:18 It's hard to see what he used the CA for in the fast motion but in general use flexible CA on leather. :)
