Permatex Fast Orange and Vaseline!

[Cowboy7130]

The other day I came across a very low-priced Rawlings OR 520 Dale Murphy endorsed glove on e-bay Express. I have another one just like it that I love, but it is in pretty rough shape. Since it was low-priced ($8), since Dale Murphy is my favorite Irish center fielder from the 80's, and since I wanted a better model of the glove, I bought it. Got it in the mail, but it was pretty dry and stiff, and a little bit grimy. So, I head down to AutoZone and find the Permatex Fast Orange Hand Cleaner with Pumice. I was leary of the pumice, but it turns out it really helped get out the grime! I let the glove dry overnight, and it did ... it dried overnight! So, I dug out the big tub of Vaseline that my ex left in the bathroom cabinet when she moved out, and I dabbed a bit on the leather ... not too much, don't want to get it too greasy ... but the leather literally drank it right in! So I put a light coat of Vaseline all over the glove, let it stand and dry overnight draped over a Gatorade bottle, and then wiped off any excess with an old towel (and there wasn't much excess, since that leather was so thirsty!).

WOW!!!! I wish I could have taken before and after pictures. The old glove looks almost brand new! The leather is soft and shiny. I am not sure how good the OR 520 models are supposed to be - probably department store Rawlings, much like the RBG 36. But this seems like a quality glove that just needed some attention. I am now a firm believer in Permatex Fast Orange and Vaseline.

'Scuse me ... gotta go play catch with Dale!

[BretMan]

You had an ex that kept giant tubs of Vaseline in the house and you let her get away?

I'm pretty sure that the "OR" series of gloves are exactly the same as the "RBG" series, just pre-dating them a bit before Rawlings changed their numbering system. Even the earlier RBG gloves have pretty nice leather, much nicer than the newer ones.

I have used Vaseline and never noticed any ill-effects. In fact, some gloves turn out pretty darn nice from it. The only reason I don't use it more is that I like the results from Lexol or straight lanolin just a little bit better.

Does anyone remember the flap (covered in the Glove Collector newsletter) over Vaseline use when Noah Liberman published his "Glove Affairs" book a few years ago? The chapter on glove care was dead set against using petroleum jelly. Liberman's argument against it was based partly on his statement that petroleum jelly "...isn't an oil. Technically, it is a wax".

He went on to say that petroleum jelly doesn't penetrate the leather and attracts dust and dirt. My own observations are the exact opposite of that.

The book recommends lanolin as the absolute best leather treatment. The funny thing is, if you do some research on lanolin the technical data says that lanolin is classified as...a wax!

[Cowboy7130]

I just re-read my post and figured out that $8 in parentheses equals ... oh well ...

I tell you what, that old glove sure soaked up the Vaseline, as did its twin, the other OR 520 that I had before, as did the Rawlings GGP200-4 that I cleaned up yesterday. (What a great glove, btw ... just wish my youngest son had not taken a shine to it and claimed it for himself!) The cleaning and the oiling really made that blonde leather look almost brand new!