Suede Liner

[robin_buckeye]

I just got a Louisville Slugger LSG46D. It's about 10 or 15 years old in pretty good shape. It think it's an inexpensive glove, but it seems fairly well made. The exterior leather seems to be pretty good quality, but the liner is a "suede-ish" type of leather that I've never seen before. A little bit of it comes off on your hand when you take the glove off. The texture of the residue reminds me of sawdust.

What's the best way to condition this kind of liner?

[BretMan]

Funny you should mention this...

Just today, I received in the mail a circa-1970 Rawlings Rick Reichardt glove from a dad wanting it restored to pass along to his son. It's not a bad little glove, in pretty nice shape, and it also has a "suede" type inner lining.

Before working on the glove, I was kind of kicking around a few different ideas as to what might be the best conditioner for this lining.

I'm not sure if this type of leather is considered a true "suede" material- that is, a leather specifically treated and buffed to obtain the soft texture. It could possibly just be an unfinished leather or a different type of inexpensive leather such as pigskin. It definitely has a raised, nappy feel to it not at all like the smooth leather you find on most gloves.

I've conditioned similar gloves in the past with Lexol or lanolin without any ill-effects. My experience was that this unfinished material soaked up the conditioner more than a smooth leather. It seemed to darken a little bit more a smooth leather, perhaps due to soaking up more of the conditioner. It also seemed to become a bit smoother, with less of the grainy feel it had before conditioning.

Unless someone has another suggestion, I imagine that I will condition the lining on this glove with the same lanolin conditioner I use on the rest of the glove.