by BretMan » November 21st, 2007, 3:53 am
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.