Vintage Baseball Glove Forum

I've been trying to get information on how to revive my old Wilson A2800, and after lurking on the forum for a while, I decided to go to the drugstore the other day to find some lanolin and vasoline.

Finding the Vaseline, of course, was no problem. The lanolin, however, was a different story. I wasn't able to find anything close to pure lanolin, but the pharmacist mentioned something interesting - the 2 main active ingredients in A&D Ointment were lanolin and petrolatum. The concentration of lanolin was only 15%, but since it wasn't the pure stuff, I just ended up buying the Vasoline. Besides, I thought I'd ask around here first before I ruin a perfectly good mitt with something other than the tried and true...

So my questions are these - has anyone ever tried A&D Ointment to condition/restore a glove? And is "petrolatum" the same as petroleum jelly? The stuff is available in a good-sized container, but intrestingly the texture was more like hair wax / beeswax than petroleum jelly... Thanks in advance to everyone!

Hey Musashi,

Don't do it!

Don't put A&D on your glove as it will take a very long time to get rid of the odor.

If you have something like lanolin (my preference) or Vaseline available, that has no "medication smell" you should just use that.

The ingredients in A&D offers no magical properties that the other conventional choices do not. It just offers an odor and possibly a bacteria breeding ground that you may not want.

I believe docglov gave some practical advice on conditioners in this thread. We would be wise to benefit from his hands on knowledge and years of experience designing and making gloves for a large, well know sports equipment company.

-GG

Go to a small pharmacy, preferably one that does holistic stuff as well as conventional. They almost always have it in stock or can get it. As a last ditch effort, the expensive lanolin route is to go to the newborn/nursing section and get a tube of Lansinoh ~shudder $13.00/3oz~
Clint

Same with some other products that contain lanolin or petrolatum. Another one is Bag Balm, a creamy goo that was first developed to treat a cow's udders for skin damage and is now marketed as a treatment for chapped skin in people. The stuff does a fair job on leather, but it has a smell that's kind of funky.

There are other similar products called called Udder Butter and one whose name I can't remember called Moo-something-or-other that that don't smell as bad. The Moo-stuff (I have a tube of it lying around somewhere) actually smells pretty good, kind of like Jergen's Lotion with added fragrance.

Smell aside, these various creams and lotions I've tried just don't seem to give the same great results as pure lanolin, petroleum jelly or other products designed specifically for treating leather.

I'm surprised you couldn't find lanolin at your drug store. I've had pretty good success finding it, but have had to check a couple of different stores. You can also buy in on eBay. It's available in one-pound tubs that should last you quite awhile!

If you can't find pure lanolin, my suggestion would be to check some sporting goods stores, or places like Wal-Mart, for conditioners specifically for leather or baseball gloves. You shouldn't have any problem finding one with lanolin as an ingredient and you'll be getting something that you know will not be harmful to leather.

I've always wondered about "petrolatum" as I see it listed as an ingredient in many skin care products. A quick Google search discovered that it is the pure form of petroleum jelly. The petrolatum a rather thick cream that is processed into petroleum jelly to make it easier to spread and use.

There's some interesting reading here: Petroleum Jelly on Wikipedia . Possibly everything you would ever want to know about petroleum jelly- and some stuff you probably don't want to know about!

The article lends credence to the long-held claim that PJ might tend to clog pores. Possibly, the effect on leather is different from the effect on human skin, with leather being processed and tanned and maybe having larger pores or different properties that limit the "clogging" effect.

One more thought on this topic:

If I searched for, found and nurtured the glove of my liking, not to mention spending $200 plus on it, I am certainly not about to go el-cheapo by experimenting with my kid's unused diaper rash ointments to treat my glove.

oh.....that's right.......that's what I actually did do, hence my recommendation to avoid the stuff!

I think lexol works fine and I use lanolin. Yes, I know about the cost, but hey, a tall, mocha-frappachino at Four-bucks, I mean Starbucks isn't exactly a bargain either, yet people are in lines out the door.

-GG

Whew...thanks for the advice! I was going to mention that the smell was, shall I say, a little strong...that was actually one of the reasons why I didn't get it at the time. I'll keep checking around, and I won't settle for less than the real stuff (or Lexol).