by wjr953 » September 9th, 2008, 3:24 pm
Robin
My suggestion would be to clean it real good with Lexol Orange & hot water first. The ingredients in Lexol Orange help to restore the natural PH content to the leather. Then, with the leather still a little damp after cleaning & rinsing (well), I would use Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. With really dry gloves, I have had to do this step sometimes 3, 4, or even 5 times. Just a thin coat, really worked into the leather with your fingers. Wait a day or so, and then do it again. Most (not all) of the dried out leather gloves that I've done this way have come back to life. This is just my suggestion. I'm certain that there are many others on this forum that have other ideas and processes that work as just as well for them. I'm faithful to the process that I use because it works for me. The problem that you're experiencing is a real common one with gloves both older and newer, especially in the inner palm area. Most of that is caused by moisture from sweaty hands and that part of a glove rarely if ever gets cleaned. If everyone took 5 minutes after they finish using their glove for the day, and then wiped it down inside and out with Lexol, warm water and a sponge, the gloves would last twice as long as they do now. Of course, if that ever happened I would not have any gloves to work on, lol. Human saliva and sweat absolutely kill gloves, and of course good old fashioned neglect. Hope that this helps.
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