by BretMan » April 4th, 2009, 3:50 pm
Fast Orange hand cleaner can be used for cleaning leather, but after you clean it you will likely need to apply a leather conditioner (such as Glovolium). Think of it as a two-step process- cleaning, then conditioning. You want to get all of the dirt, dust, oil and grime out of the leather before applying your conditioner of choice. The end results are usually much better than just doing one or the other.
There are two varieties of Fast Orange- smooth and pumice. The pumice is the "sand-like" gritty stuff, which probably does help remove grime from your hands. I prefer the smooth formula, without pumice, as the gritty pumice can be hard to remove from all the nook and crannies of a glove. Either will work. Just be aware that the pumice might require a little more "detailing" to get it all off the glove.
I use Fast Orange on the grungiest gloves I'm cleaning. It really does breakdown old oil and dirt quite well. It contains lanolin, which is good for leather. Despite that, you might find that using it removes not only old oil and grime, but some of the natural oils in the leather. It can make the leather feel kind of dried out after use. Not to worry- since you're going to follow up your cleaning efforts with a good leather conditioner, you will be replacing the lost natural oils.
For less-dirty gloves, I use a milder cleaner- a 50/50 mix of Murphy's Oil Soap and water. I mix this in a spray bottle and spray it onto a rag or sponge. It works up a lather and will clean up all but the most stubborn ground in dirt, grease or oil. This is totally safe for leather and makes a great general pupose cleaner for all sporting goods.