leather gloves gettings crusty

[ThrillHo]

Any tips on revitalizing crusty leather gloves? Mine are only about 4 months old, but the summer riding season plus sweaty hands took its toll, and the leather is starting to get stiff and almost abrasive to the touch when I put them on.

Here they is:

[rjstaaf]

Have they gotten wet from riding in the rain? I have found that causes the leather to get stiff more than sweat from your hands.

It is probably because of having lived and ridden most of my life in Florida that I generally carry rain gear including rain gloves so my leather ones have never seen the rain.

Alpinestars Jet Road Gore-Tex Motorcycle Gloves :: New Enough, LTD

Leather is leather, use a good leather cleaner/conditioner. I would chose one that does not leave a greasy surface behind. Use the principle of a little goes a long way as you don't want to saturate the gloves. I am not sure how much it will help the inside of the gloves though if that is what is causing the problem.

http://www.autopia.org/shopping/sear...er+conditioner

You might even try a leather cleaner/conditioner wipe.

[ThrillHo]

Haven't seen any rainyet. California is like Florida in a lot of ways, but opposite too, lol. We get very little rain in southern ca, so the only thing I can attribute it to is sweat. I wear gloves when I lift weights, and it's the same stiff feeling that I get when my gloves needs to be washed, which means I'd usually just throw them in with a load of wash and they would come out nice and soft. I don't want to just throw my bike gloves into the washing machine!

I keep all of my leather care products at my dad's in his garage, so I'll have to see if I can't whip something up here. I may be able to find some woolite, or some other gentle cleansing solution. Thx for the help!

[Vanilla]

Originally Posted by ThrillHo

We get very little rain in southern ca, so the only thing I can attribute it to is sweat.

That's exactly it - though 4 month seems extreme (do you commute with 'em?). I clean my gloves in the sink with some woolite about once a year (alpinestars SP1's - going on 3 years now). If you keep riding with them crusty, the leather around the stiching will get weak & could fail in a crash.

Give them a woolite bath, cover them in leather conditioner/lotion, and go for a ride until they're dry. I usually reapply the conditioner a couple times till they feel right. I also do this anytime I get new gloves - they fit perfect after a good soaking & a ride-dry.

[rjstaaf]

I guess everyone is different as I have never had that much of an issue with sweat in the gloves. My commute is 2 hours a day.

I do have several pairs of gloves though, the wife heard the term "gear ho" and looked at me with one of those faces I have 2 pairs of Alpinestars SP-1s, a pair of Alpinestars GP Plus and the Alpinestars Jet Roads.

I do alternate what I wear so maybe that could be it but my oldest pair of SP-1s were bought in 2006 and I have never done any kind of cleaning and they still look and feel great.

To be honest (being the gear ho the wife says I am), if my gloves got to the point they were uncomfortable I would probably just get a new pair but again that is just me. The process in Vanilla's post is a good suggestion. Woolite is gentle enough on the leather yet should clean well. Just pick a leather cleaner/conditioner that dries well as some can leave your gloves greasy.

[Devilsown]

Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil

maybe?

[ThrillHo]

So I FINALLY got around to conditioning up my gloves, and I think I had it all backwards.. my gloves weren't crusty from sweat, they were crusty from DEHYDRATION. My gloves positively gobbled up the conditioner as I applied it. And I guess it makes sense, cause my hands never really got that sweaty, and my gloves offer decent venting. PLUS I have no wind break on my handle bars, so all that wind blowing by was bound to take its toll. I can't wait to try them out tomorrow when I head to work (and yea, I do commute on my bike).

Anyways, moral of the story is don't neglect your gloves!

[rjstaaf]

Was poking around and ran across these leather wipes by a company called Muc-Off. Evidently they have the seal of approval from Joe Rocket...

They have an extensive line of detailing products aimed at motorcycles. Have never tried them but think I might be doing some shopping there as several of their products look interesting....

Muc-Off Foam Fresh

[Roger Koh]

If you like to make your pair of leather softer than the original.

They need to by hydrate with a pH 3.3 hydrator prior to fatliquor it with a pH 5.0 fatliquor.

That’s how they fatliquor it in the tannery – the more fatliquor the softer the leather!

See this video from the discovery channel explaining about how fatliquor works!

On Discovery Channel's series "Dirty Jobs," fat-liquor is used to lubricate animal hides to make them soft and water resistant. - Leather Cleaning Restoration Forum

Roger Koh
Leather Doctor®