I de-cuffed my sheepskin mitt: pics

Spilchy

New member
If I could develop a favorite wash mitt, it would be a large fluffy, soft, thick sheepskin pad with NO cuff. I have yet to locate one! As much as love sheepskin I don like the cuffs on any of them. I feel I get better control when I can palm the mitt with my hand rather than insert it into the mitt. I just enjoy this feel better.



But, if I want to wash this way, I run the risk of scraping the cuff on the surface. Even the traditional way of washing poses this "danger" too.



So I took an older sheepskin to experiment with by removing the cuff.



I took a pair of manicuring scissors, stretched the cuff inside out and easily, but delicately snipped the stiching that holds the cuff to the fur and the skin of the mitt. It took maybe 5 minutes. The little threads pull right out with no problem. The fur is obviously attached to the skin so you don't have to worry about them separating. You get a tiny, tiny bit of shedding from the edges but with a quick dusting of my fingers it's gone. A quick tug reveals no further shedding. I am left with a genuine piece of sheepskin with no synthetic material left on it.



In the picture of the inside of the cuff, you'll notice the imprint of where the stitching was. You may see a renegade thread or two, but I pulled them all off.



If anyone out there is listening, develop a thick, cuffless sheepskin pad. Nobody seems to have one and I know a lot of people use the mitts without the hand insertion.



I have about 12 mitts I have collected over the years and I may try a few more, including the ones with the mesh. Feel free to ask any questions. Thanks for reading :up



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If I could develop a favorite wash mitt, it would be a large fluffy, soft, thick sheepskin pad with NO cuff.



I may have a solution. I went to a local maker of sheepskin seat covers and asked for this very thing. They folded over and sewed up a piece of sheepsking so one end was completely open. Works great. :)
 
Why go through the effort of cutting the cuff off? Why not just tuck it inside the mitt?



As for custom making one... if you have an Ikea anywhere near you they sell whole sheepskins for less than $20. I usually use them for chair throws like on my office chair. You could cut them to shape and bring them in to the local tailor to sew them up. In fact, cut the sheepskin and a foam pad to size to insert for padding. Sould work well.



By the way, I'm curious about something... in the picture below... is that grey inside suede or buffed skin or is it a fabric or felt?



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Thanks for the suggestions guys. The creation of your own wash pad is another great idea. But with 12 mitts I can tailor my own!



Lee, if I were to do that, I would have NO open ends. I prefer a solid pad to palm.



Leo, I don't want to tuck the cuff in because I don't like cuffs to begin with, it could still marr and I may have to re-tuck it every time I give a vigorous shake in the rinse bucket before dipping back in the car wash soap bucket. Or at the very least, be mindful of the tucked cuff with all the dunking and have to concentrate a bit more :o



Leo, it's the skin. The mitt is old and used and washed repeatedly. So the skin has frayed (sp?) a bit giving the illusion in the picture of a fabric.



Also, please note I have not washed the mitt in the washing machine yet to see if it will fray at the edges. But a close examination reveals that the fur is literally stuck to the skin (a natural occurence) so I don't anticipate an issue, but you never know. But I'm confident. I'm giving a decent pull now with my finger tips and it ain't shedding.
 
when i bought my first wool wash mit a while back, thats the first thing i did, was to cut off the cuff. but i didnt snip every thread, i just cut the acual leather , leaving some of it attached to the cuff, and threw it away.
 
Thanks for the idea Seth, that's what I'm going to do with mine. I tried the tucking of the cuff inside but like you as soon as I dunk it and do the grit guard swipe it comes out again.

I've never been one to put my hand inside, like you I prefer to palm it when washing. If someone makes one without a cuff I'll buy it.
 
Spilchy, I totally agree. Why bother with a potentially expensive wash mitt only to have a horrendous cuff. Rather than going to great lengths to correct the manufacturers issues I just fold the cuff over to have a "pad" composed solely of sheepskin. I guess it is a case of knowing (or adapting) how to use a product rather than expecting the most expensive one to do the work for me.
 
BigAl3 said:
actually, i did it a long time ago but just now posted... :o



Well, I am glad you did, because it really is a good idea. Not sure why I hadn't thought of it myself. Those cuffs really are a pita.
 
:LOLOL I just woke up and checked Autopia and saw my blast from the past thread show up!



I'm still doing this with my mitts.



Glad to be able to pass on a helpful tip. :dance
 
autodetailingsolutions.com/wash_mitts.htm



The third one down has no cuff and all sides are completely sewed shut. However, it does not say what material it is made out of. I remembered seeing this on ADS a while back and figured I would post it for everyone to see!
 
buckshot333 said:
autodetailingsolutions.com/wash_mitts.htm



The third one down has no cuff and all sides are completely sewed shut. However, it does not say what material it is made out of. I remembered seeing this on ADS a while back and figured I would post it for everyone to see!



I have them but from a different company. They are the same material as the Meguiar's Ultra Plush Wash Mitt located here:



Ultra Plush Wash Mitt [X3010] - $4.50 Car Care SuperStore, complete selection of Prolong Super Lubricants, Meguiar's car care products and Pitstop Auto products



They are not genuine sheepskin, not as soft and retain dirt. They are synthetic. I only use them on extremely filthy vehicles that I will be polishing so I don't have to worry about marring. This way I don't gunk up my sheepskins.
 
Yes, first I got angry with a tight cuff and I overstretched it until it was big enough to be comfortable, but I de-cuffed a couple of them too. Much more comfortable, a lot easier to flip.
 
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