Verdigris On Leather

[madrad62]

I've had good sucsess with liquid spray foot anti fungal foot spray for the mold on leather.spray on,wait a day wipe or brush off and reaply. has worked on old military stocks,leather,canvas.sometimes one ap works,sometimes a few.follow up with your favorite leather or wood preservative treatment.

[navyrifleman]

For Verdigris on leather due to brass rivets, I use an old toothbrush, sometimes with a little saddle soap on it.

Brasso will get into the leather and it has a tendency to leave a light green "grunge" where it dries. Ronsonol or Zippo lighter fluid will remove the Brasso residue, but might discolor your leather.

For mold, I find that a solution of water and white vinegar will usually kill it and remove most staining.

[pickax]

Here is a sticky thread I found on the US militaria forum on leather preservation.
https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/for...rving-leather/
We have had some good suggestions here as well.
I found this post in the sticky pertinent.


Senior Moderator

956
Location: SE Missouri
#6
Posted August 13, 2008
Here is a reply that I received from a museum tech with the National Park Service museum system on this same topic a few weeks ago:



Dear Jeff,



Ahh Pecard’s, the much beloved leather dressing of military memorabilia

aficionados everywhere. Why it is so popular is beyond me, but I digress.

(And despite what Pecard’s will tell you, the Smithsonian does not use

their product anymore.)



First off, let me say leather is a really hard item to conserve by nature.

So many factors contribute to the characteristics of the final product,

from what sort of animal, how long it was dead, its age at death, the skill

of the skinner and tanner, the processes and chemicals used in the tanning,

to the finishing, the use, the duration of use, care or lack of, age, and

more prior to your acquiring the item. There are no real hard and fast

rules. Most conservators now agree preventive conservation in the form of

storage and support is most important, even in objects showing severe

issues.



In general, leather likes it around 65 degrees or so, and prefers the

humidity between 45%-65%, depending on a number of factors; including mixed

composition such as metal components. It is best to clean leather by

brushing it toughly with a soft, natural bristle brush and use a screened

vacuum to remove the dust and debris so it is not redeposited. The object

then should be fully supported with UNbuffered materials, to keep the

leather from becoming stiff in an awkward position. Leather likes it dark,

especially dyed or painted items. Hands off is preferred, because even

super clean, dry hands can leave oils.



Any good conservator will tell you that the code of ethics followed

dictates that no object receives any treatment that is not fully

reversible. Obviously, dressings of any kind are not. Dressings are just

that, dressings, and research has shown they do not actually restore the

leather in any way. Now lubricating leather can affect (in the short term)

the brittleness and therefore may be used sparingly if desired, but do not

use a petroleum based product such as Pecard’s. Pure lanolin is really the

only thing conservators will recommend. (You can buy lanolin quite easily,

be sure it’s pure). Dressings are only surface deep, and may for a short

time appear to stop problems such as the dreaded red rot, but in actuality

are only making things worse as the petroleum will actually contribute to

the disintegration of the fibrous tissues.



Cheers,

Sarah



(Red emphasis is mine)

For full disclosure, I should also come clean and confess that in my early days of collecting, I was a BIG advocate of leather dressing and Pecard's in particular. It was only after going through the museum conservation classes and seeing examples in collections of artifacts damaged or destroyed by misguided (though well-intentioned) tinkering that I realized the error of my ways.

[HC-7]

As this is subject comes up every so often, I have wondered what the preferences of the US Army Cav, was back in the day.... On the website Society of the Military horse, there is a very long article on the care of Leather and Riding Equipment, Cavalry School, Academic Division, published at Ft Riley Kanas 1940....After a quick read, it seems the go to preservative of leather is, dubbin....Very interesting read....As always, enjoy.....Happy New Year.....regards....alex

[pickax]

The site you source from Alex is quite good history, although another expensive rabbit hole for collecting that I can't go down, LOL ! I have saved it for rainy day reading though.
Interesting that dubbin goes back to medieval times, and consists of natural wax, oil and tallow. Not what we want here I think.

Originally Posted by madrad62

I've had good sucsess with liquid spray foot anti fungal foot spray for the mold on leather.spray on,wait a day wipe or brush off and reaply. has worked on old military stocks,leather,canvas.sometimes one ap works,sometimes a few.follow up with your favorite leather or wood preservative treatment.

This is interesting as well, will add it to the mix. Would be nice if it was this easy! I have some old leather left and separated it all for testing. Would be nice if that works madrad
Charlie Flick, who earlier posted on this thread, is a true expert and I will follow his instructions with some "mold armor". for mold treatment. Will go light on all
treatments though, and we'll go from there.

[HC-7]

Hi Brad, you know the old saying, you can lead a horse to water, but....best regards....alex