Shoe polish on bridle hide briefcase

[PeterEliot]

(1) Can it do the leather any harm?

(2) Will it alter the color permanently? (I actually want it to--my bag is too flamin' red and I would like a more brownish hue.)

(3) Won't the polish rub off my clothes?

(4) A brief description of the procedure, if you don't mind? (Unless of course you recommend against it.)

Thanks and I appreciate your input.

 

[ManofKent]

Originally Posted by PeterEliot

(1) Can it do the leather any harm?

(2) Will it alter the color permanently? (I actually want it to--my bag is too flamin' red and I would like a more brownish hue.)

(3) Won't the polish rub off my clothes?

(4) A brief description of the procedure, if you don't mind? (Unless of course you recommend against it.)

Thanks and I appreciate your input.

Strip the surface with acetone, apply leather conditioner and use a decent cream polish. Brush and buff very well or it will come off on clothes. A couple of final coats with a neutral cream will help guard against colur transfering to clothes.

 

[JayJay]

I think shoe polish would rub off on your clothes. The advice in the post above sounds good to me.

 

[forex]

How about using shoe conditioner on bridle briefcase?It should be totally safe,right?
My case came with a little container that has some kind of "vaseline" type stuff,I was told to apply it on leather once in every three months,I have no idea what it is as it is pretty sticky.Any idea what it is?

 

[Templar]

If it's shoe cream, make sure it's natural. Anything else is just an invite for disaster. Please stay away from shoe polish. It really is not the right thing to use on bridle leather.

If you by any chance have an equestrian store in your vicinity, may I suggest you get a tube of Stubben's Hamamol (about $14). This German leather cream does wonders for bags, shoes, etc. One tube will last you quite some time. I use the Stubben cream on Ghurka bags and RM William boots with excellent results.

 

[tlmusic]

I would call the people at Sterling & Burke Ltd, Washington, DC 1.800.205.7739. They sell the SAB briefcases made of bridle hide.

They stock special polishes and hide feed for the leather.

I recently acquired a used SAB attache and called them. The person I spoke to told me not to use any shoe polish. Apparently the leather requires some special care, but will last forever. I ordered some of the polish they suggested, but have not had a chance to apply it yet--so I cannot speak for the results.

 

[Bic Pentameter]

I have not used shoe polish. I have used shoe dubbing which is pretty similar in color to neutral shoe polish. I usually wait until I have a week or two of vacation, then oil my briefcase up on the very first night. I let it soak in over the week. It did rub off, and was visible on my tan raincoat. Dry cleaning did not remove the stain.

Bic

 

[PeterEliot]

Originally Posted by forex

How about using shoe conditioner on bridle briefcase?It should be totally safe,right?
My case came with a little container that has some kind of "vaseline" type stuff,I was told to apply it on leather once in every three months,I have no idea what it is as it is pretty sticky.Any idea what it is?


Does this bag happen to be Swaine Adeney? (I think I read on the briefcase Appreciation thread that you bought one.) If so, it's SAB's own leather conditioner.

 

[forex]

Originally Posted by PeterEliot

Does this bag happen to be Swaine Adeney? (I think I read on the briefcase Appreciation thread that you bought one.) If so, it's SAB's own leather conditioner.

Yes,it is SAB.It is very different from a regular shoe conditioner so I was surprised.It is thick too,I used it one time,it seems like leather became little softer.

 

[Golf_Nerd]

Originally Posted by tlmusic

I would call the people at Sterling & Burke Ltd, Washington, DC 1.800.205.7739. They sell the SAB briefcases made of bridle hide.

They stock special polishes and hide feed for the leather.

I recently acquired a used SAB attache and called them. The person I spoke to told me not to use any shoe polish. Apparently the leather requires some special care, but will last forever. I ordered some of the polish they suggested, but have not had a chance to apply it yet--so I cannot speak for the results.

Hello everybody,

IMO he is right! Don't use any shoe care! Not even neutral.

My cobbler is doing the job. He needs 20 minutes to polish clean by using the maschine.

Another advice: do not clean with accetone (or something like that). If there is a finsh, it will get damaged!

So my advice: Buy special care and use only that!

Yours
GN

 

[joal]

The stuff that comes with the brooks brothers case is the same stuff you can buy directly from SAB. You can see the stuff on their website (even the yellow polishing cloth is the same). Teh SAB/Brooks brothers hide food is very similar to Pecards leather conditioner. At least one retailer of bridle leather goods (David Morgan) recommends using Pecards on the Filson bridle products it sells. I've used Pecards on my Filson field satchel with excellent results. I also have the SAB/brooks brothers flap-over case with straps and use the SAB cream on it - also with excellent results.

I also would second the admonition to NOT use acetone on bridle leather. Part of the beauty of bridle leather is that it is tanned using nothing but natural ingredients (oak bark, tannins, natural fats, tallows, etc).