Barbour Stinks

I recently got a hold of a second-hand Barbour. It's a Beaufort, to be exact. Anyway, it stinks.

Barbours are supposed to last forever so I wasn't concerned about getting a used one. I should have been.

This jacket doesn't just smell funny. It really reeks. It smells like an old canvas tent. Worse, you can smell this thing across the room. You could probably smell it across the street but I don't dare take it out in public in its current condition.

I've had other waxed jackets and none of them smelled like this. In fact, I have a long one that I use for riding in the rain. It is covered with all sorts of interesting material and even it doesn't smell this bad.

I tried leaving it out in the sun but it doesn't seem to have helped. If it were a normal jacket, I'd just have it dry cleaned/throw it in the wash. But as it's waxed, I can't do that. I'm hesitant to start spraying it with random household cleaning products as I don't want to wreck it.

Any suggestions?

It probably has mold. Send it to Barbour to be reconditioned but don't count on it going away.

I think it a tad unfair that you surmise all Barbour jackets to 'stink' on the evidence of one — second hand — jacket.

Most of the waxed jackets I've encountered have had an unpleasant smell to them; could it be the type of wax or somthing? Nonetheless, I'd go with texas_jack's reconditioning suggestion.

Never buy second hand clothes and if you are so stupid, check what you are buying first.

Originally Posted by GBR

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Never buy second hand clothes and if you are so stupid, check what you are buying first.


Well, there goes B&S . . .

I'm in month two of having a mid-1950s Belstaff getting aired out.

I don't plan on lookin at it until later this summer.



- B

Feck. Just realised I've totally missed the humour in the title of this thread and apologise for my earlier post. It's been a tough Friday; I had to work all day today. Never good for the brain.

Suggestions: -Take it to the dry cleaners. They will, no doubt, return it with the tag that says 'We are sorry, we did everything we could to clean this garment but it is beyond our means to remedy. It will be cleaner, and they won't charge you. -Create a series of 'Bounder Adventure' books for children; the first being 'Bounder And The Stinky Barbour Jacket'. When the first book is a hit, sell the authentic jacket that inspired the story on Ebay for $2 million and retire. -Have a laboratory extract and replicate the chemical formula causing the smell. Release a new 'Bounder' line of rugged and envigorating colognes. Possible names: 01) 'Homeless' 02) 'Every Living Thing' 03) 'They'll Never Look Here' 04) 'Carrion' 05) 'Some Of This!' 06) 'Me Time' 07) 'Thrift Store' 08) 'Repel' 09) 'RottenHam' (or 'Rotten 'im' -UK Releae) 10) 'Below Deck' 11) 'In Country' 12) 'Je Regrette' 13) 'Fearsome' 14) 'Non!' 15) 'Caveat Emptor' 16) 'What Am I, Can You Guess?' 17) 'Morning Breeze' 18) '10,000 Miles' 19) 'Ol Factory' 20) 'Harbinger' 21) 'Hive' 22) 'Clansman' 23) 'Two Of Me' 24) 'Woodsy' 25) 'Last Days'

Originally Posted by Man Of Lint

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Suggestions:
-Take it to the dry cleaners. They will, no doubt, return it with the tag that says 'We are sorry, we did everything we could to clean this garment but it is beyond our means to remedy.
It will be cleaner, and they won't charge you.

Unfortunately, you can't dry clean waxed jackets.

-Create a series of 'Bounder Adventure' books for children; the first being
'Bounder And The Stinky Barbour Jacket'. When the first book is a hit, sell the authentic jacket that inspired the story on Ebay for $2 million and retire.

Click to expand...

Much better idea. I rather like this one. Now that I think about it, there is probably a real market for SF-themed children's books. After all, I know for a fact that at least some SF members are capable of reproduction. I think I'll make the second title, 'Bounder And The Mystery of the Missing Belt Loops.'

-Have a laboratory extract and replicate the chemical formula causing the smell.
Release it as a new rugged and envigorating cologne.
Possible names:
01) 'Homeless'
02) 'Every Living Thing'
03) 'They'll Never Look Here'
04) 'Carrion'
05) 'Some Of This!'
06) 'Me Time'
07) 'Thrift Store'
08) 'Cadaverous'
09) 'RottenHam' (or 'Rotten 'im' -UK Releae)
10) 'Below Deck'
11) 'In Country'
12) 'Je Regrette'
13) 'Fearsome'
14) 'Non!'
15) 'Caveat Emptor'
16) 'What Am I, Can You Guess?'
17) 'Morning Breeze'
18) '10,000 Miles'
19) 'Ol Factory'
20) 'Harbinger'
21) 'Hive'
22) 'Clansman'
23) 'Two Of Me'
24) 'Woodsy'
25) 'Last Days'

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26) 'Country Seat'
27) 'Landed Gentry'

Lest I derail my own thread, though, I hope someone out there has some ideas about possible cleaning methods. The neighbors are starting to complain.

Some of the Q&As from the Barbour site are interesting – apologies if anyone is already familiar with them:

Q. My wax jacket is soiled how can I clean it? A. To remove the soiling we recommend sponging with cold water. Do not use soaps or detergents as these will affect the performance of the wax finish.

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Q. I've put my wax jacket into a washing machine to clean it and now all the wax has come off. What can I do? A. Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done as the washing process strips all the wax finish from the cotton fabric. Any re-application of the wax coating will be totally absorbed by the cotton fabric and will soil the inner lining which, in turn, will soil any clothing worn underneath the jacket.

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I wonder if the previous owner has, at some point, machine washed the jacket and attempted to re-waterproof if. If the wax has penetrated the lining it may be causing the smell from within?

http://www.newenglandreproofers.com/


- B

Originally Posted by Man Of Lint

Click to expand...

01) 'Homeless'
02) 'Every Living Thing'
03) 'They'll Never Look Here'
04) 'Carrion'
05) 'Some Of This!'
06) 'Me Time'
07) 'Thrift Store'
08) 'Repel'
09) 'RottenHam' (or 'Rotten 'im' -UK Releae)
10) 'Below Deck'
11) 'In Country'
12) 'Je Regrette'
13) 'Fearsome'
14) 'Non!'
15) 'Caveat Emptor'
16) 'What Am I, Can You Guess?'
17) 'Morning Breeze'
18) '10,000 Miles'
19) 'Ol Factory'
20) 'Harbinger'
21) 'Hive'
22) 'Clansman'
23) 'Two Of Me'
24) 'Woodsy'
25) 'Last Days'

Sweet mix tape. Make me a copy? Oh yeah, is 10,000 miles the Japanese-only release?

Check the back pocket for forgotten grouse

This is a bit extreme but it may work: rent/buy an ozone generator. Leave the ozone generator and the jacket in a bathroom for 30 minutes, then shut off the generator. Air out, repeat as often as neccessary. Don't breathe in the ozone.

This was the recipe for smoked-in rooms while I was on a stint in an isolated northern town - seemed to work decently.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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http://www.newenglandreproofers.com/


- B

Thanks very much, Vox. Per their website: In addition to reproofing, we offer odor removal . This might be the solution if all my home remedies continue to fail. Well, it might be the solution assuming I can convince UPS that the sartorial equivalent of a dead skunk doesn't qualify as "hazardous material."

Originally Posted by The Swede

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Check the back pocket for forgotten grouse

Actually, this would be an improvement. Before I send it off, maybe I'll try this. It'll be sort of like those little air fresheners they have in airplane bathrooms, only organic.