Introduction

Leather requires good care and regular maintenance.  A vast majority of leather jackets are made of lamb skin, very soft and supple leather that could also be said to be “porous”.  Then you have the more robust “non porous” cow hide leathers used to make motorcycle jackets for example.  Both types require attention and care to keep them in good shape and looking new.

For the purpose of this article, we will separate leathers in 2 basic categories (A) Porous leathers -lamb skin, sheepskin, etc... (B) Non porous -mostly cattle.

Leather is always porous to some degree.  Even after all the tanning processes, some leathers remain very porous and "absorbent".  A drop of water on a light color leather jacket may instantly produce a dark spot while on a less porous leather, it will evaporate before ever penetrating leather.  These manifestations reflect the 2 categories that we use here to guide you in choosing the appropriate method of caring for your leather jacket or apparel.

Tenderly      -       Urad

Before you begin:

Preparation:

• Read this article from top to bottom (including notes).
• Look for any dirt spots and decide if cleaning is needed.
• Look over the jacket for any signs of “leather burn”. (Conditional step A.1 )
• Set up where you can freely move the jacket.
• If needed put tape to cover the buttons and other areas.

How to condition and care for your leather jacket

The basic method is the same for both porous and non porous leather.  It is mostly the quantity of each product used that will vary. 

1. Porous leather
1. If needed clean leather with Aquila.  Spray and wipe gently using a lint-free soft cloth.  Repeat if needed but do not scrub.
2. To facilitate mixing, shake the URAD jar until the product liquefies. Mix 3/4 Tenderly for 1/4 URAD.  The lighter the color and the more porous it is, the more TENDERLY is used.  A white lamb skin jacket would be treated with 9/10 TENDERLY and only 1/10 URAD, if any.  Apply with the applicator sponge provided.   Gently rub it in.  Do not scrub.
3. This conditioning should be repeated once or twice a year.
4. You can add a few drops of Costa Brava dye if the color is only faded a little bit or if the color did not restore using only the neutral as above.  Otherwise, for very badly damaged or faded color read this leather jacket restoration article.
2. Non porous leather
1. If needed clean leather with Aquila.  Spray and wipe using a lint-free soft cloth.  Repeat if needed.  Use Aquila on a regular basis to clean the sleeves area or any other area that may get dirty more quickly, don't wait for the annual or biannual full conditioning.
2. Moisturize, condition, protect and shine using both Urad and Tenderly mixed together.  This conditioning should be repeated once or twice a year.  To facilitate mixing, shake the URAD jar until the product liquefies.  Mix 1/2 Tenderly for 1/2 URAD.
3. You can add a few drops of Costa Brava dye if the color is only faded a little bit or if the color did not restore using only the neutral as above.  Otherwise, for very badly damaged or faded color read this leather jacket restoration article.

Here are the facts that guided us in making the above recommendations
URAD notes:
-Urad contains Lanolin oil.  Best moisturizing oil for leather.  Helps restore faded color.  It may darken light colored porous leather.
-Urad contains carnauba wax.  This natural wax protects and gives a natural shine. Wax may not dry well on very porous leather so it may remain tacky even after normal dry time.  On extremely Non porous leather, wax may sit on the surface of leather and white cracks may show up in the thin wax surface layer when you move the leather.  Both of these conditions can be alleviated or completely handled by mixing URAD with Tenderly as described above.
TENDERLY notes:
-TENDERLY was design for the conditioning of any leather that does not put up with oil or wax.  It moisturizes, softens and offers minimum protection for your leather.  However, it does not restore color and does not shine.  It helps spread URAD thin and helps soften the protective carnauba wax layer.  Mixing Urad and Tenderly in various degrees usually provides the best result for leather jackets and apparel.

To top of the page

Additional information

*Conditional steps:

Protection
The above method usually provides enough protection, particularly if done twice a year.  Yet sometimes it is best to invest more on protection.  A good candidate for this would be a white lamb skin jacket.  Protecting it well, right from the start, would make it much easier to maintain and condition later. 
Whenever more protection is needed, apply SAHARA:  preferably outdoors or in a well ventilated area and preferably wearing a mask, spray 1 or 2 thin layers of Sahara on the jacket.  Hang to dry for 8 hours without moving the jacket.  For longer lasting result, repeat this step once.

Softening - deep moisturizing - thick leather
For very thick leather that may have harden or be stiff, after the regular maintenance steps, use a light coat of GRASSO and let it penetrate, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.  Repeat if needed.  Wipe off any excess oil that did not fully penetrate leather. If leather remains too greasy, apply another thin coat of Tenderly (3/4) - Urad (1/4) mixture.

Notes:

• Although it can be quite surprising how much simple regular maintenance and conditioning can restore leather, this is not a restoration process.  Read How to restore leather jacket article.
• If there are only a few spots with no color left at all, use Costa Brava on these spots as a first step.  If color is only slightly faded, add a few drops of Costa brava to the URAD-TENDERLY mixture.  If the color is badly faded use the restoration method. After restoration, you use the method presented here to maintain it.
• Don’t worry about exact quantity.  A little more of one or the other will not be noticeable.  You are encouraged to use the data presented here to figure out the best mix for your leather.
• Quantity of product needed will vary wildly from one jacket to the other depending on the type of leather, the size of the jacket and how much product it absorbs. Start with mixing only small quantity (example: for 1/2 and 1/2 use 1 table spoon of Urad and 1 table spoon of Tenderly) .
• Every leather article is unique in terms of the raw materials, products employed and tanning methods used in its preparation; we recommend a test always be made on a less visible part of the article first.

Conclusion

Leather is a very noble material and has incredible longevity, provided it is well cared for!  These simple steps should help you enjoy your leather jacket for many years!