Clean - Condition - Care

The Aetolian Leather Care Guide

Our leather goods are built to last, but they still need a little TLC.  That’s why we’ve made sure to include a leather care card with every purchase and it’s a brief note of what you can find here.

Coming soon!

The two primary types of real leather

Vegetable-tanned leather:
– A hide tanned with natural tannins, such as bark, leaves and roots.
– It’s eco-friendly, no chemicals are involved.
– It gets better with age, in other words, it gets a patina, a character.
– It’s not waterproof and requires conditioning to prevent it from cracking.
– The process of tanning vegetable-tanned leather is long, from three months up to a year.
– Due to the slow and gentle processes, the vegetable-tanned leather surpasses in longevity the chrome-tanned leather.
– Vegetable-tanned leather has a distinctively sweet & woody fragrance that is normally associated with leather.
– It’s the sturdiest of all leathers; saddles and holsters are made out of vegetable-tanned leather.

Chrome tan leather:
– It’s tanned with acidic salts, they stabilize the leather by cross linking the collagen fibres.
– It’s produced fast; more specifically, in one day.
– It’s softer than vegetable-tanned leather.
– It’s almost waterproof or highly water resistant, scratch and stain resistant.
– It needs conditioning but not as often as the vegetable-tanned leather.
– Its process is not environmentally friendly.

When to use conditioners:

• Condition your leather once or twice a year, depending on use and environmental factors, to maintain its quality and lifespan.
• Do not over-condition your leather, this will eventually harden your leather. Less is more when it comes to conditioners.

What conditioner to use:

• For vegetable-tanned leather, use a natural oil-based conditioner. Creams work too, but they’re usually for chrome-tanned leather. A wax based leather balm will add a natural protective barrier from the elements.
• For chrome-tanned leather, emulsified conditioners or leather balms are best to keep moisture without greasiness. Oil based conditioners can be used on heavier chrome-tanned leather, on boots for example.

How to properly use a conditioner:

You will need three pieces of cloth: one for cleaning, one for conditioning and one for buffing off at the end.
1. Clean the leather with a soft, damp cloth before conditioning. Microfibre works fine, damped in lukewarm water.
Note: Once or twice a year you can use saddle soap. The saddle soap will remove any waxes and dirt from the surface, unclog the pores and permit the conditioner to penetrate into the fibres more easily.
2. Let it air-dry naturally and away from heat sources.
3. Use a small amount of conditioner and rub it in with your fingers (if it’s a natural product) or use a clean cloth, retaining a circular motion at all times. The leather may darken but will lighten a bit as it absorbs.
4. Let it rest and absorb for about an hour and buff off with a clean cloth.

Note: Always do a patch test before applying any conditioner to avoid discoloration or damage.

Dos and Don'ts

– Do regularly clean leather with a soft animal hair brush or cloth.
– Do regularly air out leather.
– Do blot away water or moisture as soon as possible.
– Do dry wet leather naturally, away from artificial heat.
– Do keep leather conditioned.
– Do clean spots and stains with saddle soap and lukewarm water
or water-based leather cleaners.
– Do patch-test any conditioners, cleaners, polishes or wax in a hidden spot beforehand.

– Don’t use brushes made with synthetic bristles on leather.
– Don’t machine wash leather.
– Don’t get leather soaking wet wherever possible.
– Don’t dry wet leather next to a radiator or with a hairdryer.
– Don’t tumble dry leather.
– Don’t iron leather.
– Don’t immerse leather in water to clean.