Lets talk leather... any fix to those growing fuzzys, how to prevent in the 1st place

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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
I have a pretty large leather collection, holsters, belts & slings, & my CASS gear, like chaps & the like... & I like to dabble with holster making myself, a lot of my holsters are antique, ( I have several Heiser tooled leather holsters ) & many of my leather items grow fuzzys, even though I try to keep them in well ventilated places...

I'd like to clean them up, & treat them with something that would prevent future growth, & prevent it from happening in the 1st place, on some that don't seem to grow fuzzys... at least yet

I assume good ventilation is best, but some seem to grow fuzzy's more easily than others, were they treated with the wrong kind of oil or conditioner at one time, or once they get the fuzzys will it always come back...

products to help, & any understanding, would be greatly appreciated...
 
C

ClydeFrog

Moderator
John Bianchi, Wright Leather Works, Galco....

John Bianchi, the US Army officer(CA National Guard), ex-cop & founder of the highly respected Bianchi-intl, wrote a non fiction book about holsters & leather care. See: www.bianchi-intl.com .
Galco sells leather care items too, www.usgalco.com .
Wright Leather Works, www.wrightleatherworks.com has a section with care/cleaning for holsters & gear.

In my opine, Ballistol, www.brownells.com is handy & works great on leather, rubber, wood, metal. It's not meant for suede or any painted type metals(like duty badges).

I've used Ballistol for years with + results. I also use the Turtle Wax X21 formula on my duty gear(polymer, synthetic leather material).

Clyde
 
D

dahermit

New member
...many of my leather items grow fuzzys...
Click to expand...
Search as I may on the INTERNET, I can find no such substance as "fuzzys".
Do you mean, "mold"? If it is mold growing on your leather, the process is enabled by moisture (humidity), and a food source (the leather and/or some greases, waxes, creams and oils). You must either provide an environment with low humidity (closet with low-power light bulb continuously burning), or treat the leather with some fungicide made for leather. Do an INTERNET search on: "leather fungicide", and you will see what is available.
Just cleaning the mold from the leather will not stop it, inasmuch as there will be un-seen microscopic spores left in place that will allow it to regrow (and spread to other leather items near-by).
 
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M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
yep... sorry for being "cute"... yes... some of my old holsters are molding... some don't seem to ??? I assume it might have had something to do with what was used on them in the past, or previous storage conditions... I'll have to look for a leather fungicide...

any work better than others ??? will the fungicide discolor the leather, or shouldn't it get treated with it, unless there is fungus present ??? currently they are stored in a house with central air ( I never open the windows, even when cooler outside, to maintain a low moisture atmosphere in the house ) so I have to assume the fungus was already in the leather, before it came to live at my house ???

it would also be nice to know which creams or oils are conductive to mold growth...
 
P

Pahoo

New member
Lots of good products out there !!!

On older or finished leather, I primarily use two products, Blackrock and Lexol I basically work with two types of leather; Garment and heavier leather such as holsters and sheaths/cases and such. On restoring older heavy leather, I use this stuff. It's good and at first, you wonder where it's going to take you.. ..:confused:
After a couple of days, It really comes out great. ... :)
http://blackrock-leather.com/

I use Lexol on some lighter leather.
http://www.lexol.com/Product_leather_conditioner.aspx

When I work with new unfinished leather, I take a completely different approach. That fuzzy stuff may differ from one piece to another. Some is mold and some is the tanning acids leaching and drying. You really have to watch this kind of leather as they can harm some metals. I have a buddy that loves to keep his SA in a leather holster, by his bed. Likes the look but warn him of potential problems. .... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
will either of those products stop the old molding holsters from molding again ???

I also ( before I completed my walk in gun safe room ) I had a bunch of rifles in gun lockers... several had leather slings, & over the course of years, several of those got moldy, for lack of air circulation... so I'd like to treat those some how & put them in a drawer in my gun room...
 
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