Leather Care Frequency

[SevenCube]

How often do you clean/maintain your leather gear? I have a one-piece suit with gloves and boots and I have no clue whether I'm supposed to clean it after every ride or few rides.

 

[jthomas]

How often do you clean/maintain your leather gear? I have a one-piece suit with gloves and boots and I have no clue whether I'm supposed to clean it after every ride or few rides.

If its got bits of dirt and bugs on it, good idea to give it a clean, use unscented baby wipes for touch up cleans like that, other wise you should give it a clean and condition with decent leather care products 1 a month or so to maintain. Really the best way for knowing when to clean and condition is going by how its looking to how your climate is, how much you use it, how you use it, what weather its been in and how its stored. Conditioning too much will soften the leather too much and stitching can come loose or the leather will not be as tough. Too little and it can dry up, tear, flake off etc. If its quite humid and out of sunlight in storage it may not need doing as often. Storing in dryer climates or in sunlight and using it a fair bit and being in rain or excessive sun/heat exposure will dry it up quicker also.
Go by how its looking and feeling, otherwise in between give it a once over with the baby wipe to keep it looking good and stop the little bits of gunk from drying it up.

 

[SighBored]

If the exterior is dirty, use wipes and leather conditioner (similar to car seat products) to keep the leather from drying up/cracking. Store it in airy place, if kept in dark stuffy closet may have fungus growing.

If the interior is dirty, for normal case you can just sun dry it for a while, but ultimately if it's too fouled up for just a sun dry, take it to the cleaners for dry cleaning.. It cannot be washed, read the labels.

Wearing an inner suit helps to minimize the leather suit liner itself from getting fouled up too much.

 

[lupin]

Clean my gear once whenever I remember. Clean my visor once a week, wash my jeans when I think I haven't washed them for a bit and clean my other gear maybe 2-3 times a year.

 

[astemerman]

I condition my leather every 6 months or so. Clean as it becomes dirty.

 

[dandoolittle]

baby wipes for outside and febreeze for the inside.

My last leathers got cut off and given back to me in a black bag so they've been aired out, good and proper

 

[SevenCube]

baby wipes for outside and febreeze for the inside.

My last leathers got cut off and given back to me in a black bag so they've been aired out, good and proper

I tried Baby wipes and they actually worked really well. Got nice and clean. Was quite happy with the result.

 

[dandoolittle]

I tried Baby wipes and they actually worked really well. Got nice and clean. Was quite happy with the result.

If you don't mind strong scents then any horse leather cleaning product will do as well

 

[Ton]

I clean my jacket with a damp wash rag and condition with Wilson's lotion. Cleaning takes place whenever the bugs get to much for me. Maybe 3 times a year. Each time after the jacket dries I put maybe 3 coats of the lotion on. This has maintained a Wilsons leather jacket for about 15 years but I dont wear it anymore. Using the same technique on my 80's Ducati leather. Hoping for similar longevity.