Gloves Leather conditioner on Gloves?

Joined
May 11, 2018
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100
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St. Louis
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ST1300
after a wonderful trip home in a massive storm... my gloves finally dried out but man are they stiff. i have never put any treatment/conditioner on them in the 8 or so years of wearing them. is it a common practice to treat the gloves periodically? i was under the impression one doesn't as a safety precaution but held and other manufactures say its ok to do ?
 

Dale_I

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I treat my leather gloves. But I usually break them in first by soaking them in water then wearing them until they dry. Two or three times when I have a longer ride planned. Then leather conditioner and enjoy!
 
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I buy a quart of red wing boot conditioner. I use the s**t on all my leather products.
Also, if my gloves are really dry, lather up some hand cream on your hands and then slip your gloves on.
Every now and then I take a bit of hand cream on a cloth and scrub the grime off my gloves while wearing them.
Transfer the grime to the cloth.
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
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Cleveland
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Go to any tack shop - that's a store that sells the leather bridles, harnesses, etc. used on horses (saddles, too). They will have all the leather conditioners you could ever want. Come to think of it, once you see what they have, you can ask us, what's the best leather oil to use on stiff gloves?

Getting out my :bigpop: in advance.
 

Walleye

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Apr 4, 2019
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Wood River, IL
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Olive Oil. Around 20yrs ago while researching saddlemakers I came across a custom saddlemaker, I believe he was in South Dakota. He rubs all his saddles with olive oil. So this is the only leather treatment I have used since, saddles, tack, expensive safety boots.
 
Joined
Nov 6, 2010
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Maple Valley, WA
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All good suggestions. Be aware that some leather conditioners can degrade the rubber in your grips, especially heated grips. I used a copious amount of conditioner (Lexol if I remember correctly) on my gloves and later noticed that my heated grips were becoming crumbly. The oils and heat were combining to break down the rubber. Later I read the instructions for the grips and they said to avoid conditioners. I would make sure the conditioner is fully absorbed into the leather before riding.
 
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
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Oklahoma, USA
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2006 ST1300
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9039
Lexol is great. Doesn't get slippery. I used neutrogena lotion on my racing leathers but you have to work it in and make sure you don't use too much. It's good for natural leather.
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
8,168
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Cleveland
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Olive Oil.
He would want extra virgin olive oil. Maybe triple extra virgin. There are problems with using olive oil, though. Read this book: Extra virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil.


 
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