Conditioning a painted leather jacket

[Johnny L.A.]

I have an A-2 jacket with 'nose art' on the back. (A friend duplicated the artwork from a jacket worn by a B-17 aircrewman in the 401st Bomb Group. Another reproduction here, as I don't have photos of mine.) I don't remember what kind of paint he used, but I do know that he researched it to find the best paint for painting a leather jacket.

How do I condition the jacket? Is mink oil OK? Or is there a different product I should use? I don't want to damage the painting.

[donaldbyers]

I can't answer how to take care of this A2 Jacket as I am looking for the same thing for some friends who have one.

However, I am interested in a photo of your A2 Jacket both the old one and the newely painted one.

My name is Donald Byers the 401st Bomb Group Historian. Check our web site out at http://www.401bg.org

Don Byers

[donaldbyers]

I finally saw Visibilty Perfect is this the one you are speaking of?

[Spud]

Welcome to the Straight Dope Donald... even though the thread you responded to is from 2007 Johnny is still active on this forum. He helped me find an A2 when I was in the market a few years ago, and I'm sure he will be around soon to give you what info you want. I'm sure the stories a "bomb group historian" can share will be greatly appreciated on these boards.

By the way, the artwork on the linked photos is gorgeous.

[Johnny L.A.]

Hi Donald. I didn't come back to the board before I saw your email last night, and I couldn't remember where I might have posted about this A2. I've sent you two photos of the jacket. I only have the two photos, as I'm pretty lazy about taking pictures.

For others who want to see it, here's a shot of the back of my A2 jacket. Here's a closer look at the pin-up.

Spud: I'm glad you like the jacket. It's a closer copy than my Avirex version, and I've always liked their products and customer service. Eastman Leather has a closer copy than either of ours, but I don't have an extra $1,000 to spend on a jacket right now. In the meantime, I've been wearing my What Price Glory RAF Irvin jacket when it's not too warm or too wet. Fairly authentic, and 1/3 the price of an Eastman.

Back to conditioning...

I have an original RAF Coastal Command Irvin that I can never wear. (I'd have to shave a couple of inches off my shoulders -- and more inches elsewhere.) I used some Pecard's on it a couple of years ago, and the leather came back fairly well. It could stand another application, but the living arrangements here have changed since then and I haven't gotten round to it. The larger problem (aside from it being too small) is finding original zips for it. The main one costs £125 alone, and that's a lot for a jacket I can't wear.

In any case, the Pecard's did not affect the painted hood. (Coastal Command Irvins had a hood instead of a collar, which was painted yellow for visibility in the water in case of a bail out.) I may be able to use Pecard's on the artwork on the A2.

If this thread turns into a jacket-sharing thread, I suspect it might be moved to MPSIMS. But in keeping with General Questions, I'd still like to see if anyone has any first-hand experience conditioning painted leather. I'm no longer in contact with the guy who painted my jacket, and I'd hate to damage the artwork!

[johnpost]

i guess that the painted area is sealed, the leather under it can't be conditioned and may dry.