"Alternative" Leather Conditioners?

[keyofnight]

I was thumbing through a few pages on how to best care for old leather (on cameras), and I came across these remarks by Matt Denton:

[…] I'm still looking for a good leather conditioner for dry leather, I've tried Lexol (good), black and neutral shoe polish (good), beeswax (too thick & waxy), mink oil (good), cocoa butter stretch mark lotion (nice, plus makes your camera smell yummy) and pure lanolin (OK but use sparingly). So far the Lexol and cocoa butter are the best, the beeswax and pure lanolin are much too thick and the others too thin. I'm trying some leather conditioner called 'Blue Magic' that seems OK. Depends on whether you're trying to rejuvinate dry leather or protect good leather. Luckily I have some old beaters to experiment on.

…his search for great leather conditioner got me thinking about all the different kinds of leather products I've tried in the past. I've tried Lexol-branded leather conditioner, mink oil (with pine pitch), Fiebing's 4-way leather conditioner, and some strange thick concoction called "Leather Honey" that my mother uses on her expensive handbags. (To be honest, I really liked the Leather Honey too.)

After reading Matt's remarks, though, I decided to try some of the skin products we keep around the house: cocoa butter body cream, coconut oil, and Lush-brand "Coco Lotion." I have to say that the cocoa butter cream and the "Coco Lotion" both did really well on my Rolleicord V. I still think Leather Honey is the best, I've seen it make a 20 year old piece of ostrich skin come back to life, grow feathers, and kick things—I need to buy a bottle of that stuff.

So, folks! What kind of stuff have you used on leather? Anything weird or different?

 

[Roger Hicks]

Connolly Hide Food

Cheers,

R.

 

[Grahamb]

Why! look at your car, leather seats, Gliptone,

 

[George Bonanno]

My Humber Super Snipe manual recommends neatsfoot oil on all leather appointments after a treatment with saddle soap.

 

[jwicaksana]

Meguiar's Gold Class followed by a wipe of steamy cotton towel.

 

[meanstreetshooter]

Just a few dabs of Lexol for my cameras. I've always used it on my leather jacket and leather gear when I was on the YPD.

Additionally, the famous holster-maker, Chic Gaylord, advised the use of Esquire (now out of business) transparent shoe polish for his holsters. I have an old can and it works well on several different brands of holsters.

 

[Tony Whitney]

I loved the Super Snipe comment! It reminded me that the Rolls-Royce and Bentley enthusiasts speak highly of this outfit - http://leatherique.com. I've used a product from a local (Vancouver) leather clothing company - Danier - and it's been very good...TW

 

[mikemc_photo]

I use water based floor sealer. Quick wipe, and buff.

Harley Davidson also has a great leather conditioner for jackets...pricey but good product

 

[trondareo]

Bit late to reply,
but I like Red Wing boot oil. It is thin, but colors slightly darker.

 

[Bill58]

Olive oil works great and is cheap.

 

[George Bonanno]

My brother used olive oil on his Iso Grifo Rivolta interior. It didn't work out so good for him. After winter storage the treatment went rancid. It cost him a bundle.

 

[elmarman]

I too have some 'Neatsfoot Oil' I was given and have used it on my leather camera cases and have tried it on a 1950's British 'Ensign Selfix 16/20 model I camera bellows and am seeing how it reacts for bellows before i put in on any others. I wipe it on with a paper kitchen towel sparingly.