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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
   
Location: Phoenix | What's your favorite product and do you do the rough out? I've heard both ways....
I haven't oiled my saddle .... Ever? Lol
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 509
| Shame on you if you have t oiled your saddle lol I've had people say neatsfoot oil some say don't rusty Andrews recommended olive oil I've used both, i clean my saddle pour the oil in a bowl and paint it with a paint brush i do the smooth side of the rough out. I try to get a good quality saddle oil and sometimes i use my olive oil in the kitchen. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1367
 
Location: mi | I just did mine a couple months ago and I used the Lexol cleaner conditioner and a tooth brush to really get in the tooling. Then went back with Mink Oil I picked up at TSC. It looks great!! I will be doing that again yearly. |
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 Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | I oil everything except the suede seat. I had the Caldwell Miracle Juice do WONDERS for an older saddle once so I have stuck with it. I also to use the Black Rock Leather N Rich stuff afterwards. |
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 It's not my fault I'm perfect
Posts: 13739
Location: Where the long tails flow, ND | I haven't found a product I haven't been happy with really. I think any leather cleaner/conditioner will do wonders. I use a toothbrush for tooled leather and then a wire brush on rough out! |
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 The One
Posts: 7998
Location: South Georgia | Pure Neatsfoot oil for me. I have a fully tooled saddle currently, but back when I did have a roughout, I'd oil the entire thing. I personally like the roughout to be on the smoother side because its more comfortable, while still being grippy. I dont think you are "supposed" to oil roughout though. I have a 1995 saddle with roughout fenders and jockeys that I have oiled and its the most comfy saddle ever. To each their own. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | I use liquid glycerin saddle soap and a stiff toothbrush to clean it then I use Skidmores and apply it with a piece of wool in very thin sections. It waterproofs the leather as well. I use a soft bristle brush to buff it to a nuce shine after it dries overnight.
I use sand paper on my rooughout to clean it up and usually leave it alone as far as any oil goes.  |
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 Expert
Posts: 2041
Location: home for the winter...what a dumb idea | Oil mine every 2 month or so. I live in a dry climate. 1. Pure neats foot oil. Warm , set saddle in Sun or very warm place and put oil on in very thick coats. After it has set over night then use gliserin soap. |
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Expert
Posts: 2122
Location: The Great Northwest | I like to do my saddles every year with cleaning as needed between. I clean the saddle to get most of the dust and sweat removed. I take a pure Neatsfoot oil and work it in and leave at least 8 hours to soak up in a at least 70 degree room. You then need to soap it to get the excess oil off, so it doesn't come off on your cloths and hands. The excess oil will attrack dust and feel grimmy too. I need to do my saddles! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 883
Location: Southern Indiana | I scrub the heck out of them with fieblings glycerin soap and lots of water until it's clean. Let dry, then I take a paint brush and brush on fieblings pure neatsfoot oil. I start under the fenders then work to the outer layers of leather. I try to do thin coats, let it dry, and go back in again. Repeat until the leather is to the suppleness that you want. It usually takes me 3-4 coats. Black rock is a good finisher and is excellent on exotic seats.
At some point rough out does need to be oiled. How heavy you go depends on your preference. Always oil the back side though. 1 light coat will help and you probably won't be able to tell much once it dries.
What does everyone use on their elephant seats? |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 456
Location: SW MO | What oil do you use on the rough out? |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | I use the Lexol non-darkening leather conditioner, and use a toothbrush to get into the tooling. I have light-colored saddles so I don't want the Neatsfoot Oil making them dark.
On a new saddle, I will NOT condition the rough-out. I will just do the backside of the fender. Once the saddle gets old enough (5+ years or more) where the rought out isn't rough-out anymore due to normal riding, then I will start conditioning it too.
My saddles gets used almost every day in the spring, summer, and fall. I will condition them in the spring once the horses are done shedding, and then again later mid-way through the season. (Or if they get rained on pretty good, then I do it again.)
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 Expert
Posts: 4625
Location: Desert Land | I LOVE Caldwell's miracle juice. And I do the whole saddle - roughout and all. I don't do a heavy oiling on the rough out so that way it doesn't saturate your pants you ride in. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 975
Location: The barn...where else? SW Missouri | TheOldGrayMare - 2016-01-07 1:23 PM
I LOVE Caldwell's miracle juice. And I do the whole saddle - roughout and all. I don't do a heavy oiling on the rough out so that way it doesn't saturate your pants you ride in.
This most definitely. I'm a big fan of black rock also. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| If your saddle is really dirty and dusty, clean it with a water/Dawn dish soap combination. A toothbrush works great for this. Then rinse carefully with a damp cloth. Let it dry for a day or two, then use Neatsfoot oil (make sure you get the Pure), and soak that saddle down with it, twice, three times. Then allow to dry. The next day, go over it with a Saddle Soap glycerin product.
Note: Saddle Soap/Glycerin isn't for CLEANING your saddle! It's for sealing your saddle against sweat and moisture, as long as it's combined with some wax product. The reason why people use glycerin is because it ATTRACTs moisture, keeping the leather from drying out as quickly. It does moisturize some, but it's true purpose is to seal your leather after you've oiled it.
Regular Saddle Soap is usually a pretty caustic substance, and can hurt leather, because leather is acidic in nature. Better to just use a degreaser like Dawn, and make sure you get it all off, then pamper the leather with lots of oil and that little bit of glycerin/wax. Make sure you use the product sparingly, then buff with a soft cloth for a nice shine.
Edited by classicpotatochip 2016-01-07 6:33 PM
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 Three in a Bikini
Posts: 2035
| I use lexol products and try to do everything once a year.
1. Wipe down with damp cloth, (remove heavy dirt).
2. Soap.
3. Wipe down again, (remove caked in sweat).
4. Oil.
5. Use wire brush for rough out.
I let everything sit in my house at least overnight. The leather will soak in the oils by that time and you won't have to worry about it saturating your clothes. The only products I personally did not like was a mink oil. It was a paste and got into all the tooling leaving a white residue behind. |
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