Summer has arrived in New England and my jacket is a veritable insect mass grave, to say nothing of my headlight/forks/helmet.

As cool as the red smears on the white stripes on my jacket are (look! that skeeter was FULL!), how does one clean them off without doing damage to the leather itself? Saddle soap? Regular people soap? Gas station squeegee?

Enlighten me.

There are a bunch of leather cleaners on the market, but my experience from clean lots of tack and other leather horsie riding equipment, leads me to Lexol leather cleaner.  It comes in a bright orange container.  A cleaner and conditioner in one. 

Personally, I feel saddlesoap is to harsh and can leave a film (build-up over time), and you will still have to condition the leather with something else.

I use Lexol on my moto riding gear and it works great. 

I've never used the Lexol cleaner but I'm sure it's good 'cause I've used Regular Lexol Conditioner for the last 35 years. Used to use it on my leather golf grips . I lately have been using Mother's leather conditioner mainly 'cause it has such a nice aroma and it doesn't leave the leather tacky like Lexol. It leaves the leather soft.I usually take a damp sponge to my leathers after a ride and get the insect remains off . If there is road grime or tar then I use a Q Tip with rubbing alchol and rub gently. After the leather is clean I put a palm of my hand full of the Mother's conditioner allover my jacket and rub it in and then wipe off excess and the same with the boots and pants. My gloves I usually mix up a small amount of liquid dish soap in a 1/2 bucket of cool water and then pour 1/2 through each glove , then after all that has drained out I put each glove under the faucet and run some cool water through them to get all the soapy water out and then wipe off the excess water and hang to dry . It helps to have a dehumidifier since it will draw the water out and the gloves will be dry in 24 hours . Never use direct heat to dry them . Once they are dry I put them on and pour about a tablespoon of the Mother"s in the palm of one of the gloves and rub the two gloves together and get the condtioner allover the gloves and rub it in, wipe excess . The reason I wash the gloves is swet is one of the fastest ways to rot a leather glove.

Wipe it down with a damp cloth or sponge, then hit it with some good leather cleaner/treatment...

One word... actually two:  Magic Eraser

Yeah.  Magic Eraser.  Try it, seriously.

Quote from: NAKID on June 10, 2008, 08:06:23 PM
Wipe it down with a damp cloth or sponge, then hit it with some good leather cleaner/treatment...

+1 this process works for me but I only apply leather treatment as needed which is about every 5 or so long-day rides.

Shaving cream works really well for cleaning and as a light conditioner.  Thats what we used in the military to strip the old polish off our leather shoes.  Works surprisingly well.  The old foaming type versus the gels(dries cleaner).

+1 for Lexol

Damp rag (soft) or damp sponge works good but Lexol is MUCH better!!

Quote from: ToyDragon on June 11, 2008, 12:06:37 AM
One word... actually two:  Magic Eraser

Yeah.  Magic Eraser.  Try it, seriously.

Interesting. I like the Magic Eraser for a lot of other things.
I'll have to give it a shot. Makes sense now that I think about it.

Otherwise I usually start with water, and if that doesn't do much, I use Lexol leather cleaner.
I use Lexol leather conditioner and Obenauf Leather conditioner/wax/treatment every so often.

Is it bad that i use Meguiar's Gold Class Leather care?  It's the same stuff i use to clean the leather seats in my car, so I figure it'd work for my jacket.  It says on the bottle that it's supposed to clean and condition.

Quote from: taun on June 14, 2008, 11:18:44 AM
Is it bad that i use Meguiar's Gold Class Leather care?  It's the same stuff i use to clean the leather seats in my car, so I figure it'd work for my jacket.  It says on the bottle that it's supposed to clean and condition.

I'm sure it is better than nothing.

Does it contain a protectant?  If so, I would stop using it.  The protectant may make your leathers slippery and develop a film.

Cheap option - baby wipes!

Unscented wipes will do a great job of lifting bugs off leathers and if they are the type with lotion the leather stays supple

About a bucks worth I think I paid last time!

Quote from: Pedro on July 02, 2008, 04:10:15 PM
Cheap option - baby wipes!

Unscented wipes will do a great job of lifting bugs off leathers and if they are the type with lotion the leather stays supple

About a bucks worth I think I paid last time!

But they typically leave lint....