New black leather jacket not so black. What can be done?

[stopintime]

I'm getting a passenger's Ducati by Dainese 80s women's jacket on a discount.
The advertised picture shows this jacket to be gloss deep black. In reality it's flat black, more like grey.
My dealer told me to apply Mink Oil, but didn't know if the black color would be deeper.

What do you think/suggest?

[corey]

i like the matte black look of that jacket.
you could armoral it! it would be slick as make the beast with two backs! and water would just bead right off!

[Dainesedan]

Just hit it with some Dainese or Luxul conditioner.  It will bring the shine out, but the first picture is kind of misleading.  You are never going to get that leather to look like vinyl or patent leather.  Your jacket does look quite dry, though.  It has probably been sitting in a box or on someone's rack for some time.  It will shine up and look darker if you condition it.

[Blackout]

I used black shoe polish on an old weather-worn Cortech jacket and was surprised by how damn good it looked afterwards.

[He Man]

I used black shoe polish on an old weather-worn Cortech jacket and was surprised by how damn good it looked afterwards.

Shoe polish gets on every single thing you touch unless you use the quicky jiffy lube stype stuff.

[RBX QB]

I have this jacket... in a Men's, thankyouverymuch...

A) It matches my Dark nicely.
B) After a few hundred miles, the bugs start to give it a nice gloss sheen. 

What about that leather conditioner that is used to help waterproof? I think someplace that sells leather dress jackets, like Wilson's, would have that. Maybe not GLOSSY, but I think it would change the tone. And, to tie into B) above, would probably help in cleaning road grime after a good ride.

[Pedro-bot]

+1 on the leather conditioner.  

[Buckethead]

I use mink oil a couple of times a year to condition/waterproof my jacket. It won't make it super-dark-gloss black, but it'll help.

[stopintime]

Yup, mink oil did it....

The picture I took isn't repeatable to show the difference, but the jacket is now at least half way from the "grey" towards the glossy picture.
I used a synthetic cloth and applied about one quarter of a box of pure mink oil.

Looking for mink oil I saw one type which also contained silicone. Would that have been a good idea?

[DesmoDiva]

Looking for mink oil I saw one type which also contained silicone. Would that have been a good idea?

NO!!!

The silicone will break down the leather making weaker. 

Plus, I think it would make it as slippery as a greased pig. 

[Buckethead]

NO!!!

The silicone will break down the leather making weaker. 

Plus, I think it would make it as slippery as a greased pig. 

Please cite a source.

[DesmoDiva]

Info from a reputable leather care company. 

Not using petroleum products (including silicone) on leather:

But avoid liquid products that contain petroleum distillates. Petroleum is a solvent that can weaken leather structure over time. Read the label (the word “compound” is a tip-off that the conditioner may contain petroleum derivatives) and use your nose to detect petroleum by-products including mineral oil.


Silicone may make the leather slippery:

Silicone ... can make the leather’s surface feel a little slippery. That’s a factor that needs to be considered when they are used on saddle seats, bridle reins or other tack where slipperiness might be a disadvantage. Water-based silicone sprays are a good choice for napped leather like suede or nubuck but oil-based silicone sprays may affect the colour of these porous leathers. Silicone can have a drying effect on leather so be careful not to overuse it.

As always, YMMV. 

[ducpainter]

I believe the type of dressing is dependent on the tanning process used.

Some leather is tanned using silicone and those products are fine for that type of leather.

[swampduc]

I believe the type of dressing is dependent on the tanning process used.

Some leather is tanned using silicone and those products are fine for that type of leather.

How can you tell?

[Buckethead]

Info from a reputable leather care company. 

Not using petroleum products (including silicone) on leather:

But avoid liquid products that contain petroleum distillates. Petroleum is a solvent that can weaken leather structure over time. Read the label (the word “compound” is a tip-off that the conditioner may contain petroleum derivatives) and use your nose to detect petroleum by-products including mineral oil. 

Silicone will undoubtedly make polished leather very slippery, but it is not a volatile petroleum distillate. The propellants used in spray silicone, like tent sealant, are and will dry out leather as they evaporate.

Silicone itself, however, performs the same functions as mink oil, with the added benefit of allowing the leather to "breathe."