Robertus61 wrote:
I've bought a used Aviastar on a folding clasp and black Breitling croco strap with the white stitching. The strap is in good shape so I do not have the heart to throw it away.
I'd like to clean the inside on hygienical reasons and give the black outside the original "mat shine" again - on some spots surface is lightly disturbed.
Regarding the original RRP (350 Euro!!!) I decided to "re-activate" but need every advice how to clean/refinish inside and outside . please advice means available in the EU and payable (I mean not so expensive as a new Ling croco strap...)
Thx for every kind input,
best regards: Robertus
Maybe at week-end I can post scans if needed for proper advices.
Breitling do a leather care cream that I believe are free gifts from AD's (in much the same way that the pens are etc). Sometimes they come up on eBay, but they often cost a bit for the amount you get. However they recommend only using it on the outside surface as the inside is a slight nubuck finish to it. But at the end of the day there is no reason why you can't use leather car seat cleaner or leather jacket cleaner, as leather is leather at the end of the day. "Autoglym" (not sure if you have it in your country) do a really good leather cleaner that doesn't dry out the natural oils, so I'd be inclined to use something like that.
With regards to the inner surface, if the strap has been worn a bit, it probably won;t have the factory fresh nubuck look anymore anyway (due to sweat, etc), so rather than being worried about the appearance, I'd concentrate on just getting it clean. Again I'd use the leather cleaner.
In fact, I'd probably start by gently washing it (not immersing it) with a very dilute soap and water solution, and then lightly rinse off with clean water and allow to air-dry naturally. Getting a strap wet like this is fine as long as you don't do it very much. Water
will reduce the life of a strap, but as a one off to clean it, it should be fine. (For example if you constantly get a pair of leather gloves wet, the lifespan is reduced massively, but one off is fine). Once it is dry, I'd use the leather cleaner I discussed, and then I'd follow up with Autoglym leather care cream (or similar) on the outside only. This replaces the natural oils that washing and the action of the sun etc, dries out. Finally I'd buff it off to get that matt shine back. It may look a little too shiny for a day or so, but that soon fades (well it does on my car seats anyway!)
I should point out I've not tried this personally, and I certainly wouldn't advise this on a new strap as it's probably a bit too much, but on an old one that you are trying to breathe a bit of life into I'd probably give it a go.
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