Best tack cleaning products?

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Lipza767

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Ive recently bought some quality second hand tack and i would like to try and look after it better than i normally do! What leather dressings / cleaners do people recommend now? The last time i cleaned tack properly it was washing up liquid and hot water then covered with neatsfoot oil which I'm guessing is a bit of a no no now?
 
I use Carr day & Martin belvoir step 1&2 for general cleaning then every so often I use effol effax leather balm which smells amazing! Keeps my tack in excellent condition.
 
I use the Carr Day and Martin soap in a tin, the old fashioned one, and I've cleaned I use their leather balsam to keep the tack supple and it keeps the girths waterproof ish and easy to clean after a mucky day hunting...
 
My favourite saddle soap is the Stubben one, but I think mostly they're fairly similar. I coat in Effax Leather Balsam once a fortnight or so, my tack looks and feels amazing.
 
I clean my tack with warm water, elbow grease and a sponge, dry it well and then use a conditioner like Effax. No saddle soap and certainly no Neatsfoot oil - friends who are saddlers tell me it's not good for modern leather - so I don't use it. All my tack is soft and supple.

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PolarExpress said:
I clean my tack with warm water, elbow grease and a sponge, dry it well and then use a conditioner like Effax. No saddle soap and certainly no Neatsfoot oil - friends who are saddlers tell me it's not good for modern leather - so I don't use it. All my tack is soft and supple.

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The warm water and fairy liquid (mild solution) that the OP first mentioned works well too, it removes the dirt, fats and greases that build up but then of course you'll need to replace them with fresh to maintain the hide, even if you use just warm water you'll remove some of the fat content from the hide.

Definite NO to neatsfoot oil, it isn't good for modern hides and if you look at the hide fibres under a microscope you'll see why neatsfoot is bad for hide.
Old fashioned unadulterated neatsfoot from yesteryear was ok however although modern neatsfoot oil is still made from cattle-based products, it has a tendency to speed oxidation of the leather.
Quite often mineral oil or other petroleum-based material is added, the product may then be called "neatsfoot oil compound".
Some brands have also been shown to be adulterated with rapeseed oil, soya oil, and other oils.
The addition of mineral oils may lead to more rapid decay of non-synthetic stitching or speed breakdown of the leather itself.
AVOID!
As for conditioning, use any product that contains beeswax, lanolin and tallow, all 3 if possible or as near as you can get. I make my own to a secret recipe and gave a basic leather conditioner recipe on here for people to try their own a couple of years ago if anyone wants to find it and resurrect it?
I have approx 25 hides in my workshop at anyone time, a couple I need very rarely and I bought from the tannery just as I finished training 26 years ago, I dress and finish them myself and they are still in good usable condition.
Oz
 
I use a sponge with some warm water but really rung out to get the muck off and then use a very little Albion leather balm on a soft cloth. i find it very quick and easy and my leather feels lovely. However, I do clean my tack very regularly but have found the balm very good for reconditioning old dry leather.
 
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