Help: Tack cleaned, but its all sticky?

[H.K.D]

Any tips for tack cleaning as I spent 3.5 hours doing mine today!

I washed/wiped it with warm water to get grease/dirt off.

Then saddle soap (the bar)

Then conditioned with the bar stuff.

Any tips as its all sticky now which annoys me as I spent hours doing it all.

 

[Miss L Toe]

Ditch the bar, use a spray, wipe mud off with damp rag then use sponge, clean daily to prevent grease build up

 

[violethillx]

Did you condition it with the saddle soap bar or a leather conditioner? Maybe it would be best to rinse off the saddle soap before you condition? cleaning tack is such a chore haha! x

 

[mulledwhine]

Have you buffed it up, you may have put a bit too soap/ conditioner on, so a good buffing should sort it out

 

[dumpling]

I think this can happen at this time of year. Someone I know puts a little bit of mild disinfectant into the hot water for wiping it and then soap & condition it. It does actually work!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Hot water, old t shirt, wipe, voilà!

 

[cob&onion]

I always use the spray on mine - the carr and day stuff to remove grease and dirt, then use a conditioning balm/feed on it and i try to remember to do it after every-time i use it!

 

[YardGeek]

Personally I don't touch the soap stuff as I find that it does leave a funny residue on the leather. I prefer to just clean it with very warm water and then cover it in a good leather conditioner, beewax based if possible, as water alone will result in dry and cracking tack.

 

[Marydoll]

I wipe down after each use with the carr day and martin wipes, then once every couple of weeks give it a good clean with stuff i got off the internet thats great and it gleams

 

[sbloom]

There is a science to leather cleaning, and even stuff that has worked for people in the past isn't necessarily the best - leather was differently tanned and coped with all sorts of strange treatments!

Glycerine - it is nearly always cmobined with a soap base. Soap is the wrong ph for leather just as it is for our skin so not a great cleanser - always rinse it off if you use it to actually clean your tack. It is a humectant - attracts water - hence it is sticky in our climate. This is what the dirt then sticks to - grease jockeys anyone? Once I stopped using glycerine I stopped getting them on my tack.

I recommend simply using warm water and elbow grease with an old fashioned white woven dishcloth from a supermarket. Then condition lightly only when needed - I like several products - Stubben Hamanol, Effax Ledebalsam, Leather Therapy Products and Oakwood Conditioner. Don't oil. Pretty much ever!

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

Run your nail along the inside, do you get alot of black residue under your thumbnail?

 

[Moomin1]

Did you wipe it down with a wet sponge after soaping it? If you leave the soap on it will make the leather slimy - particularly the bar soap!

I use Stubben saddle soap and I find that much less greasy and sticky!

 

[maree t]

Horsemans one step. Swear by it, rub on, it is like a cream and then leave to dry and then a tea towel to buff . Makes the leather soft and lovely and brings it up great , it softens the grease and just rubs off

 

[ThePony]

I must admit I wouldn't bother with most of the products you can get.

A cloth with cool water (very well wrung out) to clean, then if needed a wipe over with a mean amount of leather conditioner (I like grand prix leather gloss, pricey but lasts for ever and gives a lovely sheen without yucky stickiness!). Bingo, clean tack, less spent on fancy products and no stickiness!