I've polished my saddle with something silicone based!!

Leo Walker

Leo Walker

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 July 2013
Messages
12,384
Location
Northampton
Visit site
Yes, I AM that stupid! But in my defence the writing was in German and it was with the saddle soap. So anyway, my saddle is like riding on ice and is soo slippy I cant even pick it up without dropping it. How on earth do I fix this?? Will normal saddle soap work? If not what? It is a hugely expensive brand new saddle thats probably worth more than my horse :lol: So I really dont want to wreck it, but I also dont really want to ride on it or even pick it up again while its so flipping slippy! HELP!!!
 
Just googled this and found that something called ' Skuff towelettes ' remove silicone polish from leather shoes. Never seen them though!
 
Why can't you PM me?
Hmmmm, silicone on a saddle. As I haven't come across anyone dousing their saddle with silicone before it's a hard one.
DON'T use Acetone, it removes silicone but it will take the surface off your leather.
There are removers on the market, (they use it to remove bathroom sealant) but again you need a Acetone free one.
What about trying this
http://www.boots.com/en/Sally-Hansen-Acetone-Free-Nail-Polish-Remover_1038024/

It might work but try it on a test piece of leather first.
You HAVE to get that silicone off no matter what, not only will you slide off the saddle all the time but you have effectively sealed the grain of the leather and therefore will find it very hard if not impossible to condition that leather, it will dry out and crack.
Good luck, let me know how you get on?
Oz
 
Last edited:
Ajax spray on window cleaner is great for removing grease, I use it to clean my stove.

I wonder if you use a weak solution of it you will be able to remove the Silicon in small stages.

Cremedementhe what do you think?
 
Tnavas said:
Ajax spray on window cleaner is great for removing grease, I use it to clean my stove.

I wonder if you use a weak solution of it you will be able to remove the Silicon in small stages.

Cremedementhe what do you think?
Click to expand...

To be honest, I don't know, silicone isn't really a grease is it.
Anything tried needs to be used with caution, apart from muddy water as suggested above, that would damage the surface of the leather.
 
Hahaha........?.my friends husband did something similar, he used cockpit shine to clean his saddle. Came up really shiney, he was so proud of it, until he tried to do his dressage test with it. We have never let him forget it!!
 
Precisely what product was it? It will make a difference to the advice given.

I would try soap or washing up liquid first I think. It would dry the leather so it would need lots of conditioning afterwards.

You could also consider a shampoo designed to remove product build up as lots of hair products contain silicone.
 
Vinegar and water?

The lady that used to clean in my pub said that this was to be used on the tables every once in a while. The tables were polished with furniture polish, but she said after a while there got to much build up of polish, and the tables wouldn't clean properly, and when this happened, they needed to be washed down with a solution of vinegar and water to take the polish away.

She is a slightly older lady, so I suspect the tip actually works.
 
I've used this on bridles before. Saddle soap removed it! Give saddle soap a go before trying anything drastic. If saddle soap fails then contact effax they should have a procedure to remove it, if not at least you've made a complaint
 
wench said:
Vinegar and water?

The lady that used to clean in my pub said that this was to be used on the tables every once in a while. The tables were polished with furniture polish, but she said after a while there got to much build up of polish, and the tables wouldn't clean properly, and when this happened, they needed to be washed down with a solution of vinegar and water to take the polish away.

She is a slightly older lady, so I suspect the tip actually works.
Click to expand...

That is a really good idea. Vinegar is good at cutting through grease.
 
Maybe clarifying shampoo if saddle soap doesn't work? I use it on my hair as it's very fine and it helps it hold a style much better than most shampoos (which contain silicone) so must have some sort of stripping properties without being too harsh.
 
A few thoughts which may be helpful:

I've heard of using crepe rubber like an eraser to remove silicone off a leather surface. Some shoes or slippers have pure crepe rubber soles. I understand that Clarks 'Originals' usually have crepe rubber soles. I've further heard that some grease-cutting detergents may be helpful, together with scrubbing, to take away whatever silicone has been deposited on the surface of leather. Otherwise, and last of my own thoughts now: there's a company called Saphir, French, which makes care products for shoes: they're known for making simple, (perhaps exclusively) natural conditioning and polishing products. Saphir has a product called 'Renomat' which is for removing silicone or resins from shoes before approaching the shoes afresh with lanolin, mink oil and beeswax conditioners; some products featuring shea butter or other plant oils; but especially their polishes, which may or may not be pigmented, but are made of waxes like bees, montan, carnauba, and other plant-derived ones..
 
Old post, new user, always suspicious!

cremedemonthe said:
To be honest, I don't know, silicone isn't really a grease is it.
Anything tried needs to be used with caution, apart from muddy water as suggested above, that would damage the surface of the leather.
Click to expand...

It's definitely not a grease, though I know WD40 can seem grease like in its actions.

Leo Walker said:
This one:

http://www.equinesuperstore.co.uk/effax-speedy-leather-shine.html

It does actually say its for saddles but I dont recommend it! My saddle is beautifully shiny, but you wouldnt want to ride in it!
Click to expand...

I don't recommend any Effax products except Leder Combi and that should only be used as a cleanser and washed off.

Annagain said:
Maybe clarifying shampoo if saddle soap doesn't work? I use it on my hair as it's very fine and it helps it hold a style much better than most shampoos (which contain silicone) so must have some sort of stripping properties without being too harsh.
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea but actually shampoo is harsher than many realise, I know in the past I've read about it being recommended for something that was a really full on cleaning job. Patch test.

Hopefully Effax no longer make such crud!
 
I used a shoe shine thing on my saddle back in the 90's and fell off and broke my ankle!! Served me right for being lazy about getting the saddle looking clean for a show. I don't remember doing anything other than cleaning it with saddle soap to resolve the issue. It was the bar stuff you can still buy albeit not very good for leather. The smell of it takes my back to working at the riding school and I don't remember anything else ever being used unless it needed a good oil. ? Good luck, I hope you are able to de-slip your saddle!
 
Fluffypiglet said:
I used a shoe shine thing on my saddle back in the 90's and fell off and broke my ankle!! Served me right for being lazy about getting the saddle looking clean for a show. I don't remember doing anything other than cleaning it with saddle soap to resolve the issue. It was the bar stuff you can still buy albeit not very good for leather. The smell of it takes my back to working at the riding school and I don't remember anything else ever being used unless it needed a good oil. ? Good luck, I hope you are able to de-slip your saddle!
Click to expand...

Silicon is chemically very different to waxes and oils which would be in most leather shine products back in the day.

poiuytrewq said:
This is from 2015. I’d like to hope she’s fixed the issue by now ?
Click to expand...

As a couple of us acknowledged, but still an interesting discussion, I'd not come across a silicone based product that's promoted for saddlery.
 
sbloom said:
Silicon is chemically very different to waxes and oils which would be in most leather shine products back in the day.



As a couple of us acknowledged, but still an interesting discussion, I'd not come across a silicone based product that's promoted for saddlery.
Click to expand...
Ah sorry! Didn’t read all the replies!
OH used to use a silicon spray on my car interior including the steering wheel ? the plus side is it does wear off fairly quickly
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top