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Noob question about the leather bags

6K views 30 replies 9 participants last post by  TheBrain 
#1 ·
This may be blasphemy but I am not a huge fan of the matte black bag finish on my new-to-me Stratoliner ('07).

Before discovering the Strat, I was trying to find a Kawi Nomad and one of the things I loved about it was the paint-matched hardbags.

Has anyone ever, or ever seen, someone who has "worked" the matte leather to make it shiny, or semi-shiny? Much in the same way you would shine a pair of military boots from dull to mirror, although I know that the boot leather is much harder and therefore easier to manipulate.

I've been playing with the idea...anyone have anything?

(I'll only attempt it if I can truly pull it off "cleanly", keeping the classy look of the bike.)
 
#2 ·
Bags

I have not , but, my bags are much shinner after 8 years of mink oil and Doc Bailey's Leather Black. I think Yamaha suggests mink oil, so I guess I would give Doc Bailey's Leather Black the credit. But it darkens up the colar and treats the leather.

I have seen someone take the leather off and paint the plastic.

Dave
 
#3 ·
I'll have to check that out! Thanks.

I bought some Maguire's Leather Cleaner and Mother's Leather Cream to start with. I'll check out the Doc's on Amazon. ;)
 
#4 ·
Get some leather cleaner and scrub them down.

Get a sponge and mink oil and just rub that crap all over it, working the mink oil into the leather. Let the bike sit in the sun for an hour or so with the mink oil coated onto the leather.

Use a microfiber cloth to buff the mink oil off. That will shine them up nice and help protect them from water/dirt.

The other option is to take the bags to a bodyshop, strip the leather off and let them work their magic smoothing them out and paint to match the bike.
 
#7 ·
Oh wow, pleasantly suprised! I thought the leather was supposed to be dull and lifeless!! LOL

Seriously, im so happy to hear that it won't take a miracle to get them looking the way (I think) they should. I cleaned and conditioned my seat(s) already; they came out the way I wanted them to...softer, hydrated, and just a little blacker & slightly more sheen. They look much "healthier" now, if that makes any sense.

Gonna work on the bags after work today. I'll post some pre- and post- pics here.
 
#10 ·
Well, update.
I cleaned the leather really well with Maguire's Leather Cleaner, then liberally applied "Feibing Mink Oil" (although if you read the back, it's actually a blend) to the bags. As it soaked in, I would slather more on, keeping them wet. I did this for an entire day in the Florida sun. Then I did it again the next day. The bags literally got too hot to touch with the oil on them.
Result: after two days, about ten hours, one bag looks pretty damn good, considering I just started this ritual. The other bag looks just as good except for an area on top of the lid that dries within an hour, whereas the rest takes two or three. At one point I re-cleaned that area and started over. It's like that area just won't accept the mink oil.

Has anyone else run into this??
 
#31 ·
yes, i have. it's like it is an extra dry area. just keeps soaking the stuff up. there is another product thats is pretty cool and will make the leather look really shiny and it wont dry out like mink oil and it will make the water bead off like paint. Dr Baileys leather black or something like that. my bro used it on his HD leather bags and it was quite an improvement. pretty cool stuff. there was a guy that posted on this forum. he had somehow ruined the leather on his bags. somehow got cut or something. he took the leather off and painted the plastic black and they actually looked pretty damn good. Just like hard bags.
 
#11 ·
All the leather I coat with mink oil eventually dries too. It saturates the leather but it doesn't stay overly shiny. That's where the boot black comes in handy.

I'd suggest trying some on a concealed area and see how you like the looks. After 10 hours you've shown you have plenty of patience to do a thorough job.
 
#12 ·
All the leather I coat with mink oil eventually dries too. It saturates the leather but it doesn't stay overly shiny. That's where the boot black comes in handy.
Boot black...like black boot polish, like I used for 20+ years in the USAF??? Lol.

If that's what you are talking about, I'm assuming I'd have to rub as much of the mink oil out of the leather before I start with the polish, right?

Also, the "strap" that goes underneath the bottom part of the hinge...that's vinyl not leather, right? Is that the only non-leather area (besides the weather seal, key lock bezel, and hinges)?

Thanks!

// Radar //
 
#14 ·
Ok, I thought you'd been using it on your saddlebags. Well, I don't see how it could hurt anything...just hope that one patch will accept the polish.
 
#15 ·
I do use polish on Saddlebags. Mine are smooth though. I also use mink oil on vinyl and I'm not sure how common that is either. I figure if i see an improvement in the items then i don't care about any "rules." :p
 
#16 ·
True, true. ;)
 
#17 · (Edited)
Decided to go for a ride today to try to get myself better accustomed to the Stratoliner (biggest bike I've ever ridden, and haven't ridden for 30 years). I still have the bags off of the bike because I'm still working on them.
Like an idiot, I had put the securing pins back in the bike "for safekeeping" so I wouldn't misplace them...and totally forgot that I had put them there when I took the bike out!
After a 45 minute ride, I put the bike away, looked down, and realized that I had lost two pins during my ride! Uhhhh (expletive, expletive, expletive)
I jumped in my car, slowly retraced my route, and miraculously found one of the pins but not the other.
Guess how much those little suckers cost? After shipping, about $21 each!
As pissed as I am for being so stupid, I'm grateful that I only lost one. :-/
 
#18 ·
If you have an area that appears not to allow the mink oil to penetrate it may be a damaged area from either sun or a liquid that was spilled on it in the past.

The mink oil will keep the leather water proof, even the bad area. IMO, for looks you may need to fade it with some shoe polish but it will not stay for long periods of time.

My neighbors strat is a year newer than mine and his bags look faded compared to mine. I am willing to bet the prior owner of his bike did not do the basic maintenance to the leather. Lucky for me, mine look brand new and I will keep them that way.

The only complaint I have about the strat bags is they are FAR from a sealed unit. One lid is about 1/2 inch loose and the other is snug but not enough. During pollen season my bags turn yellow inside and there are no easy adjustments built into the latches.
 
#21 ·
JJ, if only I had your money... :D
 
#27 ·
...For that price you would figure they would do delivery and installation at your residence.
Well, if they DON'T, then FORGET IT! ;)
 
#28 ·
Done restoring the bags!

I finished up with the bags, they look GREAT now! Mink oil treatments for about a week, then Kiwi Parade Gloss until the shine!

Thanks to all for the advice and help...I'm happy now. :D
 
#30 ·
Pics of the new & improved (old) bags


Not the greatest pics, and not on the bike because I've been woodworking out in the garage, but here's a look!
Furniture Floor Tire Automotive tire Massage chair

Still need to polish the chrome latches, etc, but the leather looks awesome compared to the dull, grey bags I inherited. :)
 
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