cleaning shooting jackets and pants

[little_doodie]

I run a junior program and have a few donated coats that I need to clean.
they are the heavier international coats and a few leather coats.
they are in pretty good shape other than they have a moldy smell to them.
any ideas on cleaning them???
dry clean or not?

[isuguncoach]

Got several used leather jackets, and used Krud Kutter on the finished leather. Did a great job! Not sure of "rough out leather".

[gerhard]

I use a steamer with a towel around the brush (vaporetto for mine, but an other is good enough) be carrefull with your fingers. But the dirty gone, and the canvas smell better.
It's necessary one time each two years, if you shoot every week. I speak with the 50 and 300 m events, for the 10m it's less dirty.
Have a nice day
Gerhard the Frenchy (hope you understand what i want to explain !!)

[isuguncoach]

Gerhard,

Did you use a small hand held steamer, or a floor model?

Was wondering about the amount of water that would get on the jacket to wash out and stiffening.

[gerhard]

Hella isuguncoach
I use a floor model Vaporetto, it's a steamer with multiple tools, brushs...it's a very stong model. I use it for clean my bed settee or car's seat, floor and windows.
You must brush with brush and towel piece at the end with steam. When the piece of towel is dirty, you take an other new.
At the end the jacket dry herself, with the wind or with the heating system of your house, it's long to dry completly.
A hard work but the result is extra on canvas.
Gerhard

[Guest]

Gerhard,

The steam doesn´t remove the original gum in the canvas ?

[Rank]

Sorry i was not logged on...

[gerhard]

Hello Guest

No the rigidity (or stiffness)stay. But do not dilute completly the canvas. The steam is used on the surface. The goal is to brush with the towelling and the steam. You must do several passages on the canvas, stay a moment and brush again.
At the end, the texture is very wet (and clean !) but not dilute.
After you must dry the jacket on a support in a warm room, naturaly, without hair dryer or others.
But with the tima, the canvas is darker, because the dirty is deeper ine the texture.
I clean my car chair like this, it's ok.
Hope that's work for you.
Best regards from France

[JSBmatch]

Hi, this is what I was told by one jacket manufacturer.

The canvas in our jackets has a high content of 'starch' to maintain its stiffnes, any liquids or solvents should not be used as this could reduce the effectiveness of the starch. They basically said leave it dirty.

JSB

[gerhard]

My Jacket was a "Zorzopian-Becker" from France ( more 10 years old) and the stiffness is always the same with 3 times cleaning with my "method"
I can't spoke for the other products.
You can try on a part of your jacket and look at the result, if t's good you can clean all.
Bon WE

[jbpratt]

I want to thank Gerhard for the wonderful information on how to clean a shooting suit without damaging it. I followed your instructions and got my daughters white canvas clean. Between the steamer, magic erasers (no chemicals), and lint free cleaning clothes it looks awesome.

Jennifer

[RobinC]

I clean our jackets with warm soapy water and a scrubbing brush, canvas and leather, get the canvas well wet and scrub and sponge off the excess water and the dirt. Then hang up to dry naturaly.
The bonus is that it re stiffens the canvas back to original.
Good Shooting
Robin