saddle rot - fatal?

bugbear said the following on 06/02/2007 09:43:

Quoted message said:

Has any seen this before?

Not the "soft and damp" bit, but certainly the green mould bit in the
dim and distant past.

Quoted message said:

Is it fatal?

Not in my case - I'm still riding it.

Quoted message said:

Any treatments known?

Wash the mould off and re-wax? I also wax underneath, but you might
want to make sure the leather is dried out first.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

in message <[email hidden]>, bugbear

('bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim') said:

I recently noticed that a brooks professional saddle
on (cough) one of my machines in my garage
has gone bright green with some kind of low-profile
mould.

Bugger.

The saddle is rather soft and damp.
I've removed it and bought it indoors for some
TLC.

Has any seen this before?
Is it fatal?
Any treatments known?

BugBear (not wanting to buy a new saddle)

It isn't fatal. Dry the saddle out *slowly*, then treat with plenty of
proofide (Brooks special saddle polish).

If you don't dry the saddle slowly it will become brittle. If you use too
much dubbin or neats foot oil or whatever the saddle will get soft and
will stretch out of shape.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken, and there was nothing we could do but wait
patiently for the RAC to arrive.

Simon Brooke <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, bugbear
('bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim'😉 wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I recently noticed that a brooks professional saddle
on (cough) one of my machines in my garage
has gone bright green with some kind of low-profile
mould.

Bugger.

The saddle is rather soft and damp.
I've removed it and bought it indoors for some
TLC.

Has any seen this before?
Is it fatal?
Any treatments known?

BugBear (not wanting to buy a new saddle)

Quoted message said:

It isn't fatal. Dry the saddle out *slowly*, then treat with plenty of
proofide (Brooks special saddle polish).

Quoted message said:

If you don't dry the saddle slowly it will become brittle. If you use too
much dubbin or neats foot oil or whatever the saddle will get soft and
will stretch out of shape.

I painted the leather saddle on my Pedersen with copper sulphate
(solution made up from) from my brother's chemistry set when it went a
bit mouldy; it wasn't soft though.
I think the saddle's still OK but you'd have to ask Tim Hall...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

bugbear bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim said:

I recently noticed that a brooks professional saddle
on (cough) one of my machines in my garage
has gone bright green with some kind of low-profile
mould.

Mouldy yes, soft and damp, no.

Mine went mouldy when unridden for a couple of years but the physical
properties were unchanged. I wiped the mould off, gave it a good
proofhide and rode it.

Quoted message said:

The saddle is rather soft and damp.
I've removed it and bought it indoors for some
TLC.

I'd probably not ride it if it's actually done that.
I'd dry it very slowly, then work lots of proofhide in, then hope...

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Ian Smith said:

I'd dry it very slowly, then work lots of proofhide in, then hope...

How slowly is "very"; I've just bought it indoors.

(i.e. no hairdryers or radiators are involved)

Does that sound reasonable?

BugBear

bugbear bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim said:

Ian Smith said:

I'd dry it very slowly, then work lots of proofhide in, then hope...

How slowly is "very"; I've just bought it indoors.
(i.e. no hairdryers or radiators are involved)

Yes, I'd just bring it indoors, then put it somewhere away from
radiators, boilers, fires, hot water cylinders and the like.

But I'm only speculating on what I'd do, or what I do for saturated
boots - I don't actually know how a saddle will take it.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

in message <[email hidden]>, Ian Smith

(') said:

bugbear bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim said:

Ian Smith said:

I'd dry it very slowly, then work lots of proofhide in, then hope...

How slowly is "very"; I've just bought it indoors.
(i.e. no hairdryers or radiators are involved)

Yes, I'd just bring it indoors, then put it somewhere away from
radiators, boilers, fires, hot water cylinders and the like.

But I'm only speculating on what I'd do, or what I do for saturated
boots - I don't actually know how a saddle will take it.

I've had a forty-something year old saddle in this sort of condition. It
never polished back up to glossy, but it became quite usable. I would
advise drying it out in a cool room - not even a centrally heated one. You
really want to give it plenty of time for the water to wick and evaporate
out gently.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

X-no-archive: No, I'm not *that* naive.

In article <[email hidden]>,
bugbear
bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim says...

Quoted message said:

I recently noticed that a brooks professional saddle
on (cough) one of my machines in my garage
has gone bright green with some kind of low-profile
mould.

Bugger.

The saddle is rather soft and damp.
I've removed it and bought it indoors for some
TLC.

Has any seen this before?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

Is it fatal?

Probably not.

Quoted message said:

Any treatments known?

First slacken the tension adjuster. To clean it up give it a good scrub
with saddle soap then let it dry (far corner of the airing cupboard
rather than top of a radiator). When it's bone dry apply lashings of
Proofide and leave to soak in for a while before buffing off the excess.
Re-adjust the tension.

Rob Morley said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
bugbear
bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim says...

Quoted message said:

I recently noticed that a brooks professional saddle
on (cough) one of my machines in my garage
has gone bright green with some kind of low-profile
mould.

Quoted message said:

Bugger.

Quoted message said:

The saddle is rather soft and damp.
I've removed it and bought it indoors for some
TLC.

Quoted message said:

Has any seen this before?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

Is it fatal?

Probably not.

Quoted message said:

Any treatments known?

First slacken the tension adjuster. To clean it up give it a good scrub
with saddle soap then let it dry (far corner of the airing cupboard
rather than top of a radiator). When it's bone dry apply lashings of
Proofide and leave to soak in for a while before buffing off the excess.
Re-adjust the tension.

I've had the same. Just clean in and put the usual stuff on it.
I didn't, and wouldn't fiddle with the tensioner. Although I've
admittedly not done the experiment, I've heard that they're best left
alone.
At any rate, there's no need.

I did buy a new saddle but that's really only because I wanted a sexy
titanium railed one, and it was 15 years after the mold incident.

Hywel

Hywel

In article <[email hidden]>,
hyweldavies
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I've had the same. Just clean in and put the usual stuff on it.
I didn't, and wouldn't fiddle with the tensioner. Although I've
admittedly not done the experiment, I've heard that they're best left
alone.
At any rate, there's no need.

I had a really soggy Wrights saddle (as a result of a leaking garage
roof that I hadn't noticed) that I left to dry slowly without slackening
the tension adjuster - it ended up lop-sided with a raised ridge along
the middle because the leather shrank as it dried and pulled tight while
it was still damp enough to take on a different shape.