Cleaning lined leather gloves

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I have a nice pair of Dent pigskin gloves lined with wool that are now rather the worse for wear. I know that some unlined leather gloves are advertised as "washable", and these can be washed with soap under a tap, but I'm pretty sure that mine are NOT washable - at least not in this way.

Does anyone know of a reliable method for cleaning (removing stains and general grime) from lined gloves such as mine. I'm hoping to avoid having to send them to be dry-cleaned: I've had some rather bad experiences sending leather to dry-cleaners!

Thanks for any help.

[Jordan Marc]

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Try MadamePaulette.com This remarkable cleaner and restorer of garments on the Upper East Side of New York City should be able to answer your questions about cleaning lined leather gloves as well as just about everything else in your wardrobe. This specialist makes a stain removal kit that may come in handy for your needs. Keep Madame Paulette's contact information on file.

JMB

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Thanks for that, I'll take a look at the info on the website. However, I live in the UK, so there would really need to be a London branch for me to use their service.

[Jordan Marc]

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Madame Paulette does work for customers all over the world and gets excellent results. They may know of someone in London who could do the restoration. It never hurts to ask.

If the woollen liners in the gloves are tatty, I suppose they could be removed carefully and replaced with new counterparts. For a price. Of course you could always splash out on a collection of brand-new gloves. Like suits, never wear the same pair of gloves more than once a week. And if wet don't dry them near any source of heat. Easy does it. When dry nourish the leather with a little conditioner from Saphir rubbed on
lightly with a soft clean cloth, such as a square of white cotton salvaged from an old T-shirt.

JMB

[shredder]

Whilst I know little about gloves, I am quite fond of them. I believe most washable gloves are deerskin. From your description of visible stains and grime, I assume that your pigskin gloves are not black or dark brown but possibly natural coloured. I happen to love pigskin, especially in natural, but know that it is a notoriously absorbent skin.

I know from experience and expert advice (on pigskin products other than gloves) that oil based stains can be treated whilst water based stains are more likely to be permanent on natural pigskin (not to be confused with peccary). The recommendation I received from a noted saddlemaker is to use neutral shoe cream, namely, the one made by Saphir as shown here http://www.valmour.com/cleaning-product ... lle-dor,47, and can be purchased in rebadged pots from shops like John Lobb and JM Weston. It is meant to be a regular maintenance medium rather than a thorough cleanser so keep that in mind.

As for the lining, I know that silk is easy enough to replace for a modest charge since I have had it done a couple of times by my local glovemaker. I do not know about wool but surmise that it should not be terribly difficult.

It might just be best to give Dents in Wiltshire a shout: 01985 212 291.

[rjman]

Chester Jefferies in England will reline anyone's gloves for a small fee -- I had them do so on a pair of cashmere-lined gloves I have. They are very nice to deal with and good people.

w/r/t the pigskin, I had instructions with a pair of peccary gloves (unlined) telling me to wash them with hand soap in lukewarm water and have them dry while inflated. However, I wouldn't do this with lined gloves -- maybe some saddle soap or leather cleaner (Saphir sells some, I am sure other makers do too). Maybe Chester Jefferies can clean and reline them.

[shredder]

Peccary is not a pig even if it might resemble one.