Baseball Glove Conditioner or Silicone??

[Mike]

Way off topic but I wanted to run this by some knowledgeable folks to get some input. I have done an old glove and it worked fantastic.

Anyhow, I have a bunch of gloves around here, about a dozen between the two boys and myself. I buy quality leather and have always used Nocona NLT forever, at least going back to when Heath was repping the line.

Anyhow, I was at a customer's place the other day and found aerosol Silicone, states it is 100% pure but I know there is propellant in there as well. I have used liquid silicone in the past and it worked great and does not produce the greasy feel and transfer to the balls. My supply there ran out so this can peaked my interest. The can states all leather goods.

I bought a can for $8 and gave it a try on an older glove and it was great, puddled up and I could rub it in everywhere. It covered the tight places well too, that was what impressed me the most.

Anyhow, I am safe using this stuff or could the propellants actually dry the leather out? I like the stuff but I am not going to spray $150 mitts with it until I get some better info.

Thanks in Advance, Mike

[oktx]

Vasoline. That's what Nokona uses.

[Burnadell]

Heath is your man; he should be along shortly to answer this.

[Goldeneagle]

When I was growing up, we just used motor oil.

[CaptJack]

I recomend you wash/scrub it with saddlesoap before you reconditon it
In the 50s~60s I used Mink oil

[Mike]

I am a big fan of the Saddle Soap, it brings all the dirt and grime to the top of the leather and it just wipes right off.

I picked up another can today of the Silicone. It is labelled Kel but in small print it has Kellog on the can. They specify use on Leather, Fiberglass and Metal as well as a rubber conditioner for automotive door seals and such.

[TheDeal]

Crisco

[DamonJ]

Saddle soap and a lot of your oils work great, but they make the glove HEAVY..... IMO the best thing to use on your glove to keep the leather in good condition without the weight is shaving cream... Good ole cheap colgate foam!!!

[SouthTxBow]

Use foam shaving cream, cheap kind. IMO, it works the best!

[junior]

All we used was shaving cream! Keep a can in your ball bag for when needed!

[MKD12]

I would stick to what the manufacturer gives you just to be safe. They usually design the conditioner for the specific leather, at least I think so. Heath probably knows more about that stuff than me

[Burnadell]

I guess Heath did not see this.

[Heath]

Originally Posted by Berandel

I guess Heath did not see this.

Just seeing this now. The Nokona NLT stuff is what I recommend even though I am no longer rep Nokona. Vaseline or Petroleum Jelly will also work. I have never used shaving cream, but have heard of people using it.

When you use a oil it penetrates the leather and causes the pores to close up. It traps all the impurities inside. This causes the glove to get heavier over time. I do not recommend any type of glove oil. The other fad is to put some hot glove or something like it on the glove and then treat it in the microwave or oven. I also not recommend it.

[recar]

saddle soap or shaving cream

[Mike]

Good info and thanks for finally popping in Heath, lol.

I had a few tubes of NLT and went at it with that but modified the application to only the pocket, hinge and webbing of the pocket on front and back. I wrapped them up with a 3" Ace bandage along with a wiffle softball in the pocket and left it for 2 days. We will see this afternoon.

They look great now. I decided to stay away from the fingers as I want them to stay open and "semi-stiff".

I am making a glove mallet out of a paint handle and baseball so I can work them more in the evening.

For quality leather, I do not advocate the "Oven baked mits or Hot Glove". However, for my little guys on my 5-6 and 7-8 year old teams I coach. When they show up at practice with an inexpensive new glove with the tags on it and I know that no one is going to condition the glove, I will gather them all up, get several cans and go to work with the Double oven at home. It is amazing the difference it makes and the kids can actually catch balls with them, rather than popping out each time it hits the glove. Plus, it makes the parents think we are fantastic coaches because the kids can catch the ball, lol.

Oddly, I was not able to find any shaving cream that contained Lanolin, it might have been some other "created compound" in the ingredients but no mention of Lanolin. I even checked the ladies brands as well.

[Heath]

Glove mallets work really well. The ones I sold at Nokona where about the size of a softball vs. a baseball. The most important thing when buying a glove is to buy a TPX in North Texas, Oklahoma, or Arkansas.

[FreakHorn]

Shaving cream works the best!

[Take Dead Aim]

I have always used gel shaving cream. Keeps the glove light and not dried out.