Perhaps the thing to do would be to look at the original maintenance instructions. What care was required for components made of leather ? I'm pretty sure in the British Army they'd have been instructed to 'dubbin' it.

An unprotected saddle or bags would become impossibly wet. There must have been some waterproofing used.

Ian I think you know that am not one for patina, fake or otherwise, and have argued that point on several occasions. As I said the issue with my new saddle skin was simply the colour. I can't believe the original colour of the leather would have been cream and I just coloured mine to please myself and to what I think it might have looked like in 1942, without any attempt to make it look old. The saddle bags however were already old and I did my best to make them look the best I could. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

this stuff will darken down leather a bit at a time, and feed and preserve it at the same time.

recommended to me years ago by an old time horseman.

I know it darkens down leather,'cos the leather stuff I used it on I did not want darkened

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ko-Cho-Line-Leather-Dressing-/142260441879?hash=item211f621317:g:Ns8AAOSwImRYjI-p

Hello,
for the leather items i use "SAPO"since years, and old uncle who work at "Forestier" saddelery say us it's maybe the better thing for the leather, maybe he is right ( or maybe he was paid to say that... )
http://www.equiphorse.com/graisse-a-cuir-%22sapo%22-a11838.html
very good stuff who not darken the leather as the oil,
and for the colour of a new creamy leather, who is never oiled, just use professional wood color ( the solvant version) it work very well, and with a small gun spray you could also darken a little more just the portions you want to make more fake patina...

Arnaud

email (option): leger-arnaud@wanadoo.fr

Maarten, ask a cardealer for old engine oil, put your saddle bags 2 weeks in the old engine oil, ask a friend who owns a gun licence to take the saddlebags to his shooting club, take a few 9 mm shots on the bags and you have original " old bags ". When I had my Harley WLA everybody ask me hoe I got those original bags.

email (option): Gertpolman@gmail.com

@Gert....I like your solution to my problem, especially the 9mm gun part...

email (option): mr.bighealey@hotmail.com

I know how to make a Harley look older. I found the perfect answer in the M.W.E.E. ledgers.

Apparently they liked this sidecar outfit so much that they torched it !

the results so far....

email (option): mr.bighealey@hotmail.com

Well Maarten I much prefer the brown look over the orange colour of the new items..... Would they really have been that orange colour originally It makes me think that any Harley rider at the time would have been a potential target. Probably the enemy would even have had to wear sun glasses Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

That's why the 9mm bullet holes Gert suggested are a realistic modification...

email (option): mr.bighealey@hotmail.com

The finish on the leather is a matter of personal preference, I think. But patina on a WD bike is inevitable unless you do not use the machine or re-restore it every few years. Again, personal preference, but my bike was restored to WD trim some 13 years ago and what with the nature of the paint used as well as use on and off road, plus petrol leakage and oil splashes, it has attained a natural "patina".........and I think the bike looks better each year as it gently ages, unlike its owner!

Do not use neatsfoot oil on old bags in more than small amounts as it turns leather into something like licorice. It darkens the leather and softens it. That's ok if the leather is very dry but not so good if it's already supple. Neatsfoot oil is also known to rot cotton based thread, so not so clever. I never use it commercially any more. It's boiled up hooves. If you want to bring hard leather back to life far far better to use Westgate Gold Label Hide Food which is lanolin based, ie Face Cream that Old Bags use.

What a sales pitch...'Buy Westgate Gold Label Hide Food for you motorcycle panniers...Tested extensively on old bags'... ...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com