Renapur's Balsam, a fantastic leather product

[figheadair]

For some time I've used Chambers' Leather Balsam for my sporrans and found it very good, albeit that it takes some time to soak in. However, at the Scottish Game Fair this past weekend I discovered Renapur Balsam which is widely used by ghillies, equestrian eventers for tack etc.

Talk about chalk and cheese, this product is fantastic - immediate results with no residue. Here's my 1930s Anderson's sporran after one quick application. Absolutely first class.

Andersons 1930.jpg

And a before and after on my doeskin bag.

Renapur balsum x 2.jpg

[Troglodyte]

For some time I've used Chambers' Leather Balsam for my sporrans and found it very good, albeit that it takes some time to soak in. However, at the Scottish Game Fair this past weekend I discovered Renapur Balsam which is widely used by ghillies, equestrian eventers for tack etc.

Talk about chalk and cheese, this product is fantastic - immediate results with no residue. Here's my 1930s Anderson's sporran after one quick application. Absolutely first class.

Andersons 1930.jpg

And a before and after on my doeskin bag.

Renapur balsum x 2.jpg

Hear, hear..!

I bought a tub at a Game Fair back in the '90s.

Brilliant stuff..!

[Jock Scot]

Wonderful stuff! I have happily used it for years, on shoes, cartridge bags, gun sleeves, gun cases, rifle slings, leather kilt accessories, saddles, bridles and so on.

[PassingW]

A product endorsed by Figheadair, Troglodyte and Jock? I've just placed an order!

[Jock Scot]

I have found its best to use it sparingly for best effect. Little and fairly often at first and then a wee maintenance coating when needed.

[Hauge]

Trying to find a place to order, inside EU.

This simply need to be tested..!

[Troglodyte]

Trying to find a place to order, inside EU.

This simply need to be tested..!

The balsam is a compound mix of natural ingredients, waxes and oils, blended for leather treatment.

The dryer the leather, the better the absorption, in my experience - and it works well on something like a vintage sporran that has potentially never had any treatment.

On newer leather - say a sporran no more than 20 years old - I would urge applying the balsam sparingly, as it can take two or three days to be fully absorbed. Degree of absorption is obvious, but when seemingly near fully-absorbed it can still be slightly tacky to the touch - so buffing over with a cloth is a good idea to prevent any transfer of surface residue
to clothing, that is from sporran to kilt.

You will notice the oils darken the leather slightly, but usually only back to what a dry leather would once have been when new. So exepect some change in appearance, in other words. A small trial area should be tried first to find the most suitable need of the leather.

An alternative exellent leather treatment, that is both non-waxy and colourless, and which works very well on new leathers such as sporrans, is petroleum jelly (known as Veseline to most people) as it does for leather what every mother knows it does for their baby's skin.

It keeps the leather soft and plump, allowing the fibres to expand and flex naturally.

Petrol' jelly is absobed and dries quickly, and heat from the fingers is all that's necessary to aid absoption by the leather, and you might find finger-tips are better applicators for Renapur that the recommeded sponge.

It is important to remember that many commercially-made sporrans use a kind of fibreboard for the front and rear panels, but this is mostly seen on fur-front and metal cantle styles. Whilst the finish and surface of this board has all the appearance of leather, it will never absorb or soften in the same way as leather, so treatments are pointless.

The great thing about these leather treatments, is that they aid patination.

Many a fine, old, vintage sporran has acquired additional charm with patina from regular handling over the years. Leather treatments often seem to enhance this, and respond well to the natural oils that get transferred fro the hands during use.