What oil can I use on a baseball glove?
Lanolin is the main ingredient in most glove conditioners, but you can use pure lanolin oil over glove conditioners if you want to avoid applying additional cleaning chemicals when breaking in your glove. You can purchase lanolin oil at most hardware stores and some sporting goods stores.
Break In Your LeatherāOr Revive It!
WD-40 makes stiff leather items soft and supple. Dog collars, baseball gloves, work boots, shoes, and sandals all benefit from a spray. As a bonus, you'll remove stubborn stains which means the lubricant is particularly useful in treating vintage items.
Lubricate the glove with your lube preference, say shaving cream. Take a very small amount, and put it on a soft, clean cloth like a dish towel. Rub the shaving cream into the glove, being careful to use just enough to lightly coat the glove. Make sure it is rubbed in well, and no globs remain.
Oil your baseball glove regularly
Also, don't forget to oil your glove periodically, especially in drier areas of the country. The need for oiling can range from 1 time per week to 1 time per month, depending on the humidity where you live. I use Lexol spray, saddle soap or mink oil when conditioning my glove.
Adding glove oil to your gloves will keep your glove last longer and be more durable. Oils and conditioners will soften the leather, making breaking in a glove easier. Not only that, but it also lubricates the leather and keeps your glove from cracking.
- Door hinges. Sure, WD-40 will stop the squeaking, but it also attracts dust and dirt. ...
- Bike chains. WD-40 can cause dirt and dust to stick to a chain. ...
- Paintball guns. WD-40 can melt the seals in the guns.
- Locks. ...
- iPods and iPads.
It waterproofs and conditions the leather and preserves the stitching. It also prevents the leather from drying up.
Neatsfoot oil, lanolin, almond oil, and mink oil are best for softening your leather. All of these are natural oils that moisturize leather, keeping it from drying and cracking. The fats in these natural oils will deeply moisturize the hide in leather products.
To oil a baseball glove, you'll need oil that's made specifically for leather, or some baby oil, petroleum jelly, or shaving cream.
Wet and dried baseball gloves often tend to stiffen up. If that happens, apply a leather conditioner to soften the glove once it has dried. Never blow dry or use a heater to dry your glove because this can dry out the surface and crack the leather.
How do you make an old baseball glove soft again?
Restoring and oiling an old baseball glove isn't hard. You just need to do unlace > use leather cleaner > dry off > oil the glove > dry it again > use conditioner > relace and you are ready to go. It's really easy and fun to do.
To get your glove looking fresh and new again, use a dry brush or rag to wipe away as much grit and grime as possible. Then, apply a leather-cleaning agent to revitalize your glove. Finally, rub a bit of glove conditioner into the glove to finish the cleaning process.
Some break them in by dunking them in water or placing them in a microwave oven. Some, like Rodriguez, lather them with shaving cream. Others beat them with a mallet, as if tenderizing a steak.
Don't: Use Shaving Cream
One of the most common tips for breaking in a glove is to use Barbasol shaving cream as a conditioner. Back in the day, shaving cream contained lanolin, a natural oil that comes from sheep. Lanolin happens to be a pretty good leather conditioner. But today, almost no shaving contains lanolin.
Sure, oil softens the leather up and makes it more pliable. Oil also sits in the glove making it a bit heavier. In addition, it can soak into the padding of the palm. And eventually, oil will start to break down the leather.
But coconut oil is one of the most harmful things for a baseball glove. It will make your glove slippery and tear its laces. No matter how many days you let your glove dry, it won't dry because it already absorbed coconut oil ingredients. That's why you should never use coconut oil on your baseball glove.
No, we recommend you not to use coconut oil on baseball gloves.
WD-40 can be used on just about everything. It is safe for metal, rubber, wood and plastic. WD-40 can be applied to painted metal surfaces without harming the paint. Polycarbonate and clear polystyrene plastic are among the few surfaces on which to avoid using a petroleum-based product like WD-40.
WD40 contains a mineral (petroleum) spirit as a carrier solvent. The mineral spirit WILL soften and swell natural rubber. It is ok to use on fuel and oil hoses but NOT coolant hoses and definitely not on door and window rubbers!
It's a very gentle polish, used for brass-plated musical instruments and can be used on stainless steel, aluminum, chrome, pewter, bronze and copper as well as brass.
How do you remove WD-40 from leather?
To remove any greasy traces of WD-40, blot the affected area with a kitchen towel dipped into a weak washing-up liquid solution, and finish by blotting again with just plain water and drying with a soft cloth.
The best way to remember what you can and can't use on your leather is to keep this in mind: The two most commonly used chemicals that will cause severe damage to your leather are alcohol and acetone.
Waterproof Waxes
Boots wax is another popular product for waterproofing leather boots. The most famous one is beeswax. To treat your boots with wax, you need to heat the wax and boots a bit to make them more pliable. Then, rub the wax across the boot in both directions with fingers.
Do not use petroleum-based cleaning products to clean leather as they can erode the stitching on the leather piece. Harsh cleaners (such as Windex or bleach), furniture polish (such as Pledge), alkaline cleaners, baby wipes, waxes, and silicone may also damage leather, leaving it feeling sticky.
What Can You Put On Leather To Soften It? Leather conditioners are the finest way to soften the leather. Use a damp cloth to apply the conditioner to the leather surface. It's also possible to use water and natural oils such as coconut or olive oil, as well as Vaseline.
Baby oil is a pretty light lubricant (it's mineral oil with some fragrance added) but will still over-soften the leather, much like mink oil would do. So you might find that the leather has turned to something akin to mush.
Lexol is made to preserve, strengthen, and beautify accessories like leather car upholstery, boots, shoes, baggage, saddle, and furniture. You can also use it to soften your old or new baseball glove as an alternative to a baseball conditioner.
Pour a small amount of hot water (150 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit) over any area of your new glove you want to make softer. Do not put your glove in the microwave or use detergents to soften the glove, as this can damage the leather. You can also use a small amount of glove oil applied with a sponge.
New baseball gloves are often stiff and not yet ready for game performance. Even gloves that are made specifically for your playing style, such as custom baseball gloves or custom softball gloves need to be broken in before they're ready to take the field.
Using Baseball Glove Oils and Conditioners
When using oils and conditioners to break in your glove, the first thing you should know is that products like Vaseline, petroleum jelly, olive oil, mink oil, and linseed oil should never be used.
Is it OK if my baseball glove gets wet?
Let your glove sit in an indoor, dry location overnight. Avoid direct sunlight and all other elements of weather. This step is important to let leather restore back to its normal shape and color after getting wet.
Apply Petroleum Jelly to every part of the glove using a cloth or rag. Leather acts like human skin, and the Vaseline can help protect the leather from weather, dirt and moisture. Work the Vaseline into every part of the glove and wipe off excess with the rag.
Even professional baseball players are committed to taking good care of their gloves so they can use them for four or more seasons. That's impressive considering how often they use their gloves. If you don't take care of it, it could dry out and crack rather quickly, possibly giving you only one season of use.
If your beloved, aging baseball glove is showing signs of wear and tear ā cracking and hardening of the leather ā you can give it a second lease on life with an occasional olive oil rubdown. Just work the oil into the dry areas of your mitt with a soft cloth, let it set for 30 minutes, then wipe off any excess.
You don't need to douse your glove in baby oil for it to get nice and soft. Just use a drizzle and work it into the leather. Repeat as necessary.
Pour a small amount of hot water (150 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit) over any area of your new glove you want to make softer. Do not put your glove in the microwave or use detergents to soften the glove, as this can damage the leather. You can also use a small amount of glove oil applied with a sponge.
That's why the best way to break in a gloveā ā and the one you should opt for, if at all possible ā ā is also the simplest: catch baseballs with it. With time and reps, the glove will naturally form to your hand, providing a custom fit and a pocket that's adapted to how you catch the ball.
Some break them in by dunking them in water or placing them in a microwave oven. Some, like Rodriguez, lather them with shaving cream. Others beat them with a mallet, as if tenderizing a steak.
Adding oil to your baseball glove will not only help you break in your glove more quickly by softening the leather, it also will lubricate your glove to prevent it from cracking.
Wet and dried baseball gloves often tend to stiffen up. If that happens, apply a leather conditioner to soften the glove once it has dried. Never blow dry or use a heater to dry your glove because this can dry out the surface and crack the leather.
Does coconut oil ruin leather?
We don't recommend using pure coconut oil to condition leather because it's easy to over condition leather goods. It's difficult to apply the right amount of pure coconut oil to the type of leather you have. Too much oil may over soften and weaken the leather, causing your boots to wear out faster.
CLEAN AND CONDITION: After each use, wipe the dirt off with a soft cloth or brush and store the glove in a dry place at room temperature. Every so often use a damp cloth to apply a small amount of leather cleaner and wipe the entire glove with it. Remove the cleaner with another damp cloth and allow to air dry.
