topgun needs help!

[viceman82]

hi all!

further to my introduction I'm creating a topgun style leather jacket which yesterday came back from byson leather having had around 17 patches sewn on which are high quality replicas of lt pete "maverick" mitchells seen on his g1 jacket.

the problem is... all the patches look brand new and Im wanting to age them accordingly, in all fairness... yes doing so would have been a lot easyer to have done so before having them attached to the jacket.
but here we are, Im limited to what i can do and cloride bathing realistically is out of the question as it would probably ruin the jacket to wash it out?

can uv light sunbleach the patches? could i simply take it down to my local suntan studio where i occasionaly visit, hang it up and use a sunbooth to fade some of the patches?

im fammiliar with tea/coffee dying techniques,

im fammiliar with sandpaper/pummace stone/fabric softener techniques.

if anyone has experience with ageing millitary patches or has created there own topgun style jacket please feel free to pass on your advice!

si

 

[rundown]

wear it, roll into the mud, roll on concrete, drag it on the ground when you bike around. Wash it over and over, get sandpaper,... Many options.

 

[Randino]

I'd just wear it around, it will get rough with age.

Howed you make it? Got some pictures? I've always wanted one of these.

 

[viceman82]

I'd just wear it around, it will get rough with age.

Howed you make it? Got some pictures? I've always wanted one of these.

Possibly the better idea thanks. :cool

 

[viceman82]

Possibly the better idea thanks. :cool

Basically bought a cheap aviator jacket off "gleebay" for around 30quid (real leather) and then bought a set of 17 replica patche's from china, they cost around 80 quid! sent em all off to Byson Leather uk, with pics of where i wanted em attaching and 90 quid later it was on its way back!

I wanted a real g1 topgun replica for donkeys years but as an adult bought 3 which were dissapointing quality wise, or a rippoff, and never quite small enough to fit me as i'm litteraly tom cruise sized myself! so this was the far cheaper option to buy a jacket (topman) that actually fits & have the patche's sewn on. cheap project, much cheaper than the 400 plus pounds it would cost to have a tailor made jacket sewn up!

 

[viceman82]

patche's now sorted but i really would like to know how to age/wear the leather itself?

anyone who's 'aged' or distressed a leather jacket please feel free to chip in ob this, reluctant to take acetone or diluted bleach to the jacket before i know what im doing.

thanks

 

[Fly4v]

Nice Jacket.

If the leather is HEAVY....Put the jacket in a canvas laundry bag filled with some bits of gravel and sand then in a dryer set on no heat tumble.

You will have to remove the patches. They will not stand up.

If it is a light weight jacket. Just wear it all the time and when not worn roll in in a ball and use it a pillow or seat cushion.

 

[viceman82]

Nice Jacket.

If the leather is HEAVY....Put the jacket in a canvas laundry bag filled with some bits of gravel and sand then in a dryer set on no heat tumble.

You will have to remove the patches. They will not stand up.

If it is a light weight jacket. Just wear it all the time and when not worn roll in in a ball and use it a pillow or seat cushion.

Lightweight leather, removing the patch's is not an option after it cost 90 quid to have them sewn on.

 

[Fly4v]

Light weight:unsure

Be very careful doing anything other than wearing it. Your desire is a worn jacket and you may end up with a holey jacket.

 

[joostin]

I believe I've seen some posts about ways of distressing leather without trashing it too much.
There are probably some dedicated threads for it, otherwise, I'm sure I've seen techniques mentioned in the 'Wolverine All Day' thread as plenty of people supply clean/new Wolverine jackets - but obviously the film ones are somewhat aged.

Have a search around there, and I'm sure you'll find some techniques for all kinds/weights of leather. I know things like sandpaper and dragging it along the road are mentioned - but I wouldn't have the heart to attack one of my leather jackets with sand paper.
Depending on where you are, there may be someone (a local business, or even a user here), who's able to distress it for you for a fee.

 

[Randino]

Looks awesome. I've been wanting one for years, though without the patches for more of a daily use. Who makes the base jacket, and do you think it would hold up to that?

 

[viceman82]

Looks awesome. I've been wanting one for years, though without the patches for more of a daily use. Who makes the base jacket, and do you think it would hold up to that?

Dude there's like umpteen places you caould get a real/replica topgun g1 jacket with or without the patche's! US wings for starters!

or..if you don't wanna pay top dollar, atm Asos has about 3 or 4 different style aviator jackets available!

Happy googling

 

[viceman82]

Okay for future reference for This type of project be it ageing or distressing millitary patches or a leather jacket itself here's what I have done so far!

I scrubbed all the patches with a nailbrush and some warm water with fabric softner in to soften them, de starch them and slightley wear them in and dry'd with hairdryer.

On the patches that were supposed to be from the 1960's (mavericks farthers) I used x2 teabags in an icecream tub full of hot water and just used the tea to stain the patches, heavier around the edge's using a small modelling brush. dry'd with hairdryer and i repeated this process a few times to get the disired 'antiqued' look.

On the patches from the 80's I have decided to give them a 20 odd year age'd or 'vintage look'. this time using maybe one teaspoon full of instant coffee granuals in my icecream tray full of hot water, same method as above really repeating as desired, heavier on the edge's! coffee gives a greyer look than tea and I think is far better for the vintage rather than antique look.

All patches have been worked on, abused a little here and there with a variety of different wire brush/steel wool/rough house brick edge/scouring pad techniques.

The leather has been just warm water washed over and hairdryr'd a few times then I used some fine/medium dry sanding paper found lying about in the garage to wear through the leather in appropriate points of contact on the jacket, carefully without overdoing it! just enough wear to bite into the leather, take off the top layer and lighten the colour in places.

I'm really happy with the results as I litterally bit the bullit and went for broke with this not knowing how anything was gunna turn out! if it messed up...it messed up!

The only thing i'm altering is the "sea bees" patch for the correct 1950/60's issue patch which I just got today through the post!

Theres a big difference to the jacket in the flesh, pics on my phone do not pick up the detail but the jacket has age'd a few decades now and no longer has that "spankin new off ebay" look hehe.

I shall be wearing it when I see TOPGUN 3D at the flicks next week!

 

[viceman82]

...bought a propper one instead lol.

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