Finn's (or Poe’s) Leather Jacket, let’s make it awesome!

Cyrup150mg · Nov 22, 2015

I just got my awesome Magnoli edition of Finn’s (or Poe’s) super cool leather jacket!

Finn Jacket

This how the jacket I got in mail just a week ago looks.

*My own photos

Compered to the ”real thing” below.

Star-Wars-Celebration-Anaheim-2015-The-Force-Awakens-119.jpg

*Photos from rebelscum.com

My jacket is great, Magnoli has done a great job and have payed attention to all important details, all thumbs up for that. The only thing I would want to do is to get the right color. It just a little to dark in my personal opinion, but I believe weathering can take care of that.

So my question is, how do I do to get the right tanned, distressed look to make it look more like the ”real thing”? Tips, trick, tutorials, links, videos etc are very welcome! :love

Of course I will add the iconic greebles (made by JJ). They are be produced right now and will hopefully be on their way shortly

*Photo from JJ

Cheers! :cool

JJ Griffin · Nov 22, 2015

I've been wondering the same thing about my jacket, mate. It's actually the second jacket I purchased from Indy, and unfortunately while it's very well made, it's just way, way too dark. What's even worse is the first jacket I bought off them back in August (which may have been a prototype?) was a much lighter shade of brown, very close to the screen-accurate tan and would have been easy to weather into the right color. T_T I should have never sold that jacket-- I'd rather have one that fits a bit tight and looks right than one that fits better but looks way off.

Anyway, I'll be watching this thread very closely because hopefully you and the brain trust here at the RPF can find some solutions to how to lighten this awesome jacket!

~JJ

Indy Magnoli · Nov 22, 2015

Acetone! This new tan leather has a lighter underbelly, so with some distressing, the color should come out perfect. Just put some acetone on a soft cloth (you can start by watering it down) and wiping the surface dye off little, but little. Start small, start diluted, and work your way up as you gain confidence and become comfortable with the process. Anyone not comfortable with doing this, just let us know and we'll do a heavier distressing before shipping to bring out the lighter color.

JJ Griffin · Nov 22, 2015

Indy Magnoli said:
Acetone! This new tan leather has a lighter underbelly, so with some distressing, the color should come out perfect. Just put some acetone on a soft cloth (you can start by watering it down) and wiping the surface dye off little, but little. Start small, start diluted, and work your way up as you gain confidence and become comfortable with the process. Anyone not comfortable with doing this, just let us know and we'll do a heavier distressing before shipping to bring out the lighter color.

Oh, wow! Gonna go try this right now! Thanks, Indy!

rchriswilliams · Nov 22, 2015

JJ, please post pics on your progress with this. Mine should be here tomorrow and I want to age mine as well.

JJ Griffin · Nov 22, 2015

I played around with it for about a half hour. The affected areas did lighten slightly, but certainly nowhere near the dark tan of the screen-used article. In addition, the acetone seemed most effective on the areas that took best to sandpaper, which was never an area of concern (for me). The issue has always been that large portions of the jacket-- in my case the back panels, sleeves, and pocket sections-- seem to be much thicker and less supple than the other areas, and I guess they're so well treated/sealed that it's almost impossible to weather them lighter (with either sandpaper or acetone, it seems).

I'm going to play around with heavier applications but at this point I am actually considering taking my mouse sander to those areas as nothing else I've tried seems to work... :/

I'll post a couple pics after dinner.

JJ Griffin · Nov 22, 2015

Alright, so here's some shots of what I mean

Here is the sectioned panel just below the chest greeblie, over the "heart". This leather is much softer; it's easy to lighten with sandpaper or an acetone rub:

Here's the holed pocket (the same general area that Finn tucks the lightsaber in the concept art/promo shots). Like the back panels and portions of the sleeves, this leather appears to be stiffer/thicker. It doesn't crease or fold as easily as other areas. Sanding it with 200 grit sandpaper doesn't have much of an effect. Acetone mostly just slightly lighens portions of this area, producing a subtle mottled look that is barely noticeable and certainly not anywhere near the tanned look of the screen jacket.

And finally, here's the current state of the jacket when worn:

Compare this to Boyega's promotional photos and there is clearly a big issue in terms of coloration. These jackets need to be substantially lighter, and THEN dirtied in order to achieve the proper look. Darkening it in it's current state would just turn it into an even darker brown that is even less accurate. The dyes being used are either too dark or too brown (not sure which). The base jacket needs to be a color closer to tan/khaki so it's easy to give it a naturally filthy/"mechanic's jacket" look.

As the OP stated, other than the color the jacket is incredibly well-made piece of bespoke. But it's hard to justify it's price point when the base color is so inaccurate... Not sure if there's a good solution to this issue that won't also destroy the jacket (sanding it with grits of 120 or lower causes excessive fraying that makes it loose it's naturally-weathered look). Hopefully @Indy Magnoli has some other ideas~?

~JJ

p.s. btw for comparison's sake, here is the prototype jacket I purchased. It was much lighter in tone. I would recommend future jackets be closer to this color (or preferably even lighter)

jchristman · Nov 22, 2015

How hard are you rubbing with the acetone? I think you sometimes need to really put some elbow grease into it to remove the dye.

I know some guys will machine wash and dry their jackets to soften them and help break them in. That might make the tougher sections more responsive to the acetone. I've never tried it though, so do it at your own risk!

Also, you might try crumpling it into a tight ball and leaving it overnight. Repeat this a few times, maybe wear it to bed a few nights. Again, this is all to help make the leather less stiff, I can't say for sure if that will help with lightening at all.

Jason

JJ Griffin · Nov 22, 2015

killrmonkey said:
How hard are you rubbing with the acetone? I think you sometimes need to really put some elbow grease into it to remove the dye.

I know some guys will machine wash and dry their jackets to soften them and help break them in. That might make the tougher sections more responsive to the acetone. I've never tried it though, so do it at your own risk!

Also, you might try crumpling it into a tight ball and leaving it overnight. Repeat this a few times, maybe wear it to bed a few nights. Again, this is all to help make the leather less stiff, I can't say for sure if that will help with lightening at all.

Jason

Hey Jason,

Thanks for your suggestions. I was scrubbing fairly vigorously, but I may go out and buy a brush tomorrow.

Machine washing a leather jacket can be bad, as the leather will shrink so you'd need to wear it while it's wet to make sure it conforms properly to your body. I was instructed throwing it in the dryer for a few cycles on no heat helped break it in (and I did this for about 48 hours of straight cycles).

Yes, crumpling it in a ball, wearing it everywhere, leaving it on the floor and having my roommates walk all over it day in and day out... I've used all those methods. The jacket has worn in pretty well, but that was never really the issue. Leather can be broken in. The problem is the color is way off (much darker than it should be) and we're not sure how to "fix" that.

Again, thanks for your advice! Even tho it's all stuff I knew and have done before, it may be a help to other readers here who have brand new jackets they need to break in.

Strongbow · Nov 23, 2015

Don;t know what kind of dye Indy used, but you can try an "oxy cleaner" type product too (on a discreet area first). I used to use that to distress new leather gear to make it look faded. It works on some dye types, but not others. Apply, let it sit for 30 seconds, rinse it off.

rchriswilliams · Nov 23, 2015

I'm not gonna lie, I find this troubling. My jacket is on the truck for delivery at this very moment and this thread has hampered the excitement I was hoping to feel today. Hopefully a good solution comes up soon but I feel like a $750 price tag shouldn't come along with extra effort on my part and/or phrases like "close enough." We in this community live and die by the mantra "you get what you pay for" and I just can't help but feel like that might not be the case in this situation. While I will reserve judgement until I open my own box, i just don't have the time or the confidence to execute these "fixes" myself. That is why I commission these things.

rchriswilliams · Nov 24, 2015

Ok, here we go. I received my jacket yesterday. I can't explain how beautiful this thing is (even if it is a couple of shades darker than I would like) and it fits like a dream. It also seems way softer and more supple than some people have experienced. There are a few areas where the dye had rubbed off in transit (which I like. Gives it a nice weathered look) which leads me to believe that in my particular case, it might be a tad easier to lighten up a bit. All that being said, I may not mess with it at all. It is truly awesome piece and I have a hunch that it will weather nicely on its own in time.

Strongbow · Nov 24, 2015

rchriswilliams said:
Ok, here we go. I received my jacket yesterday. I can't explain how beautiful this thing is (even if it is a couple of shades darker than I would like) and it fits like a dream. It also seems way softer and more supple than some people have experienced. There are a few areas where the dye had rubbed off in transit (which I like. Gives it a nice weathered look) which leads me to believe that in my particular case, it might be a tad easier to lighten up a bit. All that being said, I may not mess with it at all. It is truly awesome piece and I have a hunch that it will weather nicely on its own in time.

PICS! Still waiting for mine with bated breath.

rchriswilliams · Nov 24, 2015

Cyrup150mg · Dec 10, 2015

Yo!

I got the greebles from JJ last week and they are just awesome. The finish on the painting and weathering is absolutely world-class, great work JJ!

Attaching the greebles had to be done by a professional, so I gave the jacket to a costume tailor before the weekend and got my jacket back yesterday. Now I really feel like I'm an X-Wing pilot when standing in front of the mirror :cool

JJ Griffin · Dec 10, 2015

Cyrup150mg said:
Yo!

I got the greebles from JJ last week and they are just awesome. The finish on the painting and weathering is absolutely world-class, great work JJ!

Attaching the greebles had to be done by a professional, so I gave the jacket to a costume tailor before the weekend and got my jacket back yesterday. Now I really feel like I'm an X-Wing pilot when standing in front of the mirror :cool

View attachment 564451

Nothing better than a happy customer. Thanks friend! Would love to see your feedback in my sales thread, as well!

kristen jones · Mar 3, 2017

Not disparaging Indy's offering... they are fantastic. BUT, the other one mentioned is very nice in it's own way.

I own the USA Jacket version, and weathered it up to look pretty awesome. i also weathered JJ Griffin's Magnoli (which he never paid me for GRRRRRRRRR) and it looks awesome too.

On the left is the Magnoli, on the right the USA Jackets.

They both look good for what they are. Though I do lean toward the Magnoli overall for colour. (Too bad I got stiffed on that weathering job.)

Mechanized · Mar 3, 2017

Wooow kristen jones!! By far some of the best weathering on leather I've seen in awhile.

Both look insanely great. I'm with you in leaning more towards the Magnoli, but still I'd be happy with either one.

Excellent work :thumbsup

kristen jones · Mar 3, 2017

Thanks!

It's amazing what an airbrush and some rubbing alcohol can accomplish.

RebelArt · Apr 20, 2017

kristen jones said:
Thanks!

It's amazing what an airbrush and some rubbing alcohol can accomplish.

Awesome. So with the airbrush darkening those parts, will that dark color stay permanently? I've been trying to figure out what to use to weather mine so it lasts and I hear everything from acrylic paint to show polish but those seem non permanent.

Finn's (or Poe’s) Leather Jacket, let’s make it awesome!

New Member

Sr Member

Master Member

Sr Member

Active Member

Sr Member

Sr Member

Sr Member

Sr Member

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Active Member

New Member

Sr Member

Master Member

Sr Member

Master Member

New Member

Similar threads