Distressed Wested Goat.....yes, I said GOAT!

[IndyBlues]

Here are a few old pics of the Wested Goat jacket I distressed. At the time, it was said that it couldn't be done, and after a few trys in an inconspicuous test area(under the collar), I figured I'd give it a go.
I love the wya it turned out, and the russet undertones were really nice. Sadly, the jackets sleeves were a bit too short, and I ended up selling it. I plan on buying another Wested goat and doing the same thing.
Let me know what you think of my results.
'Blues

public.fotki.com/IndyBlues612/wested_dark_brown/

[Deleted]

Blues,

That came out really nice Kind of a shame you had to sell it after doing such a great job. It looks like you managed to give it a well worn look without harming the surface of the leather at all.

Cheers,
G-MANN

[IndyBlues]

gmann said:

Blues,

That came out really nice Kind of a shame you had to sell it after doing such a great job. It looks like you managed to give it a well worn look without harming the surface of the leather at all.

Cheers,
G-MANN

Exactly the look I was going for. I didn't want to sand it down too much, because for one, I'm not a big fan of the "scratchy" look, since the original Raiders jacket(to ME, anyway) looked more stripped than scratchy, and second, it was going to be a daily wear jacket, and it needed to withstand rain and the elements. Living in the NE of the US, your bound to get rained/snowed/sleeted/hailed on at one time or another.

Thanks for the compliment. I was really bummed selling it, but I was even more bummed driving my car, and feeling like I was wearing a kids jacket. The sleeeves rode up SOOO much on that thing if I raised my arms. Think Frankenstein.
'Blues

[jweaver]

That jacket really looks great! It looks very natual. I think Pagey has the only other distressed goat jacket. Both of you had great results. I may have to give it a go on my jacket!

[IndyBlues]

Thanks JW. If you ever need to know how I did it, just let me know. I'd love to see how Pageys turned out. I wonder if his goat has the reddish undertones, like mine?

'Blues

[Ragingblues]

Blues,

The jacket looks great.... nice job!

Flattery (from COW) also did a fantastic job distressing his dark brown Wested goat. It was the jacket that confirmed my choices for me. I'm not in any way trying to detract from your great distressing job. I just wanted to share that another goat Wested had been done as well. Here is the thread, for those interested:

www.indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?t=13246&highlight=

Thanks for sharing yours Indyblues,

Ken

[IndyBlues]

That jacket looks great! See, where there's a will, there's a way. Never tell a Jones fan they CAN'T do something.'Blues

[Tycoonman]

How exactly did you distress it?

[IndyBlues]

Sorry for the delayed response, I didn't see there was another post, lol

Well, first thing I did was:

1: Took a bottle of isopropyl alcohol(I believe it's the 91%), and some paper towels, and rubbed the glossy shine off of the jacket. The i.p. doesn't remove much color, and that's only when you rub hard. Some of the areas that look worn thru, like the upper back, the other wide areas, I rubbed the i.p. a little harder, and it removed just enough brown to expose the reddish undertones.

2:THEN, I took a bottle of acetone, and some Q-tips, and proceeded to remove color from the seam areas, and places that would take the most wear, ie. the collar edges, the cuffs, the seems along the sleeves, cargo pocket flaps, etc. I tried not to remove too much color there as well, because a little goes a loooong way. You don't want the removed color to appear to look like piping. You have to keep in mind that subtle is best. If you go too crazy, it won't look suitable for wearing, except as a costume piece. BUT, to each his own.

3:The very last step was sanding. I used some Scotchbrite pads from 3-M (the green ones used for cleaning pots and such), and a little Dremel tool bit, used for sanding. Don't recall the number, but it was a peach color, and the head was sort of pointy, like a used crayon.
I installed that into an exacto knife handle(so I could be precise with my removal), and went to town on the seams, over the areas I removed color from with the Q-tips. I also only used it sparingly, and not over the entire area. A little removed her, a little removed there. Again, I prefer the subtle aproach. When it all comes together, everything will stand out, and look like alot more than you think, when it's finished. You can always go back and remove a little more, but you cannot bring it back.
The Scotchbrite pad, I used to lightly go over the bigger areas. I tried to add wear to areas like the elbows, and and shoulder blades. Places I thought would get scuffed in some rough adventures.

4:Last but not least,..wear it and enjoy!!!

I hope this helps,
'Blues

[jweaver]

Very good post Blues! I've had my Wested for 2 year and it might be time to do a little distressing.

[Tycoonman]

Thanks for the post, but I have some questions: What exactly is the purpose of using the alcohol, doesn't the acetone do the same thing? Can the sand paper be bought at a Home Depot?

Tycoonman

[Ragingblues]

I know from my own usage, that the alchohol takes away the shine. It's also much safer to use than acetone, since you really have to work at an area to get any color at all to come off. Plus, it doesn't smell so bad!

Oh, and I used very fine sandpaper that I bought at Wal-Mart. I used 400 grit o most areas and some rougher ni others. But, I have no idea what grit Blues used on his. Sorry for jumping in with my 2 cents Blues... I didn't mean to step on your toes here, just helping.

Ken

[IndyBlues]

Not a problem, RB. Thanks for the help. You are correct. I used the alcohol for 2 reasons, actually:
1. I only wanted to remove the shine, and very little color in certain areas. The acetone is ALOT stronger, and harsher to the leather. It will remove the color. AND the fumes are murder.
2. Doing the job in the winter months meant I was indoors. Didn't want to risk my little boy getting into the acetone. I only used a very small bottle of acetone. So I could keep it close and out of his hands.

Ya know, come to think of it,...the acetone I used was a bottle of Fiebings leather stripper,..The same stuff I used to strip the red color from my Aldens, before dying them brown.
'Blues

[Tycoonman]

Well, that makes a bit of sense right there, I just want the shine of to be honest, the rest I think can take natural wear and tear till I decide to buy a Wested.

[IndyBlues]

Yeah, the goat jackets tend to be alot shinier than the lamb. There is like an extra layer, sort of like a clear coat on a cars paint job. After you remove that, the jacket feels so much softer, and more "broken-in". Let us know how you make out.
'Blues

[pagey]

indyblues said:

Thanks JW. If you ever need to know how I did it, just let me know. I'd love to see how Pageys turned out. I wonder if his goat has the reddish undertones, like mine?

'Blues

Your jacket looks great - very nicely done indeed.
My distressed dark brown goat also has slightly reddish undertones. I really like the colour. I only distressed it a little though and am now letting it age naturally. I treat it really badly, always toss it in a corner on the floor, never hang it up, sit on it etc.
Here's how it looks

[IndyBlues]

Nice! That looks really supple for a goatskin. The way the edges of the cargo pocket flaps curl, looks really cool. The collar, too. Nice and broken in.
Brotherhood of the Distressed Goat, UNITE!!!
'Blues

[conceitedape]

Your jacket came out sick, Blues! Just the right amount of distressing!

[pitfallharry]

Indyblues,

Very nice job on distressing that jacket. It looks natural.

I've seen some people that take the distressing to far and it ends up looking worse than what even Indy's did in all of the films.

This is about the only thing I've been brave enough to do to my Wested Goat. I'll leave the scratches and fading to natural distressing over time. I plan on owning this jacket for years to come.

[IndyBlues]

Looks good P.H. Is that Fullers Earth? I need to get some of that for my jacket.
'Blues

[pitfallharry]

Yeah, that's Fuller's Earth. I got a sample of it from G-Mann a while back and it worked out great. I highly recommend the stuff now.

[indakin]

ive been throwing my wested in the dryer the last 2 days. First just with some damp towls on low heat. Didnt do alot, so i eventually busted out the spray bottle and soaked it up pretty good. Seems like it got a bit smaller, but not as much as lamb would. This goat is freakin tough, they dont joke. Im thinking of starting to distress it as well, but its just one of those things im afraid to do. Ive been thinking of getting a lambskin so that would techincally be the jacket id want to ruin. Still waiting, probably just gonna fuller earth it like you Harry.

[pitfallharry]

I never attempted the dryer trick because I was always afraid of it shrinking on me in some way even though I knew from listening to other people that the goats are darn near indestructible.. Right now though my goat fits perfect and I couldn't be happier with it.

As far as the Fuller's Earth goes I believe it's the safest way to get the "distressed look". Although I don't know what type of long term effects it would have on the leather. I've still got it all over my jacket because about the time I'd go to remove it then I'd want to take more gear pics. ;D

[IndyBlues]

indakin, the best way to test the distressing like I discribed, is to try a little under the collar. You can try wiping it down, rubbing a little sandpaper on it, try the Q-tip thing their like I describe. If for some reaosn you don't like the results, you just Pecard it all up, and put the collar back down,..no one will ever see it. But I don't think that will happen, you'll end up liking what you see. Like you said, the goat is freakin' tough, and it won't be easy to remove color as you might think. You can really control the distress level on gaot. Lamb is a lot easier, and you can go overboard if you're not careful.
'Blues

[Tycoonman]

That's another thing, what is the differance between Fuller's Earth and dirt... I mean I can go to the little field behind me and through some dirt on it and get the same effect. Why would I spend $5.00 on dirt. Someone enlighten me.

Tycoonman