P4GTR Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 **New pictures added 09/10 strap on watch** We all hate the stock straps that come with our Panerai. No longer do they have to be thrown away or chucked in your sock drawer. I've tried a few methods to salvage these straps, and believe I have something worth sharing. It's actually quite simple. A big thanks to CBR over on RWI for providing me with a replacement strap set! Like I said, I've tried a few methods and lost a few straps to the process. On that, stay away from bleach and microwaves. Take your rep strap and pull the buckle and metal tubes out so your left with just the hides. Use a wire brush (I used a BBQ grill brush) to scrub the strap in the sink, wet, to rough it up a bit. Apply a generous helping of Comet (the one with bleach in it) to the strap, and scrub it into the strap with your wire brush. I like comet over bleach because it doesnt change the stitching color very much, and doesn't eat the leather up. These straps consist of a thin layer of leather with rubber padding and foam underneath. Leave a pasty layer of comet on the strap and let it sit for an hour or so. Scrub again. You will see the glossy brown coating they paint on the straps scrub away. Rinse the strap thoroughly, and pat dry with a towel. You will be left with a cool distressed looking light brown strap. At this point, you can wait until the strap is completely dry overnight and apply some brown shoe polish. This will darken the leather. After you use the shoe polish, you can then repeat the whole process and have a slightly darker brown strap with consistant coloring throughout the strap. The shoe polish is optional and can also be simply left on and not scrubbed back off. You can play around with this process until you reach your desired goal. Just dont apply the shoe polish to the leather while its still wet. After being rinsed, still damp. You can see on the far right is the strap that had shoe polish applied and was rescrubbed. It is darker. Shoe polish, center. Shoe polish, center (again). Note the untouched factory strap loop next to the refinished strap loops. Ugly, shiny and cheap looking by comparison. Prior to polishing with brown shoe polish: After darkening with shoe polish: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kronos twin Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I have to say, this is pretty cool. I think I have a strap hanging around that about to get its teeth brushed. Thank you for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker01 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Instead of the shoe polish, you could also use a Basebal Glove oil. I usually soak mine after all the recommended treament is done and the strap is fully dried. The oil makes the strap soft and environment resistant....I actually treat all my leather strap with this! My 2 cents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefwiggum Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I normally place mine in a corner and tell him that his mum was made into leather jockstrap. That normally distresses the [censored] out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I normally place mine in a corner and tell him that his mum was made into leather jockstrap. That normally distresses the [censored] out of them. Nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4GTR Posted September 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 bump for new pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlydog Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Instead of the shoe polish, you could also use a Basebal Glove oil. I usually soak mine after all the recommended treament is done and the strap is fully dried. The oil makes the strap soft and environment resistant....I actually treat all my leather strap with this! My 2 cents! F, It looks like you have another strap treatment as demonstrated by your avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker01 Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 F, It looks like you have another strap treatment as demonstrated by your avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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