How To Keep Gfeller Notebook Covers Clean?

[casualmerlinconstant]

I know a lot of Gfeller users love the rough and worn look on their covers. I don't mind a bit of darkening and patina myself, however I quite dislike the scuff marks from being thrown around in my bag and various bits of dust and dirt picked up. I have found that the kip leather seems to pick up dirt and other bits very easily, and it seems to get ingrained into the leather itself. Does anyone have any ideas how to clean the cover up a bit? I have tried damp paper towels to no effect and I'm a bit afraid of using leather cleaners on it as the leather seems quite unfinished.

Edited February 28, 2016 by superglueshoe

[migo984]

I know a lot of Gfeller users love the rough and worn look on their covers. I don't mind a bit of darkening and patina myself, however I quite dislike the scuff marks from being thrown around in my bag and various bits of dust and dirt picked up. I have found that the kip leather seems to pick up dirt and other bits very easily, and it seems to get ingrained into the leather itself. Does anyone have any ideas how to clean the cover up a bit? I have tried damp paper towels to no effect and I'm a bit afraid of using leather cleaners on it as the leather seems quite unfinished.

From Gfeller's web-site. They recommend the leather cream for their notebooks.

 

http://www.gfeller.us/conditioners.html

[casualmerlinconstant]

Does leather conditioner clean? I always thought they were for keeping leather moisturized?

[T4TEXAS]

If you are unsure, just email or call them.

[inkypete]

I've used several different leather treatments. They all condition it very well but do not clean all the marks. Some marks on the surface do come off but a lot stay. I don't mind as it does add to the look of the cover.

[bogiesan]

Take better care of your Gfellers products or buy cheaper, lesser grade leather goods. I suppose you could use a clear plastic cover over your fine leather cover.

 

Do you have a Red Wing shoe shop in your area? Drop by and purchase their best leather cream. (A tin contains enough product that your grand children will inherit it.) That will help with conditioning and cleaning but, really, the daily use of Steve's fine leather products creates its own reward. Steve's products last. They age.

[casualmerlinconstant]

I suppose marks come with the territory with light coloured leather. I think my cover is between pristine and developing any significant aging so the uneven colouration and various spots contrasting with other spots of unblemished leather just doesn't sit well with my preferences atm. Hopefully all of it will darken to a more even shade.

 

I don't think I will cover my leather cover with plastic as leather is a tactile experience for me as well as an aesthetic one. I don't treat it too rough anyways, it just rubs up against paper and documents and I think sometimes the toner rubs of a bit on to the leather. I may have to stick it in a separate compartment and see how that goes.

[pepsiplease69]

I had gotten an ink stain on my gfeller cover from being sloppy.

 

I was working with I think aurora black and filling one of my pens with it. A drop landed on my desk. Afterwards I opened my seven seas notebook with gfeller cover on my desktop, thus transferring the ink splotch onto the front of my cover. I was pretty disgusted with myself right then.

 

I tried to lift the ink using a moist paper towel but it didn't help very much.

 

A couple of weeks back I called gfeller to chat about ordering more of their covers and maybe getting some custom work done.

 

I brought up my question about cleaning and removal of ink stains. The lady said there isn't a whole lot out there in terms of cleaning products, and it's best to leave it as is. Sometimes you could wind up making it worse while trying to clean it.

 

I thought about it and it would have been possible that I might wind up making the ink stain bigger while I was dabbing it with a wet towel. Luckily that didn't happen and I'm leaving it alone for now.

 

Regarding getting the custom work done. I'm thinking about sending them a Rhodia Reversebook to have them make a cover for it. It's not listed on their site as part of their standard offering and they said they'll gladly make the cover for me if I send the book over to them. So at some point I'm going to go after that.

Edited March 4, 2016 by pepsiplease69

[casualmerlinconstant]

I had gotten an ink stain on my gfeller cover from being sloppy.

 

I was working with I think aurora black and filling one of my pens with it. A drop landed on my desk. Afterwards I opened my seven seas notebook with gfeller cover on my desktop, thus transferring the ink splotch onto the front of my cover. I was pretty disgusted with myself right then.

 

I tried to lift the ink using a moist paper towel but it didn't help very much.

 

 

A similar thing happened to me. I filled up my pen to write in my newly covered notebook. Didnt realise that my finger had touched the opening of the bottle and thus had ink on it. Got a little ink splotch on it on the first day. I was extremely unhappy. I also tried the wet paper towel thing to no effect.

 

I had come to the conclusion that it was going to stay there. And now we have confirmation from Gfeller themselves

Edited March 5, 2016 by superglueshoe

[inkypete]

A similar thing happened to me. I filled up my pen to write in my newly covered notebook. Didnt realise that my finger had touched the opening of the bottle and thus had ink on it. Got a little ink splotch on it on the first day. I was extremely unhappy. I also tried the wet paper towel thing to no effect.

I had come to the conclusion that it was going to stay there. And now we have confirmation from Gfeller themselves

Don't worry - all adds character to the cover.

[Legal Eagle]

I too have an unsightly ballpoint mark on the cover of my Seven Sea's Gfeller cover. Tried getting it off with a white eraser to no avail, I guess you just have to live with these marks/scuffs.

[my63]

Kip leather is very absorbent and will take moisture and oils from anything it comes into contact with especially your hands. This will change the colour of the leather over time. It is difficult to prevent this but there are products that can stop some of it.

 

If you feed the leather regularly then it will not be so absorbent. Here are some of the products I have used be aware you only need a small amount.

 

Fiebing's Carnauba wax works well but it will darken the leather

 

Mink oil paste this works well and darkens the leather it will also make the leather water resistant.

 

Aussie leather conditioner I use this on older leather it has the same qualities as mink oil.

 

Dye Kip leather often comes in a light colour and if you wish to retain a light colour it is best to dye it although it will still darken it will take a lot longer.

 

There are many other products available but I have used these myself on Kip leather if anyone is interested I would be happy to treat some pieces of kip with these products so you can see the differences.

 

There have been a couple of topics along these lines on leatherworker.net lately there has been some success with lemon juice for removing general dirt. A light sanding with very fine sand paper was another suggestion.

 

There was also a question about marks from a ball point pen where I think the best solution was to dye it a darker colour.

 

If you do try any of the above please try it on the inside or the back first.

 

I hope the information is useful.

Edited March 6, 2016 by my63

[zwack]

From the gfeller website they state that they use a light coating of neatsfoot oil. You can do the same with a similar effect to using mink oil.