8 tips for preserving your harnesses

Our harnesess are made of noble materials that require good maintenance and cleaning that are essential for their preservation and durability over time. Therefore, today we want to give you the essential notions for your optimal care.

Maintenance guidelines for leather and metal:

It is important to keep in mind that the place where the garnish is located must have a temperature that does not exceed 22 degrees and a humidity that ranges between 56 and 60%. Nor should it be exposed to direct sunlight.

Harnesses are made of different types of materials and each of them requires different types of specific care that we explain, one by one, below:

Metals:

• – Their cleaning is done by rubbing them with a small amount of slightly abrasive metal polish. Then, the piece should be rubbed with a cloth to bring out its sheen.

Skins:

• – Never store your garnish if dirty, leather is subjected to great stress and wear during work sessions. To avoid further deterioration, it is recommended to clean it after each use.
• – Keep in mind that both the cleaning, after a day’s work, and its placement in the storage room must be correct since leather is one of the raw materials that due to its characteristics, have memory. That is, if a leather is placed in an incorrect position (folded, rolled, etc), it is convenient that they are always stretched.
• – The cleaning of the skin is carried out carefully with a damp cloth, with a little neutral soap. We must be careful with hazelnut skins because the use of abundant water darkens the colour of the skin. After this, we let it dry.
• – It is very important to keep leather out of environments where it can collect dust during storage and over time to keep it in optimal condition.
• – It is advisable to nourish the lining to maintain the elasticity of the leather using marinade. To supply this product, use a sponge making circular movements until completely absorbed, leaving the product to act for 40 days in a vacuum bag. After this time, you can remove the fat with a hot air dryer and a cloth.
• – To make the trim look shiny, apply colourless wax with a cotton cloth and burnish it with a cell brush until it reaches the desired shine.

Wickers:

• Wicker collars should always be cleaned with soap and water, rubbing gently so as not to damage their fibres; if it were necessary to nourish, it would be done with linseed oil with a siccative incorporated.

At Dorantes Harness you can find all these materials and products necessary for a correct cleaning of the garrisons.

And with these tips, all that remains is to enjoy your garnish!