Interestingly enough, I do not recall ever having seen the evil sealing wax treatment on those various models of Ideale saddles affixed to any of the original "sold-as-new" bicycles that came through Beaverton Cyclery back in the 1970's. Rather, the finish of said saddles was simple natural leather absent any preservative. As a result, I only associate said treatment with Ideale saddles which I presumed to have been intended for offer to the public ala carte in the aftermarket. Of course, I am strictly going from memory as well supposition based upon my own personal experiences, and I am now curious as to whether the observations / recollections of others in this regard happen to be consistent with that of my own.
Robert "waxing nostalgic" Broderick ...the "Chronically Cloudy Clime" of Oregon Portland, USA
-----Original Message----- From: verktyg [mailto:verktyg@aol.com] Sent: Sunday, November 15, 2009 8:49 PM To: rsb000@hotmail.com; Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR] Ideale Saddle - NOS with goop?
There is a much easier, cheaper, more natural way... The way Ideale intended, you ride the thing for the next 5-10 years and the black stuff rubs off on your clothing! ;-)
Why do you you think riding shorts are black?
My 1971 Gitane Super Corsa came with an Ideale 90 saddle. I'm not sure if it was a Rebour Rodee Main model or not but it had the same greasy flat black look and verdigris around the copper rivets.
I'd get that black junk on my hands just from touching the saddle and nothing I did seemed to get it off of the leather surface. The stuff kept bleeding out of the leather. I finally traded it for a Unicanitor and then got a Brooks Pro and never looked back!
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
R.S. Broderick wrote:
> "...and your father's still perfecting ways of making sealing wax"
> The Rolling Stones
>
> Those who have been fortunate enough (...or would that be unfortunate
> enough) to have procured a vintage Ideale saddle in NOS state recently
have
> likely had to deal with the congealed sealing wax problem - which will
have
> bonded itself to the leather in near permanent fashion if said saddle was
> not stored properly. I have tried various solutions (...sorry, pun
> definitely intended) over the years to affect its thorough removal
including
> rubbing alcohol (...maybe not the best option unless you follow along with
> something to re-moisturize the leather like saddle soap) and Hoppe's gun
> cleaning solvent (...which works rather well and has the added benefit of
> killing off any verdigris to be found around the copper rivets). But
> perhaps the easiest thing I have found do is to simply hand the saddle in
> question over to a local shoe repair professional that you trust, or
better
> yet an equestrian saddle smith, and let THEM remove the solidified salve.
> That way, all you need do is shell out $10.00 to $15.00 USD or so to bring
> it home looking all shiny and new without having to spend any more of your
> time and/or monies affecting a homebrewed concoction that may or may not
> damage the saddle in the process of trying to excise that blasted wax.
>
> Robert "trying to avoid that 19th Nervous Breakdown" Broderick
> ...the "Chronically Cloudy Clime" of Oregon
> Portland, USA