Help me save my flight Jacket.

Send it my way

I know I can have new cuffs sewn on and a new waistband. But the leather is so hard. I'm tempted to use Leatherique. but the patches I earned won't like it.  Plus the patches are, well, some went on back in 1968 after I solo'd.  Then for two combat tours in Vietnam. plus all my flights in The Sea of Japan.  Including the trans PAC in the back seat of an F4! 
    If I can soften up the leather is there any way to improve patches?  

A wiki on leather jacket restoration https://www.wikihow.com/Restore-a-Leather-Jacket

I assumed that but it doesn't say anything about squadron  or combat patches.  

Could you take the patches off long enough to soften the leather, and then see back on?

If it becomes too much work for you, send it to me. I'll help

In reply to 03Panther :

Some patches are already crumbling. The one with the date I earned my  wings is no longer readable.  I think I'll crumble up some Gold leaf and make a paste out of it, then hand letter the date back in. 

In reply to frenchyd :

You may have missed the part where yupididit is a currently-serving member in one of the branches (I apologize, I don't remember which one), and I'm sure he was offering help with restoration, not trying to berkeley you or misrepresent himself as a Vietnam-era Naval Airman.
 

EDIT: 

I'm glad frenchy owned his misunderstanding

In reply to yupididit :

I'm sorry. I completely misunderstood your offer. Please forgive my response. 

frenchyd said:

yupididit said:

If it becomes too much work for you, send it to me. I'll help

Sorry, aside from a lot of personal meaning for me, I won't contribute to  unqualified people wearing a Jacket they didn't earn. 
  
I'm sorry if that comes off as elitist, or snobbish. But aside from my daughters it's the one thing I'm really proud of achieving. 

Bruh wow. I don't want it for myself.

I was offering to restore it and/or get it restored for you. For free. I've done one before as well as restored flown flags, flight suits, and uniforms. 

Where the berkeley did you get that I wanted your flight jacket for myself?

I may not be a pilot but I've been serving in our military for the past 14 years. I've seen my share of combat and have done plenty to earn my keep in the Air Force. There is a reason why the Pentagon WANTS me there and jumping through hoops to make sure I get there. I'm not bragging or being elitist either. You need to humble yourself in regards to what you've accomplished vs what you think others haven't. Thank you for your service though. 

In reply to frenchyd :

This is the 2nd time I've offered to help you while being met with a condescending response. 

Good luck with the restoration of your jacket man. I'm out. 

yupididit said

You need to humble yourself in regards to what you've accomplished vs what you think others haven't. 

That right there is some pretty good life advice for just about everybody. I'm gonna hold on to that one.

yupididit said:

frenchyd said:

yupididit said:

If it becomes too much work for you, send it to me. I'll help

Sorry, aside from a lot of personal meaning for me, I won't contribute to  unqualified people wearing a Jacket they didn't earn. 
  
I'm sorry if that comes off as elitist, or snobbish. But aside from my daughters it's the one thing I'm really proud of achieving. 

 

Bruh wow. I don't want it for myself.

I was offering to restore it and/or get it restored for you. For free. I've done one before as well as restored flown flags, flight suits, and uniforms. 

Where the berkeley did you get that I wanted your flight jacket for myself?

I may not be a pilot but I've been serving in our military for the past 14 years. I've seen my share of combat and have done plenty to earn my keep in the Air Force. There is a reason why the Pentagon WANTS me there and jumping through hoops to make sure I get there. I'm not bragging or being elitist either. You need to humble yourself in regards to what you've accomplished vs what you think others haven't. Thank you for your service though. 

I am honestly sorry man.  The brevity of your response gave me the wrong idea.   
       I didn't know about your military background. Still no reason to be a jerk and in retrospect I was.  
       It's more than a jacket to me,  for the same reason I've kept my flight suit. Helmet etc. 

  I asked about saving it because I know racers get plenty of patches etc and I thought someone had some clever tricks to rescue them.    
  I know they reproduce decals etc.  

And that is why texting and message boarding.. will never replace looking somebody in the face or (at least) hearing the inflection of their words. 
 

I'm glad frenchy owned his misunderstanding after the fact

edit: ...or during.

The reality is you start to type a reply.. and when somebody else has already responded before you hit "post".. it can make you look like even more of an ass because your new post appears to be a response to the post just above it, even when it ain't. Isn't tech great? 

These dudes won't be cheap. But they will make it right. 
 

https://www.brhoward.com/textiles/anj4-flight-jacket

or these dudes. 
 

https://www.uswings.com/leather-flight-jacket-repair/

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

Thank you.  Those really make sense to me .  I'm not going to attempt to replace the cuffs or waistband.  And while I might save a few bucks having it done locally, sending it to someone who recognizes its value  is worth it to me.