# Prewar Mesinger Seat Fabric Preservation



## dave429 (Oct 31, 2021)

I just bought a prewar Schwinn DX and it came with what I think is the original saddle. Due to age the fabric or top coating is starting to crumble. Is there anything I can coat it with to slow down the deteriorating on it? I was thinking like a wax or is there something I can spray on it? I like the way it looks so would prefer to not have it recovered. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## 1817cent (Oct 31, 2021)

I use Johnson's paste wax on mine but yours looks a bit further gone than mine so not sure if it would help.


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## dasberger (Oct 31, 2021)

post #34










						Has anybody recovered a seat in original oilcloth? | Bicycle Restoration Tips
					

This is a old rough cut diagram ill use to demonstrate the process.Here is the latex applied, Since I got a mirrored hotplate my cure time will be a we bit faster. Just got to be careful lol  Here is the 1st applied oil mixture




					thecabe.com


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## dave429 (Oct 31, 2021)

@dasberger thanks for the info. Never would have thought to use linseed oil but it makes sense!


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## dave429 (Oct 31, 2021)

@1817cent 
Thanks for the info!


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## dasberger (Oct 31, 2021)

No worries...  here's another one.  I ended up recovering mine with leather but all these techniques seem to work.  Good luck!









						How to treat a seat with an oilcloth cover? | Bicycle Restoration Tips
					

I have this Persons seat with a cover I believe to be oilcloth. It has many cracks. Will it hold up if I ride on it?  I used some leather dressing on it to keep it from drying out further. Is there something better for treating oilcloth?  Anyone have any suggestions?




					thecabe.com


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## dave429 (Oct 31, 2021)

@dasberger another great link! I had searched for forums related to but nothing came up that was recent. Thanks again!


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## dave429 (Oct 31, 2021)

Anybody have any other tips?


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## C M Gerlach (Nov 1, 2021)

kiwi shoe products......super easy .


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## SirMike1983 (Nov 1, 2021)

Keep the saddle out of direct sunlight and away from very dry sources of air such as forced air heat or air conditioners. The cover is cloth with a spray-on treatment applied over it. In the early years it was a nitrocellulose based spray and the proprietary name was "Fabrikoid". Other treatment probably existed in terms of the contents of the spray. It's not truly the old, 19th century type "oil cloth", and it's certainly not leather. 

Be careful about putting linseed oil or anything flammable on it - remember that linseed oil rags can spontaneously combust in warm environments. You don't want the same to become of the cloth covering on the saddle.

My recommendation is leave it as-is, keep it out of the direct sunlight and keep it away from dry air heat and a/c. If you want to ride the bike, replace it with a "rider saddle" and save the original.


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## SKPC (Nov 1, 2021)

A cool original paint, patina'd bike with a new re-covered seat just doesn't do it for me.  Recently, I have been experimenting with a favorite glue (epoxy) to put off a new re-covering that renders it not original.   Seat below had only some oilcloth in sparse amounts left. Both the oilcloth and underlayment were torn, missing, loose and clearly on the way out.  Riding it this way just speeds the process up.
     Using 5-min epoxy, I glued down all the loose material(s), pushing the epoxy mix between the exposed/loose layers with a small screwdriver then pressed the layers together & smoothed out any excess glue.  Make sure the layers are pulled back into place where they started life while the epoxy cures, otherwise you cannot go back and fix it.  To de-gloss the glue, scuff it up and press the glue in with your fingers when it is at the end of the hardening process. It leaves a flexible, durable, waterproof finish that blocks further deterioration if ridden or hidden while retaining the originality. Dark spots shown on exposed burlap have the epoxy coating de-glossed.  Next step is to experiment on a  really shot cover(🤣)using the epoxy as a thin layer on all the burlap underlayment, darkening it as shown while bombproofing it.  On this saddle, I will finish with Linseed oil & perhaps shoe polish.













Yes, a "preservation"


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## dave429 (Nov 1, 2021)

@C M Gerlach thanks for the info. Does this work  on oiled cloth seats as well?


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## dave429 (Nov 1, 2021)

@SKPC  I agree that a newly recovered seat doesn’t seem right on an original patina bike. I like the direction you are heading with that seat. It’s exactly what I'm hoping to achieve with my seat. I want to get it stable to be able to ride but with keeping as much of the patina as possible. Thank you for the restoration tips!


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## dave429 (Nov 1, 2021)

@SirMike1983 Thanks for the info. I will definitely take your suggestions into consideration.


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## C M Gerlach (Nov 1, 2021)

Shoe products work great for old oil cloth...kiwi leather dye....polish....mink oil etc.....works great to bring oil cloth back........if it's too nice...it's easy to beat it up a bit.......super easy.


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## dave429 (Nov 1, 2021)

@C M Gerlach thanks, I will look into them


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