THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

All or most of the little leather tabs and straps on the new 712 seem very hard and brittle compared to my old ones on my 710. The 712 has lived in AZ until its recent move to Texas. Should I just use a product like Lexol liberally to lube them up or is this brittleness a sign of impending failure / need for replacement?

Does my 712 just ned to get used to all of our abundant humidity and these will soften over time?

It does make them more pliable, but obviously it won't restore them to new condition. I'd use the tabs and strips until they break and then replace them.

Agreed and will go that route. Lube them, use them and then replace them!

Thanks!

texas pinzgauer wrote: Lube them, use them and then replace them!

I dont need to say it but I'm sure you can guess where i was going with this quote

The "family tone" of the forum was not being maintained!
Speaking of which, this email exchange reminded me of this new product developed by pro cyclist Dave Zabriskie.

http://www.dz-nuts.com/catalog/

It's great stuff but probably not what I need for the leather pieces of my canvas top!

I tried using Neatsfoot Oil on the straps on my top before I replaced it. It softened the straps but they also became very weak. The leather was pretty far gone by the time I tried it.

I've often wondered how many neats feet it takes to make a bottle of Neatsfoot Oil

ahhh, my first post in quite a while!

seeing that "stuff" reinded me of this:

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp172067_3331 ... powder.htm

glad i can contribute something important to the forum!

but seriously, if anyone knows of a good product to treat those leather straps id like to know. i doubt there is anything that can be done for mine as they are pretty far gone.

for a while i used this stuff on the entire top and it seemed to really help soften up everything...then i ran out, didnt buy anymore, and the pinz has continued to live outside and "weather in" a bit more each year...but i think it was far superior to anything else ive ever used like it, for what its worth.

http://www.303products.com/shop303/inde ... ectant.cfm

Scott sells the 303 stuff and I've had good results with it.

I'm guessing that the Swiss military didn't have the troops spend much time conditioning the canvas tops so anything that we civilians are doing now must help.