Sure, John, & somewhat true but the discussion was addressing those crusty old saddles requiring special work. The toothpaste is mainly meant to clean the rivets but of course polishes them slightly, too. For real polishing use Simicrome or the like but keep it out of the leather. Use a clean toothbrush to remove the excess. The last thing you want is dirt, salt, & grit penetrating the leather where it gets the most stretch & flex. The sharp edges of these particles shred leather and weaken it.
My boney butt does a lousey job of rivet polishing, particularly when I'm wearing denim & other twills. I just let'em tarn out. Hard waxing will stabilize a patina if it isn't getting much butt rub.
Nail polish just wears and chips leaving a mottle of polish and tarnation.
Calvert Guthrie Kansas City Missouri
In a message dated 1/6/2004 4:06:39 PM Central Standard Time,
BobHoveyGa@aol.com writes:
In a message dated 1/6/04 4:43:06 PM, jtperry@worldnet.att.net writes:
>All,
> To be slightly sarcastic: Ride more and you will find that the rivets
>magically polish themselves.
>Whatever you do, ride more.
>enjoy,
>John T.Pergolizzi
>New York, U.S.A.
Ha! Good point!
But to be fair, even in college when the bike was my only transportation, I never could keep those things shiny... they'd oxidize from the air or tarnish from sweat and rain. So I finally gave up and did the nail polish thing, a tip I read in Bike World (ahhh, Bike World, how I miss ya. BTW, does anybody know if that complete collection of Bike World magazines that was on Ebay a few weeks back end up with a listmember? I sure hope so...)
Bob Hovey Columbus GA
BTW, these days I find that the massive size of my middle-aged butt keeps
those rivets polished with many fewer miles in the saddle than was needed
back in
college...