I recently bought a used Frank Thomas one piece leather racing suit from ebay. It had a strange and very strong smell. Hard to describe, it wasn't BO or sweat or mould, but a kind of acidic sickly smell. Anyhow, I put it in the washing machine. It made no difference. I washed it again with fabric conditioner, still no difference. I then soaked it in the bath with disinfectant and even a bit of bleach. That helped a bit, but then it smelt like a swimming pool. Then I put in in the washing machine again. When it was dry I treated it with leather conditioner. Finally it smells a bit better, but still a bit weird and certainty nothing like a new set of leathers. Does anybody know why this is ??
Weird; my guess would be some kind of chemical home leather treatment that had gone off- you might try a good scrub with saddle soap, if nothing else, it's a good workout!
Dunno why smelly, but try using a little Renapur Leather Balsam on your leathers. It may help get the suppleness back a bit (washing? I've never washed leather before but would imagine it's a tad rigid 😵). Recommended by ex partner, worked a treat on my leather sofa n a nice smell too 😎 . He used it on his leathers as it gives a waterproofing layer too.
My theory.?..someone wore them for a trackday,realised at the hairpin that new brake pads should have been fitted...instant bowels/leathers interaction....eeyuw,hence the wiffines...lol