Oak NVT leather feels dry?

[NG99]

Last year I sold my vintage Lily in NVT oak, only to regret it this spring. Luckily I found preloved oak Lily about the same age. It is in very good condition otherwise but the leather feels different. My previous Lily had more structure (guess it was used less?) and the leather felt smoother and glossier. This Lily is floppier and the leather feels somewhat rough. I’m not sure if the leather is dry (I did apply collonil gel to it, but it didn’t make a huge difference) or is this just the nature of this bag, the leather looks just fine but feels like someone had used a sandpaper on it. Any idea how to treat it? It doesn’t bother me that much but I feel like the smoothier the leather, the better it will resist stains and scratches. TIA

 

[Evia]

A picture would be helpful. NVT did vary a lot, I always used to ask to see several bags before choosing the one I preferred. Some are smoother, some more heavily grained.

 

[NG99]

Oh, I did not know about the leather variation.. Here are some photos. The leather itself is very soft and flexible but the surface of it is matte and feels rough. The bottom part of the bag is closest to the leather that my previous Lily had. Should I try collonil wax instead of the gel?

 

[Evia]

It does look a bit dry, but be careful not to over condition because it can make the bag floppy, and darken the more worn areas. I’d suggest trying one coat at a time and see how it goes. I prefer saphir natural leather balm or Lord sheraton leather balsam to collonil which I’m not keen on personally - but I’m in the uk, not sure where you are.

 

[NG99]

Thanks Pessie! It is quite floppy already, I’m thinking of buying a liner to give it some structure. I’ll try to find one of those leather creams, thanks for the tip!