Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Bonnet strap

Ah! Roaring down the highway with the glass down smelling the neatsfoot oil. Could life get better?

It could get less smelly!!

How many 'Horse Powers' were in those then Graham

One in each Frank... Not to be confused with bhp

Thanks for the advice... I'll stay clear of any product with "foot" oil in it.... LOL.
We used to have an oil for baseball gloves that would soften them. I just don't see it available anywhere. I'll try the saddlery.

There are a couple of product available in the states that are great for softening leather. My favorite is a product called "Soffener" that is sold by a company called "Colorplus" in Pennsylvania. It is a tallow based product that really saturates the leather and brings old, dried out leather back to new condition. There is also Lexol which is, I understand, water based but which still has rejuvenating properties. I have seen ads in British car magazines for a leather restoration product but the name escapes me.

I would think that any strap would attract road grime, with consequent abrasion to the paint. Like Abacusman I've driven at moderate speeds without the catches properly secured- I just wondered what the new rattle was! GerryWal.

Linklaw, Thanks for your suggestion. I will give the soffener it a try. I found their website.

http://www.colorplus.com/products

Regards

I've had my strap on ( on the car! ) for 6 months and 4000 miles now and there is no sign of any paint damage. There were several cars at Prescott last weekend with similar sheepskin lined straps and no sign of damage.

To protect paint on motorcycle side covers from boot rubbing I have used a clear adhesive plastic film, the type used to cover school books etc. It is generally available from hardware stores or stores selling stationary.
It could be applied in a strip slightly wider than the bonnet strap and would be almost invisible. I doubt it would cause different paint fade and can be easily removed on a warm sunny day or after gently heating with a hair drier.