Filofax's facial

I just thought I'd share with you my Finchley now that it is cleaned and restored - see what a fab colour it is?!

"And what has Nivea to do with it?" I'll hear you ask. Well... you can guess. :)
"Noooo, you didn't..."
Yes, I did!!!!! :)

I wiped Finchley with a damp cloth, I cleaned the mechanism and clasp with alcohol and I moisturized it with Nivea overnight then wiped it again with a dry cloth (you wouldn't believe how cream-thirsty  binders can be)!

And here you see the results! :)

Have I completely lost it?!  :)  Don't worry, I wouldn't do it if I hadn't tried it so many times before!

Once I got a secondhand Finsbury in a really poor state - no, it wasn't scratched or beaten, it was filthy! So filthy that I grabbed for a bottle of 70% alcohol immediately after opening the parcel! True, I wasn't thinking then, but I didn't care if it got stained, I knew I wouldn't use it unless it was "alcoholised"! After the hardcore cleaning I covered it thick with Nivea and still didn't care for results, I was desperate!

A recipe for disaster, huh? Breathe, dear reader, breathe! ;)

The next morning there was no trace of the thick white layer and the binder was smiling shining red! No stains, no grease or stickiness from the cream, even the leather smell was still there...

Apart from Finsbury and now Finchley, I afterwards also tried it on Amazona and Balmoral and the results were great, I think the old binders really appreciated it, believe it or not! No, I'm not convincing you to try it, and if you will, I'll take none responsibility for it - I admit that I, too, still cringe when I see thick Nivea all over the binder and am all anxiety the next morning on my way to see what has become of it!

Now, before you write me off as a complete nutcase, here's a story. Namely, the whole Nivea thing isn't my invention at all and has been tried and tested for decades - I hope you really don't think I'd put my beloved Filofaxes at such risk without proof it works?!

My late grandad (he was born in 1914) was a shoemaker. And until the end, he sistematically refused to use any other treatment on leather - be it shoes, bags, jackets. Yes, he did try all the new products - out of curiosity, I think - but consistently only kept those chunky cans of Nivea in his workshop.
And anytime I'd buy something made of leather, he'd test the leather's quality and tell me to impregnate it first and to take his Nivea whenever I need it. I tried to impress him with all kinds of leathercare lotions and potions, but he'd just smile, tap me on the shoulder and repeat: "Nivea." He never unveiled, why exactly and why so stubborn about it. :)

I did obey him and was always satisfied, but I'd never use it on a Filofax hadn't it been for that poor Finsbury number above. And so, Nivea it is, when I get a binder that is really... dehydrated.
I wouldn't try any other cosmetic product, though, although I hear Creme De La Mer does wonders on skin! :)

Hm, I just wanted to share one intimate thing left... every time I wipe a Filofax with a clean dry cloth afterwards and admire its shine, I long for another grandad's approving tap on the shoulder. That, and I wish I could share the delicious leather smell and the beautiful craft of the binder with him...  

Thank you!...