Protect and Soften your Apple Watch Leather Bands With Leather Oil

With the Apple Watch becoming popular, many folks have wondered how to care for a product that they’re wearing almost all the time. Depending on the model Watch, different materials require different care. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through how to take care of the leather on your Apple Watch.

Since Apple makes a variety of bands made of leather, this tutorial will apply to all of them. Whether you have the Classic Buckle, Leather Loop or Modern Buckle, you can us this technique to protect your band from damage as well as improve look and softness of it.

I like to use Obenauf’s Leather Oil. Of course, there are a ton of other options out there, but I’ve found Obenauf’s to be my favorite. It’s made in the USA and it uses natural preserving oils including beeswax and propolis.

I highly recommend removing the bands from your Apple Watch. The oil likely damage your Apple Watch body, however, you never know. Plus, it’s easier to apply and buff the leather oil when it’s not attached to the Watch.

When you open the cap, you’ll see a sponge attached to the end. This is the applicator. It’s going to be fully soaked with the leather oil. Use the bottle and push out any excess oil. You really don’t need too much here.

Grab yourself something to buff out the excess oil that you put on your band. Use something soft like a terry cloth towel or even something like paper towel.

When you first apply, it’s going to seem like it’s a bit thick. Don’t panic, this is very normal. Remember, leather is skin here and we’re basically putting on lotion. If you’re putting this on a lighter leather, it may darken, but again, don’t worry. It’s totally normal.

Coat the entire top side of the band. Repeat on the back side.

Let it sit in for a few minutes and then use either your terry cloth or paper towel to buff in and remove any excess oil. Take your time and lightly work in your oil by moving in small circles. Think of it as if you were waxing a car. You really want to work the oil into the band.

Once you do that, you’ll likely notice your band is much shinier than when you got it. Again, don’t worry. Just like when you put lotion on your skin, it will take some time for the leather to fully absorb. My recommendation is to leave the bands resting for a few hours. If you can, consider doing this in the evening and then let the bands rest overnight. You can repeat this step a couple times if your band is really dry.

You’re done! Now your band is softer, cleaner and more importantly it’s protected from outside elements such as rain and snow. Of course, it’s not waterproofing your band, so it can still be damaged, but it does add another layer of protection. Who doesn’t want that?

I recommend doing this every couple months or whenever you start noticing that your band is a little dry. As I mentioned above, leather is skin, and skin can dry so it’s important that you protect and clean your bands so that they last much longer.

Feel free to grab Obenauf’s Leather Oil on Amazon.