Originally Posted by lovevision

Just an update, Barbara offered to give me a return fedex two days ago. but didn't send it and didn't contacted me until now although I sent her couple of emails asking to send it. I plan to call her next week if she still keeps silent. I'll let you guys know what happens.

Oh boy......such a shame. Sorry you have to go through this headache. Such a hassle and inconvenience not to mention a waste of your valuable time.

Please keep us updated.

I haven't used LMB but thought she had rave reviews years ago when tPF just got off the ground. What a pity.

She sent me the return label but said "some stains might be tick marks" I'm a little concerned...

tick marks on the bag.... what on earth does that mean? Post a picture of your bag here before sending it off. We'll be able to tell you whether the job that was done was acceptable or not.

Originally Posted by lovevision

Thanks for the info. But that's not quite relevant to my story: my bag was new and perfect other than the stain. They left the stain alone but damaged the entire bag with stains and scrathes and made it sticky.

sorry, my misunderstanding. I hadnt read that it was brand new.

Are LMB members on here?... maybe they should speak up and explain what they done, or didnt do as the case may be.

Originally Posted by LeatherDoc

Are LMB members on here?... maybe they should speak up and explain what they done, or didnt do as the case may be.

Yes, I am pretty sure Barbara has a user ID on here.

OP, please post pictures of your bag. I think it would be helpful for those of us who are following your story to be able to give you better input on the actual condition of the bag from a objective/outsiders point of view.

Originally Posted by LeatherDoc

sorry, my misunderstanding. I hadnt read that it was brand new.

The bag was bought two years ago but only used 5 times. It was in perfect condition other than the stain on front, before I used their products and the restoration.

Here are before pictures.
the front stain was small and was made worse by LMB cleaner, that may be my fault not knowing what to use and how to use.
the dark lines on the back lines was not obvious, there are also two water marks caused by the cleaner when I tried to clean the stain on front. Those are accidents.

None of these are obvious. You need to know where to look to notice. And my camera did a pretty bad job.

Originally Posted by rainrowan

tick marks on the bag.... what on earth does that mean? Post a picture of your bag here before sending it off. We'll be able to tell you whether the job that was done was acceptable or not.

After the restoration:
They did fix the dark lines.

I Can't picture the fact that the bag is sticky now.

Some pictures showing the main problems: (there are more problems here and there all over the bag now)
1.The stain on the front wasn't treated at all, 2.the white mark when I unfolded the bag, 3. a yellow mark 4. scratches 5. a scratch with black color and some red paints

And unfortunately I don't have the before pic for these spots. How would I know that the restoration will put on new damages... But I noticed those damages the first minute I opened the box so I am 100% sure they are new, otherwise I would have asked Barbara to fix those

Barbara did tell me she will examine everything closely ask her husband to take care of everything this time. So they do wants to be responsible. But agian, my concern is whether they are able to "see" the issues, since they missed the stain the first time...

And another photo showing the dusts painted on: see those small black dots? they are more obvious in person.

wow. thanks for the pics.... I can see now, it looks like the bag was worked on a less than clean surface, like they had tools and marking pencils on the table? They just need to clean it free of whatever was on the workbench because it looks like smudges and stains to me possibly from other bags in contact with it as well.

Is this something you could wipe down? It looks like the bag material can withstand a well wrung cloth.

in the close up photos they are very noticeable, but from the main photos i cant see much. Maybe you need to be extremely specific to ensure they do it this time.

yes. In my previous correspondence I sent closeup pictures and detailed info about the stains but I guess they just ignored them. Before they sent the bag back I also asked them to refer to my previous emails and make sure all the stains are removed because i know the stains are small relative to the size of the bag. Barbara said " I don't see any stains any more" and sent the bag back.

This time I also sent a lot of pictures and a list of issues and hopefully they read them and pay greater attention this time.

Originally Posted by LeatherDoc

in the close up photos they are very noticeable, but from the main photos i cant see much. Maybe you need to be extremely specific to ensure they do it this time.

Originally Posted by rainrowan

wow. thanks for the pics.... I can see now, it looks like the bag was worked on a less than clean surface, like they had tools and marking pencils on the table? They just need to clean it free of whatever was on the workbench because it looks like smudges and stains to me possibly from other bags in contact with it as well. Is this something you could wipe down? It looks like the bag material can withstand a well wrung cloth.

They bag is very sticky and the black dots and other stuff got stuck in the protection material. And given my previous experience, I won't touch it myself this time.

Originally Posted by LeatherDoc

I dont know LMB personally but as a leather technician of 10 years I can answer some of these points from a technical perspective. Products causing colour loss & gloss level reduction - almost all leather cleaners will cause a certain amount of colour loss on unfinished leather. The only leather tehy wont remove colour from is finished/corrected grain (automotive), but since we wont find that in handbags, its to be expected to a certain extent. However, causing dulling of the gloss level - this shouldnt happen on a new bag! If the bag is used for any length of time the leather will 'buff' to a higher shine than originally, so any cleaner will reduce that gloss level back to the original level. Because the higher shine would of been buffed gradually over time you wouldnt necessarily notice it increasing, but when it reduces quickly from a clean it becomes very noticeable. With regards to poor restoration - there is simply no excuse for that. It's better to turn the job away or advise the client as to what is possible to restore and whats not, therefore managing their expectations. If you tell a client all will be perfect, they expect a new bag back, but if you tell them you may see a scar or blemish, then they can decide whether to live with it as it is or take the 80% or so improvement. Leather repair and refinishing can only be taken to a certain point, as you are repairing a finished article not a flat piece of leather. The repairer has to take into consideration stitching, buckles and hardware, zips, handles, etc and cannot risk getting top coat into the stitching or zip, and so on. the point I am trying to make is that LMB could only do so much, but it sounds like where they went wrong was in not advising you correctly on what can be done with the repair. I dont know what they write on their product labelling but it should give you clear warnings on possible risk of colour loss (which is normal) and any other risks. Hope this goes someway to helping clarify.

LeatherDoc,
Thank you for your insight on repairs and restorations. I noticed you said there will always be some color loss on unfinished leather. Because of this, what should be used on vachetta like that found on Louis Vuitton bags? Is there any way to clean this? Or, should it be protected with something initially?
Thanks for your advice.

Susan

Originally Posted by lovevision

She sent me the return label but said "some stains might be tick marks" I'm a little concerned...