This thread is intended to consolidate information for the care of the various HH leathers.

Stormy Heart has some really good advise! Maybe we should make it "Dear Stormy"?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mishka
I'm curious about what to do about my light Dominique! It is so beautiful and I wore it out for so long, my jeans stained it. I wanted to clean it, but wasn't sure what to do! I've been secretly and embarrassedly looking for another one exactly the same! <hangs head in shame>

You guys !
Lexol makes a leather cleanser that can take tar off and baby your purse at the same time. It should work on denim color transfer.They make a conditioner especiially for light colored leathers, too !
Lexol has saved my hide many times ! After cleaning, give a spray stain repellant, then the clear wax job for your Ivory Dominique.
I hate to hijack OP's thread. If someone wants to starts a HH Care thread we can consolidate some of our tips there. We have one over in LPland but HH leathers are different: we can customize the hints, clues, & proven HH tricks.
signed,
yours truly,
Ask Stormy

Quote:
Originally Posted by sep
Ladies... please chime in here but in my experience... I've had an HH with a scratch or two and I LITERALLY was able to rub it out by gently rubbing it with my finger... I don't know what kind of leather they use but I seem to be able to reeeeally easy rub a scratch out in like 10 seconds...

It's not so much the kind of leather, but a soft penetrating wax in the finish that allows you to rub out scratches and scuffs. (These are high end leathers.) Pretty cool, eh.

(* Italian 'Vintage' calf, for example, has wax in a glaze finish; meant to 'distress' and show character marks, which won't rub out completely. I don't know if you can see the green lamb in my LP leaf pics but it's a French heavily soft waxed hide ~ marks can buff out totally.) All waxes add softness and weight.
My older Havanas are all thicker leather than the newer ones, and feel waxed to me. If beeswax is used, it contributes to the sweet leather smell.

HH leathers are all over the place in quality, some much nicer/pricier than others and we see a fair variety of them in Havanas. Hokka, I don't know which older ones you heard are thinner~ was it a certain color ? We could also take into account that hides are slightly thicker and thinner in different areas and an individual bag may been cut so that 2 owners of the 'same' bag are not looking at the same thing.
I have also observed that HH certainly cuts a hide to the max, so we have 'mismatched' panels most times.

To answer OP: There is only one Havana I felt disappoinment in. I was lusting madly for the color but it turned out to be one of the 'thinner' leathers (under 2 ounce). I prefer more substantial leather even if it's a bit heavier (2.75-3.5 oz)
It looks fine and acts like a Havana, though !

Great idea for thread, mlinky! Here is some info from Stormy Heart that was very useful to me recently:


Quote:
Originally Posted by cooper1
OK ladies with the metallic HH's:
How do we treat this type of leather, or do we not treat it?
I have the Oyster Mercer Clutch, and used it hand-held by the center "handle" this entire week, and I am afraid it may become dicolored on the handle area if I continue to carry it like that over a period of time.

How do we protect this type of leather?
I have the Wilson's TLC Leather & Suede Protector Spray and the Wilson's Leather Lotion, and I treat all my leather bags with these, but this is my first metallic.

Please help!
Thanks!

HOLD on the usual stuff ! The Metallics can't take it. If you look at my Pewter Pompidou and Nico, you can see one has her shine and the other lost it. I treated Pompi and shouldn't have. (me & my experiments dammit). I did post about this and explained WHY metallic should be left alone. I knew better but pushed the envelope to test HH on a small item anyway.
Cooper, this may be a good chance to start a CARE of HH Sticky Thread.
Our unfinished (nakkies) need Wilsons, Metallics don't. Lambs can go either way, Vachetta already has a thread....

^^

So don't treat metallics with anything than? What can we do to prevent flaking? I have an anthracite havana and a pyrite havana coming. Should I leave them untreated? TIA!

Maintaining a Burgundy Dominique (Glazed lambskin leather)

Stormy Says:
Regular Lexol conditioner should be fine for a dark Dominique. (Any darkening you see at first fades but test anyow) If you want to restore a high shine, try a clear shoe wax polish over that (next day), let it set, then buff really hard. Use soft brushes before chamois for maximum shine.
* Bonus~ You'll have a weatherproof Dominique.

Guys - great minds think alike - I was going to start this thread after Stormy's fab answer... Thanks Stormy for this....

Stormy Said:
Lexol makes a leather cleanser that can take tar off and baby your purse at the same time. It should work on denim color transfer.They make a conditioner especiially for light colored leathers, too !


Ok
I have been learning about Lexol Products...



It looks really straight forward - one cleanser, one conditioner... (and Neatsfoot formula???? - ¿Que?)

So can we work backwards??- of course we will always do a spot test first - but would you use the Lexol on any of the non-metallic 'softer' (Havana capable) HH leather??? (blush, chalk, plum, olive, chocolate, black, ruby, tango, ink, colbalt, currant......)

How do you go about it? Do you condition as soon as you get the purse (as a protectant) - and then clean as per needed? Do you recondition frequently?

(I am entering into a new world - I used to wear a purse to death and dispose of it at the end of a season - but my HH babies are not going any where - so now I need to learn how to take care of them!)

Oh - and my tip of the day

I used a Mr Magic eraser to reduce the 'dirtier' streaks from the folds in the leather of my blush lorca.

Didn't work great.... overall the bag looked 'cleaner' but the lines were still visible - and some of the blush was faded.

It also made a complete mess everywhere with these stupid white bits - but then again my modus operandi is to clean like a slob...

^you mean Mr Clean Magic Eraser, right? The regular one, not the full strength? If you click on the link and 'share your story' (I think) you can get a free sample...

Yeah - actually it was the extra power one that I used (I think that it was this freebie as well - I went on a manic sign up for freebies one night - and things just keep turning up in the mail...). But hmmmm - just looked at the box - and there were instructions . Really simple ones actually..

There is a section called 'How to Use' with photos...
i) Wet
ii) Erase

Whoops - that accounts for all of the messy bits.

So do you use this India? Would you recommend it for the blush? In any case I am going to try it again on a few strips of tassel - and see how it works...

Wow this is gonna be interesting !
I'll try to round up some posts that may be helpful, but quickly ~~~
Mr Clean Magic Eraser is ABRASIVE and should never touch leather !
( Unless you have a need or desire to distress, artificially wear out, or outright ruin your bag). It is not meant for leather and there are better alternatives that won't destroy a finish. Some shortcuts aren't worth the trip !

Originally Posted by treesrgreen

(I am entering into a new world - I used to wear a purse to death and dispose of it at the end of a season - but my HH babies are not going any where - so now I need to learn how to take care of them!)

I'm with you on that. Never would have thought about conditioning, cleaning, etc. Cracked leather on the strap on my Fendi bag meant it was destined for the Goodwill. No more of that for me now!

So...love this thread, I have a lot to learn. My current issue: I just got a lead clutch wallet from Luna Boston. I think it was their last one since they're no longer available. It has some marks on it, and the funny thing is, the marks match marks on the wallet in their photos. So I guess I got the "display" model. They kinda look like it was scuffed or scratched. Look at the photo of the back of the wallet - the top of the middle strip, the right side of the flap over the zipper and the middle of the right side. I could probably live with it as is but I'd like to know if anyone has suggestions that might help. Here's a link to the photos:

http://www.lunaboston.com/ProductInf...ett/17764.aspx

Thanks!

I use Apple brand products and it saved my saddle Lorca. Before using the bag I used the conditioner and rain guard. Two days later I got ketchup on it :( and didn't notice it for a few hours. With the soft, light colored leather you can imagine how upset I was, I didn't think it would come out. After using the Apple cleaner on on the spots a couple of times all that is left in one small spot under the strap that I didn't notice and clean until the next day.
If the leather hadn't been conditioned I am sure the ketchup would have soaked in more before I noticed it.
I also used the cleaner on a vintage Coach tote that someone had used shoe polish on I had used the Coach cleaner and it didn't clean it at all, but the Apple cleaner has it almost all cleaned. It will take a few more times, but it has also restored the smooth leather feel.

attention mods: Can we sticky this please. Thank you

Originally Posted by Stormy Heart

Wow this is gonna be interesting ! I'll try to round up some posts that may be helpful, but quickly ~~~ Mr Clean Magic Eraser is ABRASIVE and should never touch leather ! ( Unless you have a need or desire to distress, artificially wear out, or outright ruin your bag). It is not meant for leather and there are better alternatives that won't destroy a finish. Some shortcuts aren't worth the trip !

I noticed on the hh website, under "FAQ's" they mentioned using the white plastic eraser that is found in art supply stores on leather. What do you think of that?