Restoration & Reveal, twice in one!!;)

[LostInBal]

Like many of you know, I found a 03 Esmerald First PH and it has arrived today morning.
The bag as you could see wasn´t in the best condition but got it for a ridiculous price and since I discovered how to restore handles.. Also, I didn´t know if I would ever see another like this on sale any more, so went ahead.

Here are the photos of the auth.
As you can see the handles were pretty darkened, sealing cracked and some parts of leather

 

[Iamminda]

Congrats on this amazing bag! Enjoy!

 

[LostInBal]

Congrats on this amazing bag! Enjoy!

Thank you, but wait, this is the before, look "the after" my full restoration!

 

[Iamminda]

The leather and color both look amazing regardless . Can't wait to see the final result.

 

[LostInBal]

This is what a did:

1_Cleaned the whole bag with Simply Leather ph neutral cleanser.
2_ Redo the whole sealing, even the one of the shoulder strap
3_ Glued all the leather parts that were required included tassels
4_ Restored handles to the original color with natural/vegetal dye and finally sprays with Fiebings leather shine protect to fix the color and prevent color transfer.
5_Moisturized with Loving my bag perfect clean and restore
6_Added a JC skull charm with green emerald eyes I purchased specially for my baby.

And here there are the results of three hours of work.. enjoy!!

Pics of handles on every side/angle

 

[Aluxe]

Those handles look so much better. Congrats!
Can you please show us pictures of what you used? Or provide names?

 

[LostInBal]

Those handles look so much better. Congrats!
Can you please show us pictures of what you used? Or provide names?

Thank you!
Read above, there is what I did and used!

 

[Iamminda]

Awesome job cleaning it up. What a difference in the handles. It is truly an amazingly beautiful bag. The color/leather is just wonderful. Enjoy!

 

[muchstuff]

This is what a did:

1_Cleaned the whole bag with Simply Leather ph neutral cleanser.
2_ Redo the whole sealing, even the one of the shoulder strap
3_ Glued all the leather parts that were required included tassels
4_ Restored handles to the original color with natural/vegetal dye and finally sprays with Fiebings leather shine protect to fix the color and prevent color transfer.
5_Moisturized with Loving my bag perfect clean and restore
6_Added a JC skull charm with green emerald eyes I purchased specially for my baby.

And here there are the results of three hours of work.. enjoy!!

Pics of handles on every side/angle

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Great job, particularly the handles...did the Simply Leather clean off the majority of the darkening? How much did you have to cover up with the dye?

 

[LostInBal]

Great job, particularly the handles...did the Simply Leather clean off the majority of the darkening? How much did you have to cover up with the dye?

Thank you much!!
No, unfortunately, the cleanser did nothing to the handles because it was not dirt but loss of color. When handles are warmed its just because of that, oil from hands absorbe/wear out the original dye.
So, I had to restore them 100%. The most difficult thing is matching the exact shade of green.

 

[muchstuff]

Thank you much!!
No, unfortunately, the cleanser did nothing to the handles because it was not dirt but loss of color. When handles are warmed its just because of that, oil from hands absorbe/wear out the original dye.
So, I had to restore them 100%. The most difficult thing is matching the exact shade of green.

Wow, you did a terrific job of matching. What brand did you use?

 

[Conni618]

I love how those handles came out too! They look so much better than most re-colored handles, much more natural. Wondering if we can get the "natural/vegetal dye," you used here in the US. Does it have a brand name? And yes, any kind of re-coloring takes a great deal of artistry to match color, and Bal's colors are completely incomprehensible, as they are actually a compound of several shades blended onto the leather. Incredible job you did. Congratulations!

 

[Kendie26]

Thank you much!!
No, unfortunately, the cleanser did nothing to the handles because it was not dirt but loss of color. When handles are warmed its just because of that, oil from hands absorbe/wear out the original dye.
So, I had to restore them 100%. The most difficult thing is matching the exact shade of green.

WOWEE HOLY YOWZA aalinne!!! You did a PHENOMENAL job! Super impressive girlfriend! BRAVO

 

[peacebabe]

Wow, the handle restoration looks perfect! You are a true Magic Hand

 

[leooh]

really amazing restoration!!