I got it in mail over the weekend, and I tried cleaning the handles with magic eraser..... here are the before and after pictures. They improved a little bit but dried out alot, so I had to put apple leather conditioner on them 
Turquoise 04 First dark handles before/after picture
- Thread starter burukogepanda
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burukogepanda said:I got it in mail over the weekend, and I tried cleaning the handles with magic eraser..... here are the before and after pictures. They improved a little bit but dried out alot, so I had to put apple leather conditioner on them
Did you use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser? I tried it on a couple of my other bags and ITA with you that it really dries them out. Did you find the AG conditioner darkened them a bit after you put it on to condition? I did. lol. It was nice and light and then I put the AG and it got a wee bit darker again.
Chauss posted about Lovinmybags new For Handles Only cleaner/protector(neither of us are in any way affiliated with the company and I have yet to try it myself. lol). She posted a 50% discount code, too, if you want to try it out on your handles. I'm going to see about picking a bottle up next week to try out.
Yea I guess the conditioner did darken it a bit right after I applied, but then after it dried it became light again 
I was just reading the post about the new handle cleaner, I am so tempted to try it but then it says for new or slightly used handle only, so I don't know if it will work on mine 
I was just reading the post about the new handle cleaner, I am so tempted to try it but then it says for new or slightly used handle only, so I don't know if it will work on mine 
burukogepanda, it looks great. magic eraser apparently dries out leather alot. i wonder about the new handle cleaner by lovingmybags though!
mocean said:
I know this is a late post, but I just tried the cornstarch thing on a newly acquired 2004 bag, yesterday. The handles were pretty dark, but not horrible. Lovinmybags has a comment about this, and how the process of applying the cornstarch absorbs oils. Key to this, I think, is adding a light or heat source, to help it along. I did this yesterday: first, I applied the cornstarch liberally to both handles, and then placed the bag in the sun. Then I brushed off the first application of cornstarch, and did another. Then I thoroughly cleaned off the cornstarch, and used a leather cleaner, several times. Then I applied several coats of AG conditioner, as the handles did seem dry at that point. Now,they look pretty darn good! I will add another coat of conditioner today. Also, the handles fairly reeked of someone else's perfume, which was terribly hard to get rid of. That was actually worse than the darkening!
mocean said:hell yeah! soit worked?
Hi mocean,
Not sure if you meant your question for me, but I'll go for it! Yeah, I think it helped quite a bit. The handles don't look brand new, but they are much improved--they don't look oily and blech, just maybe a tad darker than the rest of the bag (it's Marron). It took the better part of a day tho, with all the steps.
And the, uh, 'smell' is gone, thank goodness!
totally pointed at you bbagbbubba! :kiss: oooh your's is marron! did you take before and after pics? thanks for the info!! I dont have any with blackened handles now, but just in case I am thinking to pass on something b/c of the handles, it is good to know there is a healthy remedy! thank you again for your input!
I tried the cornstarch process this weekend, and in my case it was really just a waste of cornstarch (and cornstarch is sooo expensive) - the handles didn't look any different afterward. 
Oh - and the Lovin My Bags handle stuff - I gather it's a protector only, not a cleaner.
) - the handles didn't look any different afterward. Oh - and the Lovin My Bags handle stuff - I gather it's a protector only, not a cleaner.