Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[Lake Effect]

Hi Paris Girl!
I will take more pictures once it dries but the leather had lots of surface scratches and few deep scrapes. Well, I only discovered as I peeled the paint layers. So I think the seller tried to cover them up. Right now, the leather looks so much healthier and happier with unclogged pores

Once dry, I need to get people's input on what to do with the color!

It was looking so much better. I’d love to see what simply a few apps of conditioner do for that neutral beauty!

 

[Lake Effect]

I've seen that and considered it but it kind of bothered me that she stole the design.

Do you think the tab design was original to Coach? I found something interesting in this style (not a Coach bag) that I can post later.

 

[Lake Effect]

Rebecca Minkoff released a modified/inspired version called Midnighter that doesn't curl up.
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You are this amazing handbag encyclopedia!

 

[aqua1117]

Hi Paris Girl!
I will take more pictures once it dries but the leather had lots of surface scratches and few deep scrapes. Well, I only discovered as I peeled the paint layers. So I think the seller tried to cover them up. Right now, the leather looks so much healthier and happier with unclogged pores

Once dry, I need to get people's input on what to do with the color!

Here's the sneak peak into the half dried Plaza. When it's wet, leather looks gorgeous but this is what was underneath (I still like that this bag was well carried!).

I'm wondering whether I should just use Renapur/Black rock once dry and be done with it or go full on, applying a brown leather dye that's one shade darker? I heard that the leather colors add moisture to the leather so if that's the case, I'm interested. Just don't know what type of leather dye/paint will be best. Any thoughts?

 

[katev]

Advice needed guys. I've been reading this wonderful thread for the past few months since Narnanz introduced me to it. And I've been reading all the good advice. Well I have a black City bag from the 1980s that I bought on ebay perhaps 15 years ago. It was my first Coach. It looked a bit dingy so following the (bad) advice of someone at Wilson's Leather and the high-end bag-and-shoe store near my house, I'm embarrassed to admit that I rubbed it all over with black shoe polish. It ended up looking like an oil slick.

So... I've been rubbing the shoe polish off with Black Rock. I tried a couple other products like Fiebling's Leather Cleaner but they didn't pull off the polish. After several applications of BR, and lots of discard rags black with shoe polish the bag looks SO much better and I think I can finally carry it while wearing clothing that's not all-black. Do any of you have any further recommendations?

The bag doesn't need to be dunked. It has no spots or flaws. The color is slightly worn off the piping on the corners, but after the BR that isn't noticeable. I polished the hardware, which is brass, with metal polish.

Any further treatment advice?

I would probably dunk it in blue Dawn and water and vigorously scrub the surface with a soft cloth to try and remove more shoe polish, then I would stuff and shape, then dry and condition, and finally apply black rocks again.

It's really scary to dunk the first time but a classic unlined Coach like the City Bag should handle it quite well. The fact that the shoe polish is pretty fresh on your bag is helpful. If the shoe polish sets for years it can be very difficult or impossible to remove.

If you still don't want to dunk it you can try surface cleaning with Dawn and a wet cloth. Good luck!

P. S. When I am hesitating to dunk a bag I usually ask myself "do I like wearing the bag the way it is right now?" and if the answer is "no" then I give it a bath!

 

[LadaZuri]

Here's the sneak peak into the half dried Plaza. When it's wet, leather looks gorgeous but this is what was underneath (I still like that this bag was well carried!).

I'm wondering whether I should just use Renapur/Black rock once dry and be done with it or go full on, applying a brown leather dye that's one shade darker? I heard that the leather colors add moisture to the leather so if that's the case, I'm interested. Just don't know what type of leather dye/paint will be best. Any thoughts?

She's looking beautiful, but if you'd like to even out the colour a bit you could try colour refreshing with a London Tan Meltonian/CPR mixture if your Plaza is BT. I recently did a mahogany Bleeker and was extremely pleased with the results. I've attached the posts here should you find them helpful.

I appreciate and have learned so much from @katev's restoration examples and thought it might be helpful to detail my first rehab/ colour refreshing project with Meltonian for anyone else about to give it a try.

Bleeker Book Bag 9314 (thank you for the name and authentication, @Hyacinth!)

BEFORE:

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Part 2:

I use a large water bottle to ensure the bag is completely submerged during the dunk to avoid any water lines or marks. I've learned from previous mistakes that that can happen.

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Rinse thoroughly:

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Colour refreshing prep: I mixed Meltonian London Tan and Meltonian black with a bit of red acrylic paint to match the mahogany colour as closely as possible before adding the CPR:

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Then added Leather CPR at a ratio of 3 parts CPR to 1 part Meltonian and mixed thoroughly. If there are no streaks of colour visible in the mixture, there will be no colour streaks on the leather.

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Post dunk the bag is lightly packed to restore its correct shape and ready to start conditioning with the mixture. NOTE: I'd forgotten that Meltonian instructed the cream be applied to dry leather only and went ahead using it on the bag right after dunking. Fortunately it seemed to make no difference... possibly because it was mixed with the CPR and I've continued doing so on 2 other bags.

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Part 3:

Here are the current photos. I'm extremely pleased with the results and how easy Meltonian was to work with. Thank you for the invaluable suggestion, @Paris Girl!!!

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When the bag was completely dry there was still a noticeable colour difference between the front slip pocket and the rest of the bag:

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So I added more of the black Meltonian to my existing mixture and focused on the pocket. Voila!

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I'm going to let the Bleeker sit for a week to allow the colour to cure before deep conditioning with Blackrocks. I'm not sure that's necessary, but don't want to take any chances.

 

[Coachaddict4020]

Advice needed guys. I've been reading this wonderful thread for the past few months since Narnanz introduced me to it. And I've been reading all the good advice. Well I have a black City bag from the 1980s that I bought on ebay perhaps 15 years ago. It was my first Coach. It looked a bit dingy so following the (bad) advice of someone at Wilson's Leather and the high-end bag-and-shoe store near my house, I'm embarrassed to admit that I rubbed it all over with black shoe polish. It ended up looking like an oil slick.

So... I've been rubbing the shoe polish off with Black Rock. I tried a couple other products like Fiebling's Leather Cleaner but they didn't pull off the polish. After several applications of BR, and lots of discard rags black with shoe polish the bag looks SO much better and I think I can finally carry it while wearing clothing that's not all-black. Do any of you have any further recommendations?

The bag doesn't need to be dunked. It has no spots or flaws. The color is slightly worn off the piping on the corners, but after the BR that isn't noticeable. I polished the hardware, which is brass, with metal polish.

Any further treatment advice?

I got shoe polish off my bella court by scrubbing it with 99% rubbing alcohol. You’d have to dunk the bag after & depending on the year, the colour might not come back.

The only issue with leaving your bag how it is if there’s still shoe polish on it, the leather/stitching might rot overtime. Other opinions welcome.

 

[aqua1117]

She's looking beautiful, but if you'd like to even out the colour a bit you could try colour refreshing with a London Tan Meltonian/CPR mixture if your Plaza is BT. I recently did a mahogany Bleeker and was extremely pleased with the results. I've attached the posts here should you find them helpful.

Thank you so much @LadaZuri for the suggestion (incl. the color!). I haven't checked the past posts to know the difference between Meltonian shoe cream vs. regular shoe cream. I think I came across a post a while back where someone was asking about 'why Meltonian when shoe polish is supposed to be a NO NO?!' but I cannot find what was said about it. Do you mind explaining?

As for the color, I have to see the color when it's completely dry. It maybe a shade lighter than BT.

 

[LadaZuri]

Thank you so much @LadaZuri for the suggestion (incl. the color!). I haven't checked the past posts to know the difference between Meltonian shoe cream vs. regular shoe cream. I think I came across a post a while back where someone was asking about 'why Meltonian when shoe polish is supposed to be a NO NO?!' but I cannot find what was said about it. Do you mind explaining?

As for the color, I have to see the color when it's completely dry. It maybe a shade lighter than BT.

@Paris Girl suggested Meltonian Shoe Cream a while ago and I asked the same question. Apparently Meltonian is the one shoe cream we can use (mixed with CPR as a colour refreshing ingredient) and in my experience it is a game changer. This mixture does not change the texture or appearance of the leather. All others are a no go. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong ). If you go to the Meltonian website you'll see the colour chart and can enlarge the individual colours to get the right match for your Plaza if you choose to go that route.

Cream Polish - 67 Colours

Download Colour Chart Here. Shoe Cream Polish is an important part of ensuring that your leather shoes and boots last as long as possible. Good leather can last for very long time with proper care with the right shoe cream. Our old-school formula of Meltonian Shoe Cream Polish is beloved for its...

meltonian.com

Let us know what you decide and how it goes!

 

[aqua1117]

@Paris Girl suggested Meltonian Shoe Cream a while ago and I asked the same question. Apparently Meltonian is the one shoe cream we can use (mixed with CPR as a colour refreshing ingredient) and in my experience it is a game changer. This mixture does not change the texture or appearance of the leather. All others are a no go. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong ). If you go to the Meltonian website you'll see the colour chart and can enlarge the individual colours to get the right match for your Plaza if you choose to go that route.

Cream Polish - 67 Colours

Download Colour Chart Here. Shoe Cream Polish is an important part of ensuring that your leather shoes and boots last as long as possible. Good leather can last for very long time with proper care with the right shoe cream. Our old-school formula of Meltonian Shoe Cream Polish is beloved for its...

meltonian.com

Let us know what you decide and how it goes!

Thank you, @LadaZuri ! Color match is the most difficult especially with these digital swatches.. I have experience buying Angelus paint online to match my bottle green Coach and had to purchase 4 different shades of greens plus black & grey (to darken if necessary), only to find out that I could not make the exact color with the colors I purchased! I ended up just using BR. lol

As for Meltonian cream, does it darken when it dries? With the acrylics, it usually dries a shade darker. So I want to know whether I should start out with a shade lighter cream or go with what looks to be an exact match. Also, what kind of difference would added CPR makes to this shoe cream? Have you tried only with the Meltonian cream alone?

 

[whateve]

Do you think the tab design was original to Coach? I found something interesting in this style (not a Coach bag) that I can post later.

This picture is from the Met Museum. Bonnie Cashin design from 1972. Interesting the tongue doesn't hang down low in that picture. When I used mine, I used to not pull it all the way down so it wouldn't hang below the bag but it kind of bulged.

Coach's catalog pictures always showed the tongue hanging down a few inches.

 

[Hoku44]

Just an update on where I'm at with my plaza! I had to wait for a few days to get more bottles of Angelus professional leather preparer and deglazer to continue with the process. Today, after 2 bottles (10oz total) of deglazer, I thought I was done and dunked the bag. I rest the bag with 2 coats of CPR.

To my surprise, I started seeing spots and areas that had paint residues on it!! Sigh.
But in a way it was good that the painted areas got more obvious with the dunk. I applied more deglazer around the area that had paint build up that I was not previously visible. Turned out there were a lot of paint on the thread and right under the piping. I got most of it out. And am now resting the bag to dry. Applied generous amount of CPR as it dries. See what it looks like when it's completely dry.

I think she looks wonderful! Please post more pics as you progress!

 

[Hoku44]

This picture is from the Met Museum. Bonnie Cashin design from 1972. Interesting the tongue doesn't hang down low in that picture. When I used mine, I used to not pull it all the way down so it wouldn't hang below the bag but it kind of bulged.

Coach's catalog pictures always showed the tongue hanging down a few inches.

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.....*avatar change*...

 

[Hoku44]

.

 

[Hoku44]

I even have a purple station bag I’ve never used! My buying has slowed way down for two reasons: I’ve got most everything I’ve ever wanted and what I see doesn’t measure up to my standards and/or it’s overpriced. Your bag abstinence might be willpower (or won’t power, hee, hee) but the only thing stopping me is lack of inventory.

I saw your post that you started your collection a mere 2 years ago!? That's when I noticed that that thread is pics only, no comments. oops.

How on earth did you acquire that in such a short time!? Such an exquisite collection!