An unusual rehab project - Coach Solid Perfume Charm - Pics!

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katev

"The Bag Whisperer!"
O.G.
Dec 18, 2009
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I have the Coach legacy striped heart lip gloss charm and I like it a lot (you can see it in my avatar) so I was interested when I recently came across the silver solid perfume hangtag charm on ebay. I must have missed them when they came out because I probably would have purchased one.

You can see NIB pics of the charm at the link below (NMA):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-AUTHENT.../280801338786?pt=fragrance&hash=bin41611065a2

The new ones are going for around $50 on ebay, but I came across a used one with a very low starting price and an auction description that said "the perfume is OLD and GROSS, still smells nice though!"

That made me laugh and it also appealed to my rehabbing spirit! Plus I had received a Dremel hand power tool to polish metal from my DH as one of my Christmas presents (dstalksalot had recommended it for polishing hardware.) I figured that the perfume charm would be a great "starter project" to learn how to use my new Dremel.

I entered a modest bid and was pleasantly surprise when I won! I had a couple of "ebay bucks" to spend so I only paid a total of $7.08 for the charm including shipping!

The perfume really was "old and gross" and the charm was nicked and covered with tiny scratches from use and there was a big, deep scratch on the back.

I should have taken some before pics but I've attached the auction pic. I will tell you about finding a solid perfume refill in the next message.
 

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I knew it was a long-shot but I called Coach JAX to ask about getting a perfume refill and as expected, they said that they were not available. I did some research online and discovered that you can buy jewelry and compacts that contain solid perfumes but finding refills is difficult.

However Bvlgari sell solid perfume compacts and offers refills for them. When I was at the mall last weekend I visited some fragrance shops and to look for refills (no luck) but I took advantage of the opportunities to sniff some of the Bvlgari fragrances and liked them.

So I purchased two 0.03 oz"Bvlgari Pour Femme" refills on ebay for $9.99 total including shipping. The Coach charm holds 0.06 oz of perfume so 2 refills were the perfect size.

Here is a pic, borrowed from ebay of the Bvlgari perfume refill. Next I will describe the rehab process and show some after pics.
 

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To get the "old and gross" perfume out of the charm I used my Crock Pot! I placed the charm on a heat-resistant dish, open and upside down, so the melted perfume could drain out; and then set it in the crock pot on low.

After getting rid of the melted perfume I let the charm cool a bit and then washed it well with dish soap and warm water.

My Dremel worked great to remove many of the small nicks and scratches and it significantly reduced the large gouge on the back of the charm. And it sure was a lot easier than hand-polishing hardware!

The metal on a couple of the corners inside the trough that holds the perfume had corroded and blackened a little so I cleaned them out as well as I could and then I painted a coat of Diamond Glaze on the trough to seal the metal, and then I let it dry.

Then it was back to the crock pot to fill the charm with the bvlgari perfume! I set the refills on a dish inside the crock pot and put it on low but I kept a close eye on them because I didn't want them to melt - I was afraid that might alter or harm the fragrance.

When there were the consistency of softend butter I used a small sharp knife to scoop out the perfume and trowel it into the receptable inside the charm. Then I just let it cool and solidify.

After that I used a tiny screw driver to tighten the screws and it was finished! Everything worked great and I now have a cute Coach solid perfume charm that cost a total of $17.07 and it was easy! And I now also know how to use my new Dremel!

Here are some after pics of the charm. I will post more pics, including some showing the charm on a bag with the next message.
 

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Here are some more pics. I could have kept going with the Dremel to try and remove all of the scratches but I was afraid of damaging the surface. I am happy with the way it looks (and smells!) now. I included pics of the charm on my black Madison Shoulder Bag to show how it looks on a bag.
 

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Dremel has been my love for a loooooong time, way before I was ever thinking about Coach.
Nice work! Enjoy that Dremel (I know you will)
 
Dremel has been my love for a loooooong time, way before I was ever thinking about Coach.
Nice work! Enjoy that Dremel (I know you will)

I can see that it would be useful in many situations and it sure makes the chore of polishing metal a lot easier!
 
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