Bal Experts: Sealant peeling, leave it or fix it? *PICS INCLUDED*

C

carrie84

Member
May 17, 2008
21
0
#1
I recently purchased an '08 S/S Black Brief with GSH. A short strip of black sealant on the bottom edge of the front part of the purse has peeled off today. Because the sealant has peeled off, I can use my fingers to sort of separate the leather. I don't think the leather will tear because the stitching is still holding it together, but is this something that needs to be fixed? If you have had this problem, what did you do? If I need to fix it, where do I send it to? Back to Bal? LMB? Or use clear nail polish? Is this a common problem??

I did a search and found a similar problem with the Cornflower City, but the solution to that problem wasn't posted.

Returning or exchanging this bag is not an option as I absolutely love the leather!

Please advise! TIA!!:smile:
 

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#2
Returning or exchanging SHOULD be an option even though you love the leather. This is just NOT okay to happen to a recently purchased bag. When my ruby work developed a split in the leather after less than a month of use I, too, was reluctant to part with it because the leather was so beautiful, and the exchange bag has even better leather!

I'm not understanding why Bal lovers are so enamoured with the bags that they choose to overlook poor workmanship/quality control just to have "that perfect leather". These are not reasonably priced bags! But if you are absolutely certain you want to fix the problem yourself, then perhaps someone can chime in with a solution.
 
#3
i agree with roey, i won't accept this kind of flaw on a new bag. i've seen so many new 08 A/W with this kind of peeling, or a missing bit of color on the leather, and i would personally exchange it or return it. i understand you love the leather, but i need my bags to be flawless at this price.
 
#5
So, I agree that such a recent purchase should NOT have sealant problems already. However, if you are totally set on keeping the bag, I can say that i have had great success with applying Fielding's EdgeKote myself to repair/re-do the sealant on my older Bals. This is exactly what is used to seal most leather/saddles/belts anyway, it is cheap, easy to find, and easy to use yourself. It will absolutely do the trick.
 
#6
If you purchased it recently like you said, you should consider exchanging it for a bag that has similar leather (I mean the same or better). If the sealant has already come off one part of the bag, can you imagine what might happen in the future? God forbid worse happens, wouldn't you have wished you had exchanged the bag sooner when you still could have? I'm pretty sure you worked really hard for your money, I just feel that Bal should work just as hard at keeping their customers happy with great bags and workmanship.
 
#7
psaseattle said:
So, I agree that such a recent purchase should NOT have sealant problems already. However, if you are totally set on keeping the bag, I can say that i have had great success with applying Fielding's EdgeKote myself to repair/re-do the sealant on my older Bals. This is exactly what is used to seal most leather/saddles/belts anyway, it is cheap, easy to find, and easy to use yourself. It will absolutely do the trick.
Click to expand...

Thanks for everyone's advice! Although I totally agree that for the price we are paying for Bal bags, they should be flawless, in my experience, the Bal bags that I have purchased were never perfect. (but I still love them all!:yes:)

Anyhow, Psaseattle, where can I purchase Fielding's EdgeKote? Would a leather repair place have that? I tried Googling and searching on Yahoo, but nothing came up. Thanks so much!!

Others who have had this problem, please share what you did!! TIA!!
 
#8
carrie84 said:
Thanks for everyone's advice! Although I totally agree that for the price we are paying for Bal bags, they should be flawless, in my experience, the Bal bags that I have purchased were never perfect. (but I still love them all!:yes:)

Anyhow, Psaseattle, where can I purchase Fielding's EdgeKote? Would a leather repair place have that? I tried Googling and searching on Yahoo, but nothing came up. Thanks so much!!

Others who have had this problem, please share what you did!! TIA!!
Click to expand...

Hey - my fault - its called FIEBING's not Fielding's.....you should be able to easily find that now...sorry!:P
 
#9
psaseattle said:
So, I agree that such a recent purchase should NOT have sealant problems already. However, if you are totally set on keeping the bag, I can say that i have had great success with applying Fielding's EdgeKote myself to repair/re-do the sealant on my older Bals. This is exactly what is used to seal most leather/saddles/belts anyway, it is cheap, easy to find, and easy to use yourself. It will absolutely do the trick.
Click to expand...

I used this on my black city's handles and it is a lot better than leaving the edges showing. It's actually a bit too shiny though. I'm going to contact them and see if they have a solution. Maybe a softer black, rather than the black I used.

I remember reading somewhere that someone used colors and mixed them successfully. Now that'd be something.

From what I'm reading about repairs, I think we can do a better job than Bal, for most of them. :P
 
#11
Yes, its kind of like bottled white out....i didn't have the too shiny problem, but i only used a very little amount. you can put it on with a q tip or something similar.....
 
#12
carrie84 said:
Thanks Psaseattle!!

Psaseattle and Conni618, is it easy to use? Sort of like bottled white-out?

Also, has anyone sent this back to Bal for repair? TIA!!
Click to expand...

I would describe it as a bit thicker than white-out. The bottle I received was the consistency of chocolate syrup that had been refrigerated. Thicker than unrefrigerated pancake syrup. But maybe my bottle was old.

Psaseattle's idea of the q-tip might be better than the little paint brush I used.

There's another thread somewhere in which someone complains about leaving their bag with BalNY and being unhappy with the messy job they did. That's what made me say, we might be able to do a better job.

Your bag is new though, so I'd give serious thought to making it their responsibility instead of yours. :sad:
 
#13
I'm having this same problem, but it's with an older bag (07 plomb city). The sealant hasn't flaked off yet, but it is separated. I was considering putting clear fingernail polish on it to keep the sealant from falling off, but I'm way to scared to do that...has anybody tried it?
 
#14
Hi laura229, I have tried using clear nail polish on a black city, but it didn't work. It doesn't seal the leather together, it just adds a coat of shine (but not very noticeable) to the edge of the leather.

I may give Fiebing Edge Kote a try! After hearing about a bad experience with Bal NY, I am a bit apprehensive about sending it to Bal LA. I did call Bal LA today, and they asked me to go in, and they will fix the problem.
 
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