Wow the improvement is dramatic! Good to know that Chanel does such a great job with refinishing.I did the refinishing one. I got water stain on the front flap and dirty stain on every corners. FYI my bag is in beige color. I'm so scare that I will ruin the leather so I went to Chanel boutique asking for either cleaning or refinishing service. Chanel SA didn't recommend me to refinish my bag at the first place because the lambskin will lose its softness. She said I should try leather cleaner first. I asked for the name but she didn't give me the specific name "just any high end leather cleaner should be fine" she said.
I decided to give it a try. If it turn out bad I still have my second chance with refinishing service anyway. I did some research in here and my first trial was to use a rubber - dirt came off very little. Next, I decided to use Meltonian instead of Apple care, I removed all dirt by using Meltonian all purpose cleaner & conditioner. I got scaredI didn't put much of the product just put a little bit more on each coat. I used cotton buds and soft cloth, got rid some extra lotion before I applied it to the bag, started with small amount, reapplied it if needed and let it dry for couple days. All corners looked better but not the water stain.
So I went back to Chanel for refinishing. The service was pretty quick than I expected. I'm in California, it took only 2weeks to get it done. The thing is if you consider refinishing your bag as a choice, you should know that the texture of the bag will never be the same. Mine is a little bit harder... Just a little not too bad. The leather is not shiny as before. I can feel the difference between the color coat outside and the velvet like texture inside. (I asked them to leave the inside the way it was as I was afraid of loosing Chanel logo and hologram sticker). The overall looks great "like new" and I'm happy with it. I put some pictures here for you to see how it looks like before and after. Good luck!!
Chanel Lambskin - how do I clean it/care for it?
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I have a bit of an issue. I bought a vintage Chanel 2.55 purse off eBay and when I got it, I saw that it had been conditioned with some sort of leather cleaner. There is a slight smell to the purse (not offensive, though) and it feels as though it's a bit sticky from the leather cleaner they used. I know it was used because when I put the purse on the counter, there had been a bit of water on it and when I picked up the purse, there was black on the counter. This all happened when I first got it.
Is the bag now ruined? Is there a way I can "repair" it? Should I bring it into a Chanel store?
Is the bag now ruined? Is there a way I can "repair" it? Should I bring it into a Chanel store?
Hi! My 20+ years bag needed a clean and I read that saddle soap was excellent in cleaning it up and removing stains. I rubbed it in gently and thereafter put on leather fat for furniture , shoes AND bags (danish brand called Gold Quality). It worked excellent on my bag which is soft leather. Now it has more shine and isWhat do any of you use to clean and reshine your bags.
I have 2 soft lambskin blue and black
4 caviers, 1 pink and 3 black
and 1 black suede.
I can say I have never really cleaned any of them..
I love my blue one and would love for it to shine like it first did
very clean
In my opinion even Chanel needs cleaning after some years 
u don't know how happy i am to read your post. been searching on the net how to clean my lambskin gray bag. bought it last year & used it once and that was it. the color of my pants transferred to my bag. tried meltonian, coach leather cleaner & almost everything but it got worst. anyway, i'm here in cali too & i would like to ask u where did u take your bag? bought my bag at bloomingdales. do u think chanel boutique will accomodate me? TIA!I did the refinishing one. I got water stain on the front flap and dirty stain on every corners. FYI my bag is in beige color. I'm so scare that I will ruin the leather so I went to Chanel boutique asking for either cleaning or refinishing service. Chanel SA didn't recommend me to refinish my bag at the first place because the lambskin will lose its softness. She said I should try leather cleaner first. I asked for the name but she didn't give me the specific name "just any high end leather cleaner should be fine" she said.
I decided to give it a try. If it turn out bad I still have my second chance with refinishing service anyway. I did some research in here and my first trial was to use a rubber - dirt came off very little. Next, I decided to use Meltonian instead of Apple care, I removed all dirt by using Meltonian all purpose cleaner & conditioner. I got scared
So I went back to Chanel for refinishing. The service was pretty quick than I expected. I'm in California, it took only 2weeks to get it done. The thing is if you consider refinishing your bag as a choice, you should know that the texture of the bag will never be the same. Mine is a little bit harder... Just a little not too bad. The leather is not shiny as before. I can feel the difference between the color coat outside and the velvet like texture inside. (I asked them to leave the inside the way it was as I was afraid of loosing Chanel logo and hologram sticker). The overall looks great "like new" and I'm happy with it. I put some pictures here for you to see how it looks like before and after. Good luck!!
You can take your Chanel bag to the Chanel boutique for refurbishing; just let them know if you want them to redye the inside or just the outside. There is a fee for this, but it's quite reasonable.
For corner touch up Meltonian is okay but I would never in a million years put it all over a purse. If a purse has faded over time (black to not so black) or any other damage, take it to Chanel and have them spa the purse. It is money well spent. They made the purse and they know how to fix it. When sending it off to spa do not send your authenticity card. It may not come back with the purse. If a purse is fake, they know it and won't accept it for spa. If you bought your purse at Saks, NM or Bloomies, you can turn it in there for spa but I prefer taking it directly to a boutique.
Back to why I wouldn't put Meltonian all over the purse -- there are different methods of tanning leather and I sure wouldn't want to have the leather dry out because I used the wrong product. I have read saddle soap is for saddles and not leather purses. Doc ride on the Hermes forum has quite a lengthy thread in the Reference section.
Back to why I wouldn't put Meltonian all over the purse -- there are different methods of tanning leather and I sure wouldn't want to have the leather dry out because I used the wrong product. I have read saddle soap is for saddles and not leather purses. Doc ride on the Hermes forum has quite a lengthy thread in the Reference section.
Dear sylvieli,
I thought the highest Chanel will charge is ~$265-280 for full refurbishment. Why did they charge you so much, you should ask them....
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I really wish Chanel offered these spa services in the UK. I've been a bit hard on my M/L lambskin flap over the years and the leather on back has faded and the corners are scuffed. Also, a few years ago I was squeezing a cream foundation out of a tube and tiny specks of it went on my bag. By the time I'd noticed they had dried and set on the bag. As they weren't noticeable I forgot about it but years later it bugs me and I've tried everything to remove them. The whole bag could just do with refurbishment. It's such a shame we don't have this service in the UK.
Why not contact the Paris store and ask about having it done there? You could always ship it there if it's too far to go personally. I'd just contact them and explain what you want and ask how to proceed. Bags from the U.S. go to Paris, so why not from the UK to Paris?
Any UK owners with advice on what products you use? I'd love to get the Meltonian and Cadillac care products but they are only available in the US and I can't find any stores that ship to the UK, unless anyone may know?
Thanks...
Thanks...