Cheap, easy repair for worn plating on Coach jewelry

[Suzanne B.]

I'll have to try that trick! I find tweezers a bit clumsy as well, but when I tried to just use my finger I inevitably got glue on it and then the stone kept wanting to stick to me. That's when I dropped the stone in with tweezers and fine-tuned with the toothpick. Your method sounds good. My tweezers are ones that I got for my serger, so they have a nice bend to them. I'd fail with just normal eyebrow type tweezers.

I put a tiny dab of glue in the hole using a sewing pin for tiny holes and toothpicks for larger ones. (Then clean up if I made a mess. ) I then place the stone, use a toothpick if it needs adjusting and clean away the excess glue.

 

[CoachMaven]

Crystals / rhinestones can be purchased at craft stores, but they usually have limited sizes...and more limited colors unless they really have a large jewelry making / repair section. I buy mine off ebay, where else?

If you have a craft store, you might need to visit there to look at what crystals they have so you can get an idea of the size crystal you'll need.

I use E6000 glue which can be bought at Walmart and it's easy to work with....it's not like super glue.

Thank you, I am going to look into this!

 

[katev]

...Instead of camouflaging the missing jewels, just replace them. They are easy to replace.

Butting in- how do you do that?/Where can I get them? I have a ring I no longer wear because one of the pave crystals is missing. I would LOVE to get a new one for it! Thank you!

Crystals / rhinestones can be purchased at craft stores, but they usually have limited sizes...and more limited colors unless they really have a large jewelry making / repair section. I buy mine off ebay, where else? If you have a craft store, you might need to visit there to look at what crystals they have so you can get an idea of the size crystal you'll need. I use E6000 glue which can be bought at Walmart and it's easy to work with....it's not like super glue.

I second this recommendation. If you don't find what you want on eBay, Etsy has a big selection of Swarovski crystals. Have tweezers and toothpicks nearby to help you get the stone into place because some are just too tiny to do easily with fingers. I've replaced a few stones; it kind of comes with the territory of liking sparkly costume jewelry (Betsey Johnson)...

Oh, I don't use tweezers....i 'can't'. I even have jewelry tweezers and the stones still want to go flying away. I just don't have a delicate hand with the tweezers I guess. My desk is next to a window and I use the window sill and the sunshine as my work bench and light source. I have what crystals I need to use on the window sill, pointed side 'down'. When I need to place one, I touch my finger to a sweating glass of water then to a crystal and it sticks to my finger and that's how I place the stones. I've replaced stones less than 1mm up to 3.5 using that method.

I'll have to try that trick! I find tweezers a bit clumsy as well, but when I tried to just use my finger I inevitably got glue on it and then the stone kept wanting to stick to me. That's when I dropped the stone in with tweezers and fine-tuned with the toothpick. Your method sounds good. My tweezers are ones that I got for my serger, so they have a nice bend to them. I'd fail with just normal eyebrow type tweezers.

I put a tiny dab of glue in the hole using a sewing pin for tiny holes and toothpicks for larger ones. (Then clean up if I made a mess. I then place the stone, use a toothpick if it needs adjusting and clean away the excess glue.

Thanks for the information, if I lose any more crystals I will give it a try. I had thought about trying to replace the crystals but I worried that my old eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be - but I suppose I could try a lighted magnifying glass.

 

[katev]

Wow it looks amazing! Congrats on the awesome rehab. It looks like it wasn't even damaged in the first place!

It looks really good

The back of the starfish looks wonderful!...

Your rehabbed jewelry looks great. I know you'll enjoy wearing it this summer. Good info...thanks for sharing with us.

I am going to bookmark this page. I have some gold plated Coach jewelry that I wear often and while it is still in good shape, I can imagine that Rub N Buff will come in handy in a couple of years. Your jewelry looks great!

... I love that bracelet! What a great find.

Thank you; I am going to be more careful with it in the future. I am sure that it got all banged up from wearing it at work on the computer. The other pieces in the set still look perfect, it is only the bracelet that got so beat up.


I probably won't wear it to work anymore, of if I do, I will take it off when I sit down at the computer.

 

[Suzanne B.]

Thanks for the information, if I lose any more crystals I will give it a try. I had thought about trying to replace the crystals but I worried that my old eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be - but I suppose I could try a lighted magnifying glass.

I also have old eyes and use a magnifying glass. I have one that you can hang around your neck and prop on your chest so you don't have to hold it.

You can also buy them on stands, which wouldn't work for me because I work on a window sill with lots of sunlight. If you can work with light from the sun, it makes it much easier.

My husband has magnifiers that is made like a sun visor that you can just pull down in front of your eyes and wear it like a headband or hat.

 

[ouiouilexiaussi]

Summer is here and I want to wear my PLT beach jewelry set so I decided to try and repair the damage to the bracelet myself. I figured, what the heck, I couldn't wear it the way it was!

First I tried touching up the lost gold plating with metallic gold acrylic hobby paint but that didn't work at all. The paint didn't adhere to the metal surface. I didn't try a primer so I don't know if that would have helped.

But instead I found a product called Rub 'n Buff (yes, that's the name - I didn't make it up!) I bought a small tube for around $5 or $6 dollars in the Gold Leaf color. Here is a link, but I think it is available at some hobby stores too.

http://www.amaco.com/shop/product-437-rub-n-buff-metallic-finishes.html

It worked great and it didn't need a primer and it was easy to use. I also put a dab of paint where the crystals were missing and now the spots blend in much better. The directions say to use mineral spirits to clean up but I was able to clean with just dish soap, warm water, and some vigorous rubbing. I didn't let it sit too long before cleaning though. I went over the back surface of the starfish with a fine emory board before painting and I used a tiny brush to apply the paint. For a larger surface, it might work better to use your fingers to rub it on.

Here are the after pics. I don't know how well it will hold-up but I have a tube of the stuff in case it needs another touch-up later; it was easy to do.

I am happy that I can wear my bracelet again and I just wanted to share this information in case someone else has had similar issues with Coach gold-plated jewelry.

Ah! Just added this to my "Watch List" on ebay Thanks for the tip! Did you use "Grecian Gold"?

 

[katev]

Ah! Just added this to my "Watch List" on ebay Thanks for the tip! Did you use "Grecian Gold"?

I used "Gold Leaf" and it was a teeny bit darker (or more yellow?) than the shade of gold on my jewelry. I decided to brush it over the entire back of the starfish, not just the damaged areas, to make sure that it would dry an even, consistent color. If you try Grecian Gold let me know how it works for you! Good luck!

 

[katev]

BTW, it was the chain from my Pierre Le Tan Beach necklace that I recently borrowed to turn my Robot fob into a necklace - so I have certainly gotten a lot of great use out of my PLT jewelry set!

 

[ouiouilexiaussi]

I used "Gold Leaf" and it was a teeny bit darker (or more yellow?) than the shade of gold on my jewelry. I decided to brush it over the entire back of the starfish, not just the damaged areas, to make sure that it would dry an even, consistent color. If you try Grecian Gold let me know how it works for you! Good luck!

Oh, good idea! Yes; I'll let you know!