Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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#242
Hey all! I've recently got into the idea of rehabbing old Coach bags, I really love the leather on those vintage beauties!

I purchased a couple of Willis bags and a City bag and they are in relatively good condition, i.e. no major stains, ink spots, etc. The leathers on them are nice and soft, lovely patina and the insides are pretty clean. I still want to give them a bath and a good soak, just because I'm a bit OCD about my bags and want them (especially since they're unlined) to be clean.

Is this a terrible idea? Should I just try to suck up my germ phobia and simply surface clean them? I know other people have bathed their bags with good results, but most of those bags needed it and I have yet to come across a rehab project "just because the TPFer wanted to give it a bath". Thoughts?

Also, I hear a lot of different cleansers and conditioners thrown around, and I was wondering which is the BEST and MOST GENTLE. Woolite, Dawn or Ivory, which is preferred? Also I have Apple conditioner ANDand Wilson Leather's TLC lotion. I had a bad experience with the Apple conditioner so I was wondering if Wilson's TLC Lotion is good for the vintage leather. I've used it quite a bit on my Rebecca Minkoff leathers with no problems.

Thanks a lot, let me know your thoughts. I'm very excited to start on my first rehab, a red Willis!
 
#243
tehkatt said:
Hey all! I've recently got into the idea of rehabbing old Coach bags, I really love the leather on those vintage beauties!

I purchased a couple of Willis bags and a City bag and they are in relatively good condition, i.e. no major stains, ink spots, etc. The leathers on them are nice and soft, lovely patina and the insides are pretty clean. I still want to give them a bath and a good soak, just because I'm a bit OCD about my bags and want them (especially since they're unlined) to be clean.

Is this a terrible idea? Should I just try to suck up my germ phobia and simply surface clean them? I know other people have bathed their bags with good results, but most of those bags needed it and I have yet to come across a rehab project "just because the TPFer wanted to give it a bath". Thoughts?

Also, I hear a lot of different cleansers and conditioners thrown around, and I was wondering which is the BEST and MOST GENTLE. Woolite, Dawn or Ivory, which is preferred? Also I have Apple conditioner ANDand Wilson Leather's TLC lotion. I had a bad experience with the Apple conditioner so I was wondering if Wilson's TLC Lotion is good for the vintage leather. I've used it quite a bit on my Rebecca Minkoff leathers with no problems.

Thanks a lot, let me know your thoughts. I'm very excited to start on my first rehab, a red Willis!
Click to expand...

I often like to give my bags a bath for the same reason, to make sure that they are nice and clean before I carry them! However, I would hesitate to give a bath to the red Willis unless it "really, really needs it" because you can lose some of that beautiful red color in the bath.

I recently rehabbed a red City Bag that was in good conditon and I didn't want to give it a bath. I followed Bebepurse's advice and vacumned it out well, and then used lysol wipes (non-bleach) to thoroughly clean it inside and out - and then let it air dry.

I tend to use Ivory when I give a bag a bath in the sink and I use woolite on delicate if I am forced to put the bag in the washing machine, but I think that both of them work well. I haven't used Dwn. You want to use a mild m fragrance free soap.

I am not familar with Wilson's leather conditioner, it's probably fine but make sure that it doesn't contain waxes, silicones, or perfumes and make sure that the the label doesn't state "may darken leather."

Don't use any opaque leather products (like Apple conditioner) on a pebbled leather bag because the whitish material will dry in the little crevices between the leather bumps and you will never get it out!

Good luck on your rehabs, be sure to post before and after pics!
 
#244
Thanks to dstalksalot for the reminder to post recent rehab threads here, for future reference.

Canvas Bleecker Flap (machine washing a badly stained beige canvas and camel leather bag):
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/out-out-damned-spot-even-if-takes-2-a-692432.html

Glenwood Sheridan in green, a houndstooth wool Girlie Hobo trimmed with lamb nappa, and a forest green Pocket Bag (about giving baths to bags that shouldn’t get wet):
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/what-happens-when-you-dunk-bag-shouldnt-get-689911.html

Carlyle in black pebbled leather (rehabbing a delicate Italian pebbled leather bag):
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/another-sister-has-arrived-from-italy-687100.html

Red City Bag (rehabbing a bag without giving it a bath)
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/every-woman-deserves-designer-bag-least-once-her-681368.html

Mahogany Basic Bag (this bag looked British Tan or Camel before it was rehabbed):
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/just-little-tlc-conditioner-bring-out-bags-true-678300.html
 
#245
I received my black Willis City bag circa 1999 from Etsy today. It seems to be in pretty good condition, though missing its hangtag, which the seller did NOT disclose.

I think it needs a bath and condition though, and after reading these threads about bathing all-leather bags I am tempted to go for it!!

When I condition the leather, do I wipe it on with my fingers and then just leave it there for how long? And then wipe away excess with a clean cloth?

Thanks!
 
#246
Here are a couple of photos of the bag as I received it.

5913623898_b76d1bbee1_b.jpg


5913060875_f02cb72e22_b.jpg


Can anything be done about the way this turnlock looks? It seems chipped :(

5913623844_927a9e33ba_b.jpg
 
#248
jane said:
I received my black Willis City bag circa 1999 from Etsy today. It seems to be in pretty good condition, though missing its hangtag, which the seller did NOT disclose.

I think it needs a bath and condition though, and after reading these threads about bathing all-leather bags I am tempted to go for it!!

When I condition the leather, do I wipe it on with my fingers and then just leave it there for how long? And then wipe away excess with a clean cloth?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I ususally rub the conditioner in with my fingers and let it absorb into the leather for awhile, sometimes for a few hours and sometimes overnight. Then I buff it with a soft cloth until it starts to gleam. Sometimes you have to put on several applications of conditioner, if the leather is very dry. Good luck, a black willis is a gorgeous bag!
 
#250
jane said:
Here are a couple of photos of the bag as I received it.

Can anything be done about the way this turnlock looks? It seems chipped :(
Click to expand...

It is a beautiful bag, is it a willis? It has the wooden dowel but it looks wider and shorter than my willis, but maybe it is just an effect of the photography. Does it have a style number inside on the creed?

Whatever, it's a beautiful bag and in great shape! You can get a free replacement hangtag from Coach, just call their customer service in Jacksonville, FL. It takes a few weeks to arrive but it is free and you will know that it is genuine.

It probably doesn't need a bath and you could lose some of that rich, deep black color by immersing it in water. Lysol wipes and Lexol cleaning wipes would probably be enough to clean it, but it's up to you.

A lot of what looks like "chips" on the hardware is probably just tarnish and dirt. I've taken the advice of dstalksalot so I use Wenol metal polish on my hardware. You can order Wenol online, but brasso and other polishes also work well.

Apply the polish with a Q-Tip and keep rubbing to remove the discoloration. It can take several attempts to fully clean the hardware (I've used up a lot of Q-Tips on some of my rehabs!)

Buff with a soft, dry cloth after you are done cleaning the hardware. If you get any polish on the leather, wipe it off quickly with a damp cloth.

Good luck and be sure to show us the after pics too!
 
#255
Not sure what it is, it hasn't arrived yet. I'll inspect it when it gets here and then do what I can -- bath, conditioning, plus the strap is missing so I'll need to hunt down a reasonable replacement. I was waiting until I could determine the actual color. Looks like it could be British Tan? Or Vicuna. No idea.
 
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