ahh...but it still hasn't sold. I think that's high for a bag in that condition but you never know what people will buy, look at some of the stuff I've bought, lol
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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ahh...but it still hasn't sold. I think that's high for a bag in that condition but you never know what people will buy, look at some of the stuff I've bought, lol
I just felt sorry for it. LOL! The SA at my FP store said Vintage is coming back in a big way, so maybe you'll have better luck
I'm am sorry to hear that Zorbx didn't work for the smoke odor on your bags. I've always had good luck with the product but i've never had something with smoke odor to use it on. It's always worked very well for pet odor and that kind of old musty smell. For fabric bags and clothing i've always really saturated whatever had the odor and let it dry in the sun. Ive even used it on soiled carpet with pretty good success. I'll have to keep in mind that it might not do as well for getting out smoke just in case i ever run across any in my treasure hunting.
First of all - thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge, I've gotten great advice from this thread. I (like most of the people here), have accumulated many vintage bags from various thrift and consignment stores, and you guys have helped me greatly in bringing them back to shape.
I need advice/suggestions on how to deal with a bag I just picked up - it's not a coach, but the premise is this same, and you guys have the most experience, I think, in dealing with the total rehab I'm going to have to do. I picked up a DKNY back, rather similar in structure to a vintage coach saddle bag. It's a lovely bag, but cream colored, and as a result, has staining and transfer. I dunked it (the lining was the same color as the leather, and I figured it couldn't get worse), but that really hasn't helped, although it smells way better now. So, I think I'm going to have to dye her. Should be fairly simple, but I wanted a penetrative dye, rather than a paint, and I know some of you have used wood stain - would that be what you recommend for an all-over dye job? I know some of the Tarrago's are penetrative, has anyone used those? The leather on this bag is lovely and has that feel of the glove-tanned leather bags (it's made in Italy, and really, as nice as the vintage coaches I have, which I swear is so much better than most of the leather used today), so I think it can take it. Any pointers would be appreciated, as the most I've done until now has been touch-ups with acrylic paint (<=again, awesome tip - thanks to everyone for suggesting it!)
TIA!
I need advice/suggestions on how to deal with a bag I just picked up - it's not a coach, but the premise is this same, and you guys have the most experience, I think, in dealing with the total rehab I'm going to have to do. I picked up a DKNY back, rather similar in structure to a vintage coach saddle bag. It's a lovely bag, but cream colored, and as a result, has staining and transfer. I dunked it (the lining was the same color as the leather, and I figured it couldn't get worse), but that really hasn't helped, although it smells way better now. So, I think I'm going to have to dye her. Should be fairly simple, but I wanted a penetrative dye, rather than a paint, and I know some of you have used wood stain - would that be what you recommend for an all-over dye job? I know some of the Tarrago's are penetrative, has anyone used those? The leather on this bag is lovely and has that feel of the glove-tanned leather bags (it's made in Italy, and really, as nice as the vintage coaches I have, which I swear is so much better than most of the leather used today), so I think it can take it. Any pointers would be appreciated, as the most I've done until now has been touch-ups with acrylic paint (<=again, awesome tip - thanks to everyone for suggesting it!)
TIA!
I used wood stain on black bags, and it was great for bringing them back to new looking. Being black they didn't have any major stains, just scratches and colour fade. I haven't ever tried it on brown or lighter coloured bags, although I would if I had one and could find a wood stain in a colour I wanted to use. I used wood stain because it was much easier for me to find here than leather dye. I think, and I might be wrong here, that many wood stains are designed to allow the grain of the timber to come through. THis might be worth thinking about if you do go down the wood stain path. Good luck!
I tried brown wood stain on a tan bag and I couldn't get it to go on evenly. It didn't really penetrate so just made a very light uneven streaky finish which was worse than the original finish. I am about to try Fiebings.
Dear Rehab Friends,
I HAVE SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT TO SAY PLEASE PAY ATTENTION!@!
Ok, now that drama is out and hopefully your attention is in, please hear my plead:
I used to think that if a vintage bag looks and smells clean, don't wash it and just clean it with wipes and conditioner - UNTIL TODAY!
I received a nice little tan bag that looks decent and looks fine in all level. I vacuumed it and wipe it down, and for some reason I though "heck it is so small it does not hurt to rinse it out". I then have it sat in sink bath for just a few minutes and the water did not change color so I was happy that the bag was clean. When I drained the water out was when I freaked out. I saw at least 2 dead moth bodies in the water!
Apparently there is moth infestation in the house where this bag came from. The dead moth must have been stuck in creases that they were not vacuumed out. The most concerning is the possibility of moth eggs! If I had not washed it by chance, they may very well mature and comes out to infest the rest of my wardrobe!
My plead to you all is that if the risk of ink spread or dye bleed is not big; PLEASE WASH ALL YOUR USED CLOTHING PURCHASES, INCLUDING BAGS!!!!
I HAVE SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT TO SAY PLEASE PAY ATTENTION!@!
Ok, now that drama is out and hopefully your attention is in, please hear my plead:
I used to think that if a vintage bag looks and smells clean, don't wash it and just clean it with wipes and conditioner - UNTIL TODAY!
I received a nice little tan bag that looks decent and looks fine in all level. I vacuumed it and wipe it down, and for some reason I though "heck it is so small it does not hurt to rinse it out". I then have it sat in sink bath for just a few minutes and the water did not change color so I was happy that the bag was clean. When I drained the water out was when I freaked out. I saw at least 2 dead moth bodies in the water!
Apparently there is moth infestation in the house where this bag came from. The dead moth must have been stuck in creases that they were not vacuumed out. The most concerning is the possibility of moth eggs! If I had not washed it by chance, they may very well mature and comes out to infest the rest of my wardrobe!
My plead to you all is that if the risk of ink spread or dye bleed is not big; PLEASE WASH ALL YOUR USED CLOTHING PURCHASES, INCLUDING BAGS!!!!
Yuck! I know that lots of rehabbers don't care to wash leather bags but usually I can't wait to dunk them! It's true that a few special bags shouldn't be washed. I can't imagine dunking a legacy vachetta bag with striped lining!
But for most vintage bags I find that a bath does wonders. It plumps the leather, freshens the smell, and allows you to reshape the bag. Best of all you can make sure that it is clean! Even when it doesn't look dirty I often find that it was actually filthy after I wash the bag!
Very good info! I read somewhere recently (knew I should have saved the link, but didn't) that in a case like yours it's a good idea to put that bag (or whatever) in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for a day or so. It may have been on the second-hand-bargain thread.
Has anyone else heard of this? Just a thought...might be a good idea, and insurance against more moths!
Thanks! You're right, the coverage might be an issue.
Thanks for the advice - let me know how it goes - I'll look into Fiebings.
This may or may not be of help, here is a basic bag I dyed. I did it very haphazardly, I just mixed some dye in with some Apple conditioner and rubbed it in. The coverage is not as smooth as it appears in this picture, but it looks pretty good. I think the unevenness in the color is due more to the state of the leather before I dyed it than my method, though I honestly could have tried harder to even it out. I wasn't very emotionally invested in this bag so I wouldn't have been superheartbroken if it didn't come out. I'm very happy with it now, however.
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-624452-176.html#post21791610
So here's the final deal on my basic bag (or is it zipper clutch? what is the call on this one?)
She was of my two dirty girls:
She came from the eBay seller wrapped in Christmas paper.
Creed with missing glued on serial No:
No major damage:
She looks pretty after her bath:
I was just never happy with her color afterwards. For some reason I don't have a good picture but she was british tan, but it was really just a yellowish greyish dingy color.
So I dyed her (gasp) with Fiebings tan. First I washed, then I just went over with the wool swab that comes with the dye and tried to get it as even as possible. After that, the color looked pretty even, or at least about as even as it did before I did anything...but still a little streaky and spotty.
I let it dry a little more then dropped a little more dye into the last of my apple condioner bottle and rubbed and buffed it in, then finished with Black Rocks. She's soft and supple now and I like the color:
Here's a little close up of the hardware:
I'm kind of thinking of dunking a legacy vachetta now...decision has not been finalized.
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