I had read that you could sand leather and being a reckless person, I decided to try it. The bag I did it on is a New York slim tote that is made of that stiffer leather. I was planning on dying the bag so I didn't worry too much about changing the color. When I sanded it, the leather became very light colored and sort of felt like suede so I was worried that I had ruined it. But when I applied the blackrocks, it darkened and smoothed it out so it looked and felt just like the original leather. I didn't need to dye it after all. I would imagine you would have to dye it if it had been any other color than dark brown. I used the finest grit I had on hand, which was 180. I sanded quite a bit, until it was completely smooth.
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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I'm sure those pictures aren't accurate as far as the lightness of the color. I have the same bag, made the same year in the same factory, but a different month, and mine is a lot darker than those pictures - a bright deeper orange, more like the current persimmon color, and a lot like your pictures.
Awesome! That's exactly how I imagined it would go with sanding - with the suede-feel at the end, so it's great to know that blackrock will get smooth in the end. The bag I have in mind to try it on isn't NYC, but it was USA of the older ultra-thick leather, so it should still be doable to some extent. Thank you for the details!
And I'll raise you a LAVENDER 1998 Wendie Zip!
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-694619-804.html#post22270973
She's fresh out of the bath, drying on the lanai (now that the sun has returned after Debby). Still got a little ink on her front pocket, but minimal compared to before. She's been in my collection since 2007, just hiding in the closet. Now she'll get to see the world.
I think this is somewhat what I had in mind when I went over my basic bag with a magic eraser before I touched up the dye. It had that shiny BT finish but the color was very yellowed, I thought if I roughed it up just a little it might absorb the dye better? I guess I wasn't real committed to that bag and willing to experiment a little-even though it's older (mine has the stick on serial number, though the number had fallen off), there's so many of them out there.
Anyway, it came out nice so I guess I didn't ruin it. I just went over it lightly with the magic eraser, mixed a little tan dye with apple conditioner and rubbed it in, and it is sooo soft now.
This is why I shouldn't attempt to rehab light bags, I am never happy with the results! Recently I picked up a white legacy zip in very good condition at a garage sale for $8 (AT link below).
I washed it and it came out much cleaner but still dingy-looking with some scuffs and signs of wear. It took the hangtag to JoAnn's and found that "warm white" acrylic paint was almost a perfect match straight out of the bottle.
I mixed paint and Leather CPR and spent a lot of time painting the bag. I came out much whiter but it looked a bit chalky to me, yet it still didn't cover the flaws as well as I would like!
I probably used too much paint and put it on too heavily. Maybe multiple thin applications would work better?
I scrubbed the paint off and rewashed the bag and it is soaking in rinse water right now. My husband said "isn't that the bag you've spent all this time painting, what the heck are you doing?!"
What a pain, I should stick to dark bags as rehab projects!
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-694619-774.html#post22152284
I washed it and it came out much cleaner but still dingy-looking with some scuffs and signs of wear. It took the hangtag to JoAnn's and found that "warm white" acrylic paint was almost a perfect match straight out of the bottle.
I mixed paint and Leather CPR and spent a lot of time painting the bag. I came out much whiter but it looked a bit chalky to me, yet it still didn't cover the flaws as well as I would like!
I probably used too much paint and put it on too heavily. Maybe multiple thin applications would work better?
I scrubbed the paint off and rewashed the bag and it is soaking in rinse water right now. My husband said "isn't that the bag you've spent all this time painting, what the heck are you doing?!"
What a pain, I should stick to dark bags as rehab projects!
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-694619-774.html#post22152284
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Is it me or do the vintage bags look much classier than the bags that are being produced today? I look at some of the reveals on the other threads and think my bags are so much nicer! And so much more worth the money. In 30 years I don't think anyone will be rehabbing any bags from the last couple years. I don't think they will last that long
Dizzney96 said:Is it me or do the vintage bags look much classier than the bags that are being produced today? I look at some of the reveals on the other threads and think my bags are so much nicer! And so much more worth the money. In 30 years I don't think anyone will be rehabbing any bags from the last couple years. I don't think they will last that long
I totally agree! The leather on the new bags is cheap. Even cheap on the high end stuff, $600 and up. We will not be rehabbing in the future,they will just be filling a landfill somewhere. I think quality really dropped when that Reed Krakoff took over the helm. Of course Coach doesn't make any money if the bags don't wear out, so I think there is a method to their madness.
I'm so excited I found this thread. This is probably one of my favorite things to do. I'm hoping to pick up some good tricks for cleaning and rehabbing. Sometimes I keep my finds and sometimes I sell them. I would keep them all, but my husband is already up in arms about the number I have!
This is obviously a newer bag, but it was quite dirty and actually going to be thrown out when I found it at a thrift store. I've spent some time just cleaning it with soap and water and just a dash of bleach, but it's got some brownish stains here and there. I'm not sure how to get rid of them and I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions. I'll certainly use it the way it is as they aren't that bad, but would like to do better. Thanks in advance!
http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj500/carriem72/885beecoach6.jpg
http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj500/carriem72/885beecoach2.jpg
http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj500/carriem72/885beecoach6.jpg
http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj500/carriem72/885beecoach2.jpg
I'm with you on this one, the thickness of the older ones is fantastic! You can always tell when you pick one up that it's quality.
Cute bag! Did the stains develop after you tried to clean it or were they already there? The reason I ask is because I once tried to rehab a white nylon hamptons bag and the adhesive used on the bag bled onto the white fabric and made yellowish stains when I washed it.
I would pre-treat the stains with Oxy-Clean gel or Shout, tie it up in a pillow case and put it through the washing machine on delicate cycle. When it is done washing I would stuff it with towels and let it dry, then apply conditioner to the leather.
Washing has risks but sometimes the results are worth the risks (IMO). Below is the link with before and after pics of a white linen bag that received multiple trips through the washer. It's up to you if you want to try it or if you are okay living with the stains. Good luck!
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/out-out-damned-spot-even-if-takes-2-a-692432.html
Such a great bag!! But, I'm with ya on the white bag frustration. I"m working on a white bleecker small bucket right now and this is one of the bag styles that I truly love and I carry her tan sister a lot!! Getting this one in white at $20, was a no brainer for me to buy....BUUUT....the slight dingy thing on the edges...just won't totally fix up in the wash, and I'm about to do the acrylic thing and hope for the best. I'll go lightly, having read your post....even though I am impatient to be done with her and show her off!!
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