Looks like a cat with issues got a hold of it!! 2 years ago I had a cat -and zero Coach bags (hard to believe). We no longer have the cat, I now have a house full of Coaches, and no matter how hard my son begs for a pet, I truly don't want to go back to having my stuff scratched all to hell, or peed on, or whatever. grrrr. I'm a curmudgeon-mean mommy..., even though in another life, I love kitties.
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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Looks like a cat with issues got a hold of it!! 2 years ago I had a cat -and zero Coach bags (hard to believe). We no longer have the cat, I now have a house full of Coaches, and no matter how hard my son begs for a pet, I truly don't want to go back to having my stuff scratched all to hell, or peed on, or whatever. grrrr. I'm a curmudgeon-mean mommy..., even though in another life, I love kitties.
Hello all! I have a rehab that's about 90% done. Pics in a second.
The backstory is that I had been stalking the Coach City Bag on the Coach website. I only recently got into handbags (hence my screenname), and I found that I was more drawn to the classic styles than trendy ones.
Anyhoo, my dh asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him. He made plans to take me to the Coach store, but I have a tendency to get nervous about paying full price for things, and that's exactly what happened. I came here to see if I could find any information about Coach sales and outlets, etc. Then I came across a few threads discussing the how much better the leather quality was on the old Coaches.
I started thinking...why should I pay full price for a new Coach that would be of lesser quality? To make a long story short, I found THIS thread, read every page, then made a decision. I wanted a vintage Coach City.
I found one on ebay, had it authenticated here, and bought. When she finally arrived, I had a moment of intense panic because she was pretty...deflated, for lack of a better word. Soft, flimsy, flat, and very blah. I thought oh no, what have I done?
I bathed her, rinsed her, stuffed her, and let her dry to about 70%, then I massaged some Leather CPR in and polished the brass. Once she's fully dry I'm going to condition her again and touch up the straps with some black acrylic paint.
I'm in love! I'm SO happy with her and I can't thank you ladies enough for the wealth of information here.
Thanks for reading that long, boring story! And now, here she is, before:
And after:
I'll be getting some paint from Michael's tomorrow to touch up a few areas. I can't wait to start using her!!!
Unfortunately, there is a sad ending to this story. I have been bitten by the rehab bug and there are currently 14 items on my watch list. It's not looking too good for me at the moment.
Congratulations, it came out beautiful! You saved some $ and likely have a bag that will last just as long or longer than the new ones.
Wow, that's crazy, I don't think a cat could have done that in such an orderly fashion, I'm going with cutting board, or someone made their partner really, really, mad.
Hi, I've moved your request over to the Rehab and Rescue thread because there are lots of folks here that may be able to offer root beer removal suggestions!
Can you post photos of the bag (inside and out) so that we can see the damage? Are you sure that is the correct number? That doesn't sound like a genuine Coach bag number.
There is a service that will clean expensive bags but it is costly and that may not be necessary. For the price of the professional cleaning it might be smarter to invest in a replacement bag. Here is the link:
http://www.lovinmybags.com/forhandlesonly.html
I know what you mean about cats. My calico, who was very special to me, scratched up all my expensive Oriental carpets and leather chairs. Now I have another cat and he rarely scratches anything.
For a maintenance-free pet, you can't beat my desert tortoise. He lives in the backyard and eats the grass, weeds, and any fruit that falls off the trees. I can go on vacation and leave him and know he can take care of himself.
Here are my big tote, "not really rehabs":
This bag was slightly dingy, so I would have washed no matter what, but really needed reshaping. You can kind of tell in these pix that she had sorta collapsed on herself, and kinda developed "feet" sticking out from a long robe or something:
This side had something that looked like a water spot, which unfortunately didn't come out in the "Maytag Jacuzzi"
Inside wasn't at all bad:
This bag was slightly dingy, so I would have washed no matter what, but really needed reshaping. You can kind of tell in these pix that she had sorta collapsed on herself, and kinda developed "feet" sticking out from a long robe or something:
This side had something that looked like a water spot, which unfortunately didn't come out in the "Maytag Jacuzzi"
Inside wasn't at all bad:
This one didn't seem at all dirty, I mostly just washed it to reshape.
This is a gorgeous bag! Those braided handles and the big buckles - is it a Soho tote? The leather looks thick and rich and strong. Wow!
Question to all you experienced rehabbers - what, in your opinion, makes up a desirable patina? According to what I've tried, patina includes wear from oxidation, sunshine, absorption of liquids and oils, scuffs and scratches. I ask because I am in the process of rehabbing an unlined Rambler's Legacy and after two coats of Leather CPR over 12 hours plus exposure to sunlight through a window and lots of air circulation, it definitely still has scuffs along lots of the piping. I don't think I'm brave enough to try acrylic paint/Edgekote/Fiebings dye as many of you have mentioned. At a distance this wear is not that visible, but something about seeing the natural leather under the surface bothers me. The shape is really great now that it's drying, though, and the inner suede seems much cleaner and has almost no lint.
I ran the lightweight in the washer, and just dunked the soho in...the BATHTUB! It's a huge bag and would have fit in the sink, but I figured I'd have more room to swish her around and such in the tub. Since I was mostly just reshaping, I just used a little soap and then rinsed well. The leather felt kind of "waxy" when wet, but absorbed water evenly. I wasn't really too worried about the brown lining bleeding on the brown leather, but since I have yet to experience any lining bleeding issues, I didn't really expect it to bleed at all.
It weighed a ton, so after I rinsed it, I propped it sorta upside down over the bathtub faucets to drip, and hung the straps (which I had removed) over the back of a chair outdoors. They dried pretty fast, probably because they didn't absorb a ton of water, so by the time I went to bed I felt like the bag had dripped enough, and the straps were dry enough, that wouldn't stress them if I reattached and hung the bag to dry. So I left it outside to dry.
It was mostly dry in the morning, it seemed like it didn't need conditioning, but I did rub in some leather CPR and it soaked it up.
Here are the afters:
The Soho is standing up on her own and I should have stuffed her:
There is a small slice on the backside of the lightweight bag. I don't think I will be able to fix this, but it's on the backside and just looks like a scratch.
Again, I mostly just washed these to reshape and freshen. I only posted pix here to document because these are two styles we don't see rehabbed very often.
I am thinking about whether or not to "BlackRocks" the lightweight bag. I probably will, to protect the leather, but have not yet done so. If it looks significantly different I'll probably post pix.
It weighed a ton, so after I rinsed it, I propped it sorta upside down over the bathtub faucets to drip, and hung the straps (which I had removed) over the back of a chair outdoors. They dried pretty fast, probably because they didn't absorb a ton of water, so by the time I went to bed I felt like the bag had dripped enough, and the straps were dry enough, that wouldn't stress them if I reattached and hung the bag to dry. So I left it outside to dry.
It was mostly dry in the morning, it seemed like it didn't need conditioning, but I did rub in some leather CPR and it soaked it up.
Here are the afters:
The Soho is standing up on her own and I should have stuffed her:
There is a small slice on the backside of the lightweight bag. I don't think I will be able to fix this, but it's on the backside and just looks like a scratch.
Again, I mostly just washed these to reshape and freshen. I only posted pix here to document because these are two styles we don't see rehabbed very often.
I am thinking about whether or not to "BlackRocks" the lightweight bag. I probably will, to protect the leather, but have not yet done so. If it looks significantly different I'll probably post pix.
Thanks! It's a monster: 10050 XL SOHO Tobacco Braided Pocket Tote: approximately 15X9X12
What color is the bag? If you have pix it helps too. Sometimes BlackRocks makes a WORLD of difference on the piping, especially depending on the color. I'm more tolerant of patina than others, I think, some people I think are trying to restore to "like new", in general I don't mind if the bag looks like *I* have been carrying it around for a lil while, and I kind of like the "natural characteristics" of leather...however I can't stand stinky dirty bags, especially other peoples stinky dirty. I think that explains my tendency to dump any bag in the washing machine..lol
Here is a picture that compares what BlackRocks did for the piping on my Legacy Bridget. The left side is untreated, the right is treated. All I did was rub in one coat:
Here is a picture that compares what BlackRocks did for the piping on my Legacy Bridget. The left side is untreated, the right is treated. All I did was rub in one coat:
That is fantastic! I contacted a local equestrian shop to ask if they carry it, but they are closed today. Thanks for posting such a great comparison. I am going to try to get savvy with photos and the Purseforum App so I can post as well!
I bought this bag on the 'bay. It was described as 'like new' with no rips, stains or tears. Well, it has rips, stains and tears! 
I need help ladies. Here are some pictures...
It is (was) a lovely vintage, made in Italy, travel bag. I saw this post http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/my-new-gramercy-travel-satchel-376567.html#post8418225 and I began hunting for one like it. To see the loveliness of how this bag used to look makes me feel really sorry for this one. (Plus the fact that I was outright lied to on the 'bay). I saw katev rehab'ed a bag that was similar to this one, so I have hope that I can at least make it look decent. As it is right now, there are stains all over it, both inside and out, and it has a rip inside the inside pocket, (so if I keep that zipped closed, no one would know but me). There looks like red nail polish stains on the exterior and blue ink stains inside. Lastly, the first picture shows scuff marks/deep scratches that are all over this bag. What did they do to this poor baby???
Anyway, I am a newbie, and really could use some advice.
Thank you all for your input.
I need help ladies. Here are some pictures...
It is (was) a lovely vintage, made in Italy, travel bag. I saw this post http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/my-new-gramercy-travel-satchel-376567.html#post8418225 and I began hunting for one like it. To see the loveliness of how this bag used to look makes me feel really sorry for this one. (Plus the fact that I was outright lied to on the 'bay). I saw katev rehab'ed a bag that was similar to this one, so I have hope that I can at least make it look decent. As it is right now, there are stains all over it, both inside and out, and it has a rip inside the inside pocket, (so if I keep that zipped closed, no one would know but me). There looks like red nail polish stains on the exterior and blue ink stains inside. Lastly, the first picture shows scuff marks/deep scratches that are all over this bag. What did they do to this poor baby???
Anyway, I am a newbie, and really could use some advice.
Thank you all for your input.
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I ran the lightweight in the washer, and just dunked the soho in...the BATHTUB! It's a huge bag and would have fit in the sink, but I figured I'd have more room to swish her around and such in the tub. Since I was mostly just reshaping, I just used a little soap and then rinsed well. The leather felt kind of "waxy" when wet, but absorbed water evenly. I wasn't really too worried about the brown lining bleeding on the brown leather, but since I have yet to experience any lining bleeding issues, I didn't really expect it to bleed at all.
It weighed a ton, so after I rinsed it, I propped it sorta upside down over the bathtub faucets to drip, and hung the straps (which I had removed) over the back of a chair outdoors. They dried pretty fast, probably because they didn't absorb a ton of water, so by the time I went to bed I felt like the bag had dripped enough, and the straps were dry enough, that wouldn't stress them if I reattached and hung the bag to dry. So I left it outside to dry.
It was mostly dry in the morning, it seemed like it didn't need conditioning, but I did rub in some leather CPR and it soaked it up.
Here are the afters:
The Soho is standing up on her own and I should have stuffed her:
There is a small slice on the backside of the lightweight bag. I don't think I will be able to fix this, but it's on the backside and just looks like a scratch.
Again, I mostly just washed these to reshape and freshen. I only posted pix here to document because these are two styles we don't see rehabbed very often.
I am thinking about whether or not to "BlackRocks" the lightweight bag. I probably will, to protect the leather, but have not yet done so. If it looks significantly different I'll probably post pix.
Beautiful, big bags! Great job!
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