Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[handbagvirgin1]

And here she is, all done.

I might re-do it tho, because I was a bit of a fraidy-cat with it being my first time and I didn't even dare tackle the little pen marks on the back. And I was pretty gentle with the dirt on the tophandle. But now I'm not afraid anymore, so I might try again and be a bit more aggressive.

Wow, she looks amazing!

 

[m3rma1d]

Good morning ladies! I have a new rehab project to show you.

Nice job!

 

[katev]

Good morning ladies! I have a new rehab project to show you.

The lovely ladies in the Authenticate thread told me this is a vintage satchel from the mid-'80s. The leather was in great shape, but I could tell she had been stored somewhere for a long time, probably with something on top her.

You can see here that one side is misshapen:

Bottom:

Side:

I put her in the bath for about an hour and the water was disGUSTing. It was brown with tons of little particles. I rinsed her and bathed her again, then scrubbed the inside. Rinsed, soaked in clear water, then rinsed again.

Coach leather has the loudest, strangest smell when it's wet. It actually filled the room. I stuffed her and set her in front of an open window to dry. Here's what she looked like wet and stuffed:

And here she is mostly dry and with two coats of Leather CPR:

No flash:

As you can see, that left side still looks a little off. I have no idea how to fix that, so if anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears!

Side:

The smell is mostly gone now that the bag is almost dry, but it's still strong compared to my other leather bags (non-Coach).

Thanks for looking!

She looks great! Keep her stuffed in storage to prevent the misshaping and to the current shape listing even more. I think that a application or two of black rock leather n rich will really help even out the color and cover faded, scuffed areas. Also polishing the hardware with a metal polish like brasso or wenol will do wonders.

Great job!

 

[Jessi319]

Yeah, if I understood her correctly, the W was ok, but she said the authentic ones she had seen were also Outlet stamped, and mine is not. Still a mystery!

hmmm. The way I read it was, the reason she thinks yours is ok, is because the creeds that look the same as yours, happen to have outlet stamps on them making that particular code stamp more "real"-- so yours happened to not be stamped for outlet, but looks like the ones that were...meaning same authentic plant code just by comparison? I hope I'm making sense...and, now that I'm over thinking it LOL, I might ask her to re-word her answer. If she's willing

 

[GoStanford]

Black rock just arrived from eB*y. Is it supposed to be a gray color? Canister had no internal seal or plastic protective lid and the product smells a little funky.

I will try it if someone confirms it should look like this.





Thanks!

 

[Jessi319]

Black rock just arrived from eB*y. Is it supposed to be a gray color? Canister had no internal seal or plastic protective lid and the product smells a little funky.

I will try it if someone confirms it should look like this.



View attachment 1810145

Thanks!

That looks about right. It does have a bit of a 'hard to define' scent.

 

[GoStanford]

That looks about right. It does have a bit of a 'hard to define' scent.

Whew! I have a date with my Rambler's Legacy tonight. I was overly optimistic and thought this initial rehab attempt would take about four days but once I saw the results you all get with Blackrock I ordered it and waited. My reveal will be the slowest one ever!

 

[katev]

Black rock just arrived from eB*y. Is it supposed to be a gray color? Canister had no internal seal or plastic protective lid and the product smells a little funky.

I will try it if someone confirms it should look like this.



View attachment 1810145

Thanks!

Black Rocks does have a strong scent but it fades with time. I had a hard time working with it in the beginning. I applied it much too heavily and it gave the bags a sticky surface that was difficult to eliminate. Docride at the Hermes forum gave me this advice about using Blackrock's:

"Apply a small amount with finger tips, using small circular motions. Work one small area at a time, about 5 inches or so, immediately remove excess with a paper towel. Always be conservative in applications. The "if a little is good then more is better" principle does not apply here. You can always repeat an application after the leather has rested.

Older drier leathers can only take up so much conditioner at a time, so it's best to do thin, light applications and allow the leather to rest in between treatments."

Now it is one of my favorite products for rehabbing vintage bags!

 

[NCBDTeam]

Hey ladies, today I found a pink suede small hobo and it's in great shape but the suede is pretty dirty...any suggestions on how to go about cleaning it up a bit?

 

[bagee]

Hope this all uploads in the right order...

Step 1: Soapy bath in the sink (I was soooo scared but not anymore)

Step 2: Rinse

Step 3: Stuff with towels and sitting on a towel to dry for a coupla days

Step 4: CONDITION!! (man did it ever suck the stuff in)

Step 5: Polished brass with Brasso and Q-Tips & Dremel... Will need to work on this, my background in being a goldsmith had me more used to polishing precious metals... This was different. The only things I managed to get a really high shine on was the ball chain for the hangtag and the bottom part of the turnlock. Oh and I got a drop of Brasso on the leather and FREAKED because it didn't come out right away.... Had to wash/rinse the spot lol

I know this is off subject..but your nails are so cute!!

 

[whateve]

Hey ladies, today I found a pink suede small hobo and it's in great shape but the suede is pretty dirty...any suggestions on how to go about cleaning it up a bit?

I think there are suede cleaners. Most leather products aren't made for suede. I just did a very quick dunk of one with soap and it came out fine. The suede gets a little stiff but you can brush it back to the original texture.

 

[ledobe]

Hey ladies, today I found a pink suede small hobo and it's in great shape but the suede is pretty dirty...any suggestions on how to go about cleaning it up a bit?

I really need to post pix of the suede bag I ran through the washing machine. It came out great. However, the bag was about the same color as the lining so bleeding wasn't an issue.

 

[chowlover2]

Black rock just arrived from eB*y. Is it supposed to be a gray color? Canister had no internal seal or plastic protective lid and the product smells a little funky.

I will try it if someone confirms it should look like this.



View attachment 1810145

Thanks!

That's perfect Blackrock's. I love it. If you want a more traditional wax use Obenauf's. I use both when I rehab. 2 Blackrocks, 1 Obenauf's, 1 Blackrocks and finish with an Obenauf so it's really waterproof.

 

[Porter4]

Had a quick question for those of you that have used Wenol, do you get the one in the red tube, or the ultra soft one in the blue tube? I'm stocking up on supplies

 

[Porter4]

I have my first finished bag and wanted to say thank you to everyone for all the wonderful information on this thread! I bought this bag at my local Goodwill.
I bathed this bag in wool wash and then did an initial conditioning with Leather CPR. I then moved on to a mixture of 1 T Leather CPR with 1/2 tsp Linen acrylic paint mixed in. I used a makeup applicator sponge to apply this in a small circular motion. I used this same ratio with a stiff paintbrush and sponge on the strap edges. Lastly I used Brasso on the metal.
This was authenticated on the Authentication Thread as a Shoulder Pouch from the 1987 Lightweight line, thank you awesome authenticators for your time! It was not a very drastic rehab, just needed a little cleaning, conditioning and cover of minor spots.

Before:

After: