Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[Esquared72]

I just measured mine and she's 9.5" high and 6" across the bottom, so the little sis of yours!

I still have some work to do on her before she's fully ready to go...wanna try and do some dabbing at some of her ink marks inside. Wondering if I should wipe her down with some Lysol wipes? She has a little wrinkling on the back so I'm nervous to dunk her for fear the leather will crack, but even though she's in good shape I think I'd feel better if I cleaned her.

 

[ledobe]

I just measured mine and she's 9.5" high and 6" across the bottom, so the little sis of yours!

I still have some work to do on her before she's fully ready to go...wanna try and do some dabbing at some of her ink marks inside. Wondering if I should wipe her down with some Lysol wipes? She has a little wrinkling on the back so I'm nervous to dunk her for fear the leather will crack, but even though she's in good shape I think I'd feel better if I cleaned her.

I thought it looked smaller-super cute!

I've dunked two Cashin for Meyers now and they came out better than before. I just think it adds moisture to the leather and conditioning helps seal it in.

 

[whateve]

I have gotten some new rehab projects. Yay! When this one arrived, DH said it looked like it was 100 years old and should be thrown away! The second picture is drying after her bath! I was surprised at how much color ended up in the water. I also washed a green bag that really bled. Then I washed a black bag from the same era as the green one, and it didn't release any color at all!

 

[ledobe]

I have gotten some new rehab projects. Yay! When this one arrived, DH said it looked like it was 100 years old and should be thrown away! The second picture is drying after her bath! I was surprised at how much color ended up in the water. I also washed a green bag that really bled. Then I washed a black bag from the same era as the green one, and it didn't release any color at all!

Looks better already! Can't wait to see it dry and conditioned!

I think I've only ever dunked two green bags, and neither one really bled at all. Weird how that is, eh?

 

[whateve]

I got another smoky bag. Oops! It said "light smoke smell" on the listing and I just read right over that! She was right about it being a light smoke smell - it wasn't overwhelming. I soaked her for an hour with baking soda and borax, rinsed, resoaked with baking soda, rinsed again, dried with a towel, sprayed with odor remover and she still smells. After she dries, I guess I will put her outside. Do you think the heat (it is close to 100 here during the day) is bad for her? Should I just put her out at night?

However, good news! My red bag that I got several months ago that really reeked from smoke is now smoke free! After I had tried several washings, rubbing with alcohol, odor removers, hanging outside for a week, she still smelled a little. I just set her aside and today, a few weeks later, I can't smell the smoke at all. So there is hope at the end of the tunnel!

 

[gallina66]

I have gotten some new rehab projects. Yay! When this one arrived, DH said it looked like it was 100 years old and should be thrown away! The second picture is drying after her bath! I was surprised at how much color ended up in the water. I also washed a green bag that really bled. Then I washed a black bag from the same era as the green one, and it didn't release any color at all!

Wow what a difference!

 

[ledobe]

I have gotten some new rehab projects. Yay! When this one arrived, DH said it looked like it was 100 years old and should be thrown away! The second picture is drying after her bath! I was surprised at how much color ended up in the water. I also washed a green bag that really bled. Then I washed a black bag from the same era as the green one, and it didn't release any color at all!

I got another smoky bag. Oops! It said "light smoke smell" on the listing and I just read right over that! She was right about it being a light smoke smell - it wasn't overwhelming. I soaked her for an hour with baking soda and borax, rinsed, resoaked with baking soda, rinsed again, dried with a towel, sprayed with odor remover and she still smells. After she dries, I guess I will put her outside. Do you think the heat (it is close to 100 here during the day) is bad for her? Should I just put her out at night?

However, good news! My red bag that I got several months ago that really reeked from smoke is now smoke free! After I had tried several washings, rubbing with alcohol, odor removers, hanging outside for a week, she still smelled a little. I just set her aside and today, a few weeks later, I can't smell the smoke at all. So there is hope at the end of the tunnel!

is it a regular glove tanned leather? I might leave her in the shade or somewhat "supervised" for awhile in the sun, but keep her conditioned. What is the color-do you need to worry about fading?

That perfumy shearling bag I dunked spent quite a bit of time in the sun and it definitely helped, but I may end up dunking her again with vinegar, if only to test it out, she still has a bit of a scent. Fortunately it's not particularly strong, stale, or offensive.

 

[Tomsmom]

I bathed my red satchel and couldn't believe how much red was in the water. I love this thread, so helpful!

 

[whateve]

is it a regular glove tanned leather? I might leave her in the shade or somewhat "supervised" for awhile in the sun, but keep her conditioned. What is the color-do you need to worry about fading?

That perfumy shearling bag I dunked spent quite a bit of time in the sun and it definitely helped, but I may end up dunking her again with vinegar, if only to test it out, she still has a bit of a scent. Fortunately it's not particularly strong, stale, or offensive.

It is a dark green bag and it is the regular glove tanned leather. It is the one that bled a bunch in her bath. If I condition her before I put her outside, will that make it harder to get rid of the smell? When I put my red bag out, I kept it in the shade, but it is still really hot and dry in the shade.

 

[ledobe]

It is a dark green bag and it is the regular glove tanned leather. It is the one that bled a bunch in her bath. If I condition her before I put her outside, will that make it harder to get rid of the smell? When I put my red bag out, I kept it in the shade, but it is still really hot and dry in the shade.

I don't know, it's such a judgement call...I would leave it out and keep an eye on it. The conditioner could seal in some of the oils. You know how it goes, weigh the pros and cons? How dry is the bag to begin with?

I think I would probably end up moving it around, like I did with my shearling bag...I put it in the sun when I was home, and kept it on the shaded patio when I wasn't.

 

[ledobe]

OK, I need to get off the computer, but I know someone here was contemplating cleaning a suede bag and I thought I'd share this. Unfortunately, I don't have before or after pix available right this sec, but I'll post them later.

I machine washed a suede flint edititorial zoe over the weekend. If you don't recall, here is a small zoe in the same color, note the color of the lining:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Authentic-C...008?pt=US_CSA_WH_Handbags&hash=item53edc6f2a8

She came out great! The bag wasn't super dirty, so I almost didn't do it, but I tested the lining, first with a damp wash cloth, then with a wet wash cloth, then I wet part of the lining, and wiped it with a slightly soapy white wash cloth: nothing, so I wrapped her in a pillow case and ran her through! Quite frankly I scare myself some times, especially since that bag has a lot of chain trim. I did remove the strap, there was no reason to have that banging around in the machine.

The reason I'm posting this abbreviated version with no real pix is because I just wanted to mention the part about the lining, Coach must really test and make sure that it doesn't fade.

 

[chowlover2]

I have gotten some new rehab projects. Yay! When this one arrived, DH said it looked like it was 100 years old and should be thrown away! The second picture is drying after her bath! I was surprised at how much color ended up in the water. I also washed a green bag that really bled. Then I washed a black bag from the same era as the green one, and it didn't release any color at all!

She looks 100% better already!

 

[katev]

I got another smoky bag. Oops! It said "light smoke smell" on the listing and I just read right over that! She was right about it being a light smoke smell - it wasn't overwhelming. I soaked her for an hour with baking soda and borax, rinsed, resoaked with baking soda, rinsed again, dried with a towel, sprayed with odor remover and she still smells. After she dries, I guess I will put her outside. Do you think the heat (it is close to 100 here during the day) is bad for her? Should I just put her out at night?

However, good news! My red bag that I got several months ago that really reeked from smoke is now smoke free! After I had tried several washings, rubbing with alcohol, odor removers, hanging outside for a week, she still smelled a little. I just set her aside and today, a few weeks later, I can't smell the smoke at all. So there is hope at the end of the tunnel!

That is encouraging news!

 

[katev]

Here are some pics. First up...the Pocket Purse. My guess is there may be no fix for this. I'm dying to know how the heck it happened! Poor little thing.

View attachment 1814351

Next the Station Bag. First pic shows the pocket pressed flat against the back.


View attachment 1814352

Next pics show it flopped over. You can see in the close up the little nub of leather still on the seam. (ignore the stray thread I haven't snipped yet - it's from the stitching for the strap loop... I checked and that is still sound and securely attached at least!)

View attachment 1814353

Am I without hope? Kind of a bummer that I picked "problem bags" for my venture, but should hopefully make future ones more simple in comparison!

I would probably take both bags to the cobbler just to ask for an opinion and the price of repairs. Then you can decide if you think it is worth it. I'm almost sure that they can repair the torn flap on the station bag because my mahagony patricia was also torn - it wasn't just ripped stitching and now it is fine.

With the chunk missing from the pocket purse, that could be due to dry rot. One option is to build up multiple thin applications of acryllic paint to cover and minimize it.

I know that fieblings sells a leather filler but I have never used it, but below is a post from docride at the Hermes forum, it shows her repair of a kelly with holes on all the corners. She used leather patches, filler, and color, but I haven't tried that yet either.

http://forum.purseblog.com/hermes-r...re-after-repair-photos-no-chatter-687488.html

 

[whateve]

OK, I need to get off the computer, but I know someone here was contemplating cleaning a suede bag and I thought I'd share this. Unfortunately, I don't have before or after pix available right this sec, but I'll post them later.

I machine washed a suede flint edititorial zoe over the weekend. If you don't recall, here is a small zoe in the same color, note the color of the lining:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Authentic-C...008?pt=US_CSA_WH_Handbags&hash=item53edc6f2a8

She came out great! The bag wasn't super dirty, so I almost didn't do it, but I tested the lining, first with a damp wash cloth, then with a wet wash cloth, then I wet part of the lining, and wiped it with a slightly soapy white wash cloth: nothing, so I wrapped her in a pillow case and ran her through! Quite frankly I scare myself some times, especially since that bag has a lot of chain trim. I did remove the strap, there was no reason to have that banging around in the machine.

The reason I'm posting this abbreviated version with no real pix is because I just wanted to mention the part about the lining, Coach must really test and make sure that it doesn't fade.

I think this is only true on the newer bags with the satin linings. They are probably polyester and synthetics are usually colorfast. It is the cotton linings that you have to be careful of. I washed one of those bags with the black striped lining and it bled a little onto the leather.

I was also wondering if there is a point in time when they changed the leather dying process to make that colorfast as well. I was really surprised when my black bag which is probably early 90's didn't release any color at all.