Well, maybe this will help, here is my Musette, fresh out of the package:
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-624452-252.html#post22152745
I didn't take a lot of before pix. The spots on her seemed to be some sort of oil, but they were all over the bag, front, back inside. It looked like it had splashed, but there is no natural way I can think of that it would have splashed on the flap, under the flap, inside...so who knows what happened. Other than that, the leather was smooshy soft, not at all dry.
I can't tell you how many times I soaked, washed, ran through the washing machine, conditioned...but the spots actually seemed to get darker. I actually carried it this way, I like the idea of this bag being sort of weathered, but not if it looks dirty...so I've been asking m3rm about the leather refinisher and finally took the plunge last week. I actually ran the bag, without the strap, through the washer one more time, because I know she at least had a coat of Black Rocks on her, though I can't remember exactly what else I used at this point. I didn't notice any darkening of the leather at all with BR, as the leather was in soft condition, not at all dry.
So, anyway, I took some real quick shots before I started again:
This is the bottom back corner, the picture is blurry, there is actually a pretty big spot right here:
and here is a horrible close up shot.
I put the bag in the washing machine with just a little soap, warm water, in a pillow case and with a bunch of towels. With a big bag like this I actrually feel like it's hard on the leather to pull on it a lot when it's heavy and wet.
Then I let it dry for a few hours, and started with the leather refinisher when it was damp. I was actually trying to keep some of the burnished look to the leather. I put two light coats several hours apart. I could have put another coat on to cover everything. I also skipped putting it on the strap. I tested it on the piping and I didn't really cover all of it very well, but there are no visible lines where the coverage ends. I didn't bother with the crease between the pockets and it was such a good match that you really can't tell.
I actually let it dry for a couple of days and then carefully tested out using Black Rocks over it. Some of the color lifted but not much. It was something I just wanted to try to see if I can bring up some of the shine in the leather. Anyway, I think I'm done:
I think the dark on the left of this picture is either my phone's camera, or some sort of shadow. The color is even. Note the spots are not visible
Here's the bottom, which actually had the worst big spot. Again, the darker part is from my phone, I think (I flipped the other picture, so the dark spot is on the same side of the "camera")
Here you can compare the strap, which I didn't treat, with the rest of the bag. You can't tell:
You can't tell from the picture but you can still see the spots if you know they are there, there is a difference in the texture of the leather. I think another coat might have covered it. However, like I've said, I kind of want this bag to look a little burnished, and I didn't want to stiffen it. I'm quite happy as is. I also didn't put the refinisher on the handle on the top, and you can't tell. It was a little burnished anyway so it looks normal, and I didn't want to mess around with the additional stitching and other details.
