Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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I finally finished the rehab on my Chelsea Turnlock Small Hobo. I got her off Etsy for $27 inc. shipping. She looked very good, except the prior owner had spilled coffee on her. I felt like she would clean up nicely, or at the very least, I could blend in the coffee stain with some Blackrocks. Here she is before:
And here she is after! The coffee stain is gone. The lining was already very clean, so I didn't do anything to it. There wasn't any bleeding of the dye from the leather onto the lining, although I do think the yellow lining became more golden and less bright yellow than before. I soaked her in some Dawn and warm water, rinsed, and rubbed Leather Therapy into her when she as drying. I was uneven in the application at first, and got panicky that I'd made her look worse than before. I did a few more applications of Lexol conditioner, and she evened out. In the sunshine, her color is more uniform; inside, I still notice some areas that are a little uneven, but I'm calling it done.
I hadn't realized how faded she was until I cleaned and conditioned her. The leather under the front pocket was darker than the rest of the bag, but now they are a pretty close match.
I hadn't realized how faded she was until I cleaned and conditioned her. The leather under the front pocket was darker than the rest of the bag, but now they are a pretty close match.
Another rehab I finished (I hate taking pictures, so I save all these up. Sorry if it's too much at once!). This is the before of a Swagger bag I picked up at Goodwill for $13.50. I only took the one before photo, where you can see she is kind of squashed and the corners are scuffed:
She looks brand new!And here she is after! The coffee stain is gone. The lining was already very clean, so I didn't do anything to it. There wasn't any bleeding of the dye from the leather onto the lining, although I do think the yellow lining became more golden and less bright yellow than before. I soaked her in some Dawn and warm water, rinsed, and rubbed Leather Therapy into her when she as drying. I was uneven in the application at first, and got panicky that I'd made her look worse than before. I did a few more applications of Lexol conditioner, and she evened out. In the sunshine, her color is more uniform; inside, I still notice some areas that are a little uneven, but I'm calling it done.
I hadn't realized how faded she was until I cleaned and conditioned her. The leather under the front pocket was darker than the rest of the bag, but now they are a pretty close match.
Great job! It is so much trickier doing these newer bags that are lined. This is such a cute bag!And here she is after! The coffee stain is gone. The lining was already very clean, so I didn't do anything to it. There wasn't any bleeding of the dye from the leather onto the lining, although I do think the yellow lining became more golden and less bright yellow than before. I soaked her in some Dawn and warm water, rinsed, and rubbed Leather Therapy into her when she as drying. I was uneven in the application at first, and got panicky that I'd made her look worse than before. I did a few more applications of Lexol conditioner, and she evened out. In the sunshine, her color is more uniform; inside, I still notice some areas that are a little uneven, but I'm calling it done.
I hadn't realized how faded she was until I cleaned and conditioned her. The leather under the front pocket was darker than the rest of the bag, but now they are a pretty close match.
And here is Miss Swagger after. She looks more red in the photos than she really is. She is more brown with red undertones than red/burgundy. Sadly, she is not a good bag for me. I'm short with big boobs, and she lays all wrong on me. Not sure what I'll do with her yet! (I forgot to add her hangtag for the photo. Oops!)
Oh, one thing I did on the swagger than probably sounds nuts is...I used a lighter on the strap to burn off the ragged ends. You know how sometimes the strap edges look kind of "fuzzy" after the edgekote wears off? Well, I saw a photo from a book about the Coach factory, where the worker was using a flame to burn off loose strings, and I thought "Why the heck not?". It worked really well, and no damage to the strap. It is much smoother than anything I could have done with scissors.
These are pictures after she has been bathed and worked on some. There are still two major problems: a spot on the left side of the flap that has worn smooth and a spot on the back that is hard like something yucky got spilled on it. At this point, I don't know what to do. For the smooth spot on the flap, I have tried sanding it to retexturize it but it didn't work. It just ended up lightening it and making it more noticeable. I am thinking about shaving another piece of suede and gluing the pieces on! The spot on the back is somewhat better but still has a hard part and you can still see a circular area that looks different from the rest. I am open to suggestions of what I can do next.
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This one looks great too! I am always misplacing the hangtags. I remove them to do the rehab and then I can't remember which bag they go with. Sometimes I take them with me to the store to match paint and then when I get home, I can't find them.And here is Miss Swagger after. She looks more red in the photos than she really is. She is more brown with red undertones than red/burgundy. Sadly, she is not a good bag for me. I'm short with big boobs, and she lays all wrong on me. Not sure what I'll do with her yet! (I forgot to add her hangtag for the photo. Oops!)
And here she is after! The coffee stain is gone. The lining was already very clean, so I didn't do anything to it. There wasn't any bleeding of the dye from the leather onto the lining, although I do think the yellow lining became more golden and less bright yellow than before. I soaked her in some Dawn and warm water, rinsed, and rubbed Leather Therapy into her when she as drying. I was uneven in the application at first, and got panicky that I'd made her look worse than before. I did a few more applications of Lexol conditioner, and she evened out. In the sunshine, her color is more uniform; inside, I still notice some areas that are a little uneven, but I'm calling it done.
I hadn't realized how faded she was until I cleaned and conditioned her. The leather under the front pocket was darker than the rest of the bag, but now they are a pretty close match.
Nice job!! I have this bag in dark brown..the leather is so soft and nice!!
I LOVE these old suede bags, but yeah, what a challenge...!! I wish I knew more about fixing up suede since I love it so much.
Yep, you've discovered a GREAT tip for thread fixing! It's not something I"ve tried yet, but I know others here do it a lot. This bag turned out beautifully! It should either resell well, or maybe you'll ignite some vintage Coach love in one of your friends like I have mine!! I just gave my bff a vintage Janice Legacy and she is so in love and carries her everywhere. Makes me feel good
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