Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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So. .. What I've learned so far:
1) the Montana oil smells like powdered donuts (I can not make this stuff up)
2) do not use olive oil
3) though the salt and vinegar worked great on the brass. ..Any where it touched leather made salt cakes
4) the Montana oil made my little side pack (call it a scooter but I think it's actually a side pack) look better than new. .. Since I was given it new, I can say this!
5) I'm not sure that I could recommend using the Montana oil on a very dry piece. .. Not yet anyway. .. I'll see what happens to my dinky!
6) my beloved dinky may end up being dyed after all this
Side pack
Hello everyone!
I am new to the Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
I recently purchased the Convertible Clutch in British Tan from the late 1980s that was authenticated by Hyacinth. The bag is in pretty good condition to start with. However, there are still several things I would like to address in order to make the bag "perfect" and need your help with.
1. There are areas of the bag that feel pretty dry, mostly the piping and the bottom of the bag. In order to get the best results from conditioning do I have to give the bag a bath? I already vacuumed it and wiped it with bunch of baby wipes. I have seen others amazing results from bathing the bags, but I am still a bit hesitant
2. Which conditioner, in your opinion, would work best on this type of leather (glove tanned cowhide in British Tan)? Leather CPR vs Leather Therapy vs Leather Honey vs Apple Conditioner.
3. I have Wenol metal polish. I will try to be very careful polishing the brass hardware, but will I ruin the leather if a little bit of the metal polish gets on the leather?
4. I am also considering getting Blackrock Leather 'N' Rich. Will the color darken after using it? I am actually ok if it turns a little darker, what I am really worried about is that it will darken unevenly. Is it really hard to get it on the leather evenly?
5. Is there any way to waterproof this type of leather? I live in Pacific Northwest.
As you can see, I have many questions. I hope to learn a lot from you all. I am very inspired by so many vintage rehab projects. Many thanks in advance!
I am new to the Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
I recently purchased the Convertible Clutch in British Tan from the late 1980s that was authenticated by Hyacinth. The bag is in pretty good condition to start with. However, there are still several things I would like to address in order to make the bag "perfect" and need your help with.1. There are areas of the bag that feel pretty dry, mostly the piping and the bottom of the bag. In order to get the best results from conditioning do I have to give the bag a bath? I already vacuumed it and wiped it with bunch of baby wipes. I have seen others amazing results from bathing the bags, but I am still a bit hesitant
2. Which conditioner, in your opinion, would work best on this type of leather (glove tanned cowhide in British Tan)? Leather CPR vs Leather Therapy vs Leather Honey vs Apple Conditioner.
3. I have Wenol metal polish. I will try to be very careful polishing the brass hardware, but will I ruin the leather if a little bit of the metal polish gets on the leather?
4. I am also considering getting Blackrock Leather 'N' Rich. Will the color darken after using it? I am actually ok if it turns a little darker, what I am really worried about is that it will darken unevenly. Is it really hard to get it on the leather evenly?
5. Is there any way to waterproof this type of leather? I live in Pacific Northwest.
As you can see, I have many questions. I hope to learn a lot from you all. I am very inspired by so many vintage rehab projects. Many thanks in advance!
Attachments
I forgot to mention that the hangtag was missing from the bag, so I requested it through Coach. I actually received two hangtags within a week, but the color wasn’t even close, they were very light. I ended up using some canola oil to darken the leather and the color is close enough now.
Hello everyone!
I am new to the Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
1. There are areas of the bag that feel pretty dry, mostly the piping and the bottom of the bag. In order to get the best results from conditioning do I have to give the bag a bath? I already vacuumed it and wiped it with bunch of baby wipes. I have seen others amazing results from bathing the bags, but I am still a bit hesitant
2. Which conditioner, in your opinion, would work best on this type of leather (glove tanned cowhide in British Tan)? Leather CPR vs Leather Therapy vs Leather Honey vs Apple Conditioner.
3. I have Wenol metal polish. I will try to be very careful polishing the brass hardware, but will I ruin the leather if a little bit of the metal polish gets on the leather?
4. I am also considering getting Blackrock Leather 'N' Rich. Will the color darken after using it? I am actually ok if it turns a little darker, what I am really worried about is that it will darken unevenly. Is it really hard to get it on the leather evenly?
5. Is there any way to waterproof this type of leather? I live in Pacific Northwest.
As you can see, I have many questions. I hope to learn a lot from you all. I am very inspired by so many vintage rehab projects. Many thanks in advance!
There is no need to dunk the bag unless it is misshapen and I can see that it isn't. Leather CPR is my favorite conditioner for most bags but if you already have a conditioner, you can use it. Blackrock is great and helps waterproof the leather. It will most likely even out the color and help the edges. In my experience, any darkening is temporary. It isn't difficult to use if you remember to use it sparingly. The best way is to put it on a smallish area and wipe off immediately with a paper towel before moving to another area. If you want to really waterproof the leather, some people use Obenauf's as the final step. I have used Wenol so I don't know how that will affect the leather. Someone here used adhesive plastic wrap to protect the leather while polishing.
Ok guys. ... feeling very desperate now! Please help! Below is the bag this morning. The Montana oil is barely visible on the bottom now but the hang tag is still dark. The main issue is still the front flap. It was so much dryer than the rest of the purse and is remaining darker as I go along. I've only used the Lexol on it. What are my options at this point? (Besides carry it backwards. .. my husband's suggestion lol)
Bottom (Montana oil)
Front (back was in best shape, front is awful)
Bottom (Montana oil)
Front (back was in best shape, front is awful)
Ok guys. ... feeling very desperate now! Please help! Below is the bag this morning. The Montana oil is barely visible on the bottom now but the hang tag is still dark. The main issue is still the front flap. It was so much dryer than the rest of the purse and is remaining darker as I go along. I've only used the Lexol on it. What are my options at this point? (Besides carry it backwards. .. my husband's suggestion lol)
Bottom (Montana oil)
Front (back was in best shape, front is awful)
I wish I could "feel" that bag's level of dryness. It took me lots of daily, one time each applications to get my color to even out on my Carrier. The healthy leather will be a different color than the dry leather, and without being able to feel it and see it IRL, it's hard to say EXACTLY what level of work you have to do. I guess I need to post some pictures, even though she isn't 100% ready yet, just to show the wild variations! a vintage bag will never look like new. I like vintage patina though. and often, my hangtags darken differently than my bags. I think eventually it will become MORE even but so hard to say when or how, etc.
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I will send it to you so you can love it back to life lol! It's not so dry that it feels brittle or fragile...it's just so much dryer than the rest that anything I put on it soaks right in and makes it darker than the rest. It's snowing now, but I'm going to take it outside in a bit and take pics in natural light.
That article I'd read and followed said to apply conditioner as many times as it takes til the bag just stops sucking it up. Slowly though.
Ok....I'll get back to you next winter then
At least Hyacinth just authenticated the darn thing for me! She's the best...good to know I'm not wasting my time on something made in a counterfeit sweat shop!!!!Hello everyone!
I am new to the Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
1. There are areas of the bag that feel pretty dry, mostly the piping and the bottom of the bag. In order to get the best results from conditioning do I have to give the bag a bath? I already vacuumed it and wiped it with bunch of baby wipes. I have seen others’ amazing results from bathing the bags, but I am still a bit hesitant
2. Which conditioner, in your opinion, would work best on this type of leather (glove tanned cowhide in British Tan)? Leather CPR vs Leather Therapy vs Leather Honey vs Apple Conditioner.
3. I have Wenol metal polish. I will try to be very careful polishing the brass hardware, but will I ruin the leather if a little bit of the metal polish gets on the leather?
4. I am also considering getting Blackrock Leather 'N' Rich. Will the color darken after using it? I am actually ok if it turns a little darker, what I am really worried about is that it will darken unevenly. Is it really hard to get it on the leather evenly?
5. Is there any way to “waterproof” this type of leather? I live in Pacific Northwest.
As you can see, I have many questions. I hope to learn a lot from you all. I am very inspired by so many vintage rehab projects. Many thanks in advance!
looking at the condition of the bag from your photos, and seeing the brass, it almost looks like it was cleaned and polished before you got it. And may just need maintenance. So, yes, a little leather cpr and/or blackrocks on the piping and the occasional touch up of the brass with either a brass polishing cloth (less gloppy mess but milder in results) or I use Weimans, Wrights, Brasso, they all work. The beautiful thing about this type of old Coach leather is, it can be protected with Obenaufs, etc. but the leather can be wiped off after it gets hit with rain, and generally if it hasn't soaked through , causing the dye to "run" and make a water mark, they are pretty hardy in all kinds of weather.
Ok....I'll get back to you next winter then
yeah no kidding. I am dealing with this on ebay right now...I have a bag that I trusted was good and I since I sell dozens of old Coach bags on a regular basis, I hate pestering the authenticators constantly with my requests, so if after doing some of my own research, etc. I feel like a bag is good, I list it, and I have a clause written into my auctions to please feel free to pursue authentification if you are unsure also. Well, one of my auctions just got yanked by ebay. I am sure someone thought they were on a righteous crusade to rid the world of evil bags, but in my case I am truly opposed to fakes and if the person who reported it would have just sent me a little message first, I would have immediately ended the listing, and had it double checked, and wouldn't now have a questionable mark on my record from other sites that monitor sellers records. grrrr. I have become really good at spotting fakes, even really well done ones, but sometimes it takes Hyacinth's and the others' expertise to really see a problem in a plant code, etc. So, I have a basket FULL of beautiful but fake leather coach since I DO try to be careful.
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