Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[x UHOH X]

No more feeling sorry for me! The Cayman weather has been perfect since Saturday and my Boxy Ladybug Tote has had lots of opportunities to shine!

Yay KateV! I know I'm late to the party, but I really hope you enjoy yourself. And it sounds like you're on your way!

Ok, ladies, I need your opinions. This poor bugger showed up on my doorstep the other day.

I bought it after corresponding with the seller; bought it for $30 plus $9.99 shipping, and the seller advertised it as being "outside has minor scratches." !~?!?! I KNOW i should have asked more questions/asked for more photos, but I was strapped for time. (Not an excuse.) I'm SADLY disappointed at the reality versus the description. Considering she claims to have "worked for Coach for many years", I really have to wonder WHERE in Coach she worked and in what capacity. This poor thing used to be a pretty red color with brown trim. The feeling of the leather is very rough, and she never admitted to ALL FOUR corners of the piping being worn through/broken. (it's broken in one spot, worn in all four.) She offers $10 refund or 100% refund if i send the bag back. I feel bad for the poor bag! Should I suck it up and use it as an experimental project, trying my hand at repairing the piping/leather cover, or what? I know I'm being a snot, but the seller doesn't seem very articulate other than, "I love my bag you can senditback." [sic] !? If you loved it that much, why is it in THIS bad of condition, and why wouldn't you mention the piping problems!?!? Opinions?

 

[ladyash]

send it back!!! I would never be able to get past paying $30 for something with piping damage.

 

[fleurdelis816]

ERrrrr. Send it back! That was grossly misrepresented IMO!

 

[x UHOH X]

I recently rehabbed a vintage leather putty tote and eventually I gave up. I got it clean and looking much better but I still wasn't comfortable with the stains. I just couldn't remove or minimize them enough to make the bag wear-able. Not ink, but quite a few smaller marks and one really nasty big one.

I took it to a cobbler and asked him to dye it black. He is charging me $25. I will get it back next weekend and I hope that I won't regret my decision because I really like this bag. I am sad to lose the beautiful putty color but I couldn't get it looking like I wanted.

Here are the before pics, it was necessary to wet down the creed patch to photograph it. There are some ink marks inside but not too bad.

The big spot I am talking about is at the bottom center of the third photo and you can see it from the inside in the last photo. It is clear but it has actually made the leather hard in the stained area, and conditioner did not help. I was wondering if a can of hairspray leaked inside the bag.

http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee413/katev2/Coach Beige Tote/

Here are the after cleaning and conditioning pics (although I didn't bother to polish the hardware before I took it to the cobbler to be dyed black.) It's clean and it looks better but there are still quite a few marks and spots, and the corners show wear.

http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee413/katev2/Coach Beige Tote/Coach Lite Tote - after cleaning/

I hope that I will still like it when it comes back with a new dye job!

When you get back from vacation, can you post pics of the post-cobbler-dye operation? I'm curious to see how it turned out. And do you still like it?

 

[x UHOH X]

send it back!!! I would never be able to get past paying $30 for something with piping damage.

ERrrrr. Send it back! That was grossly misrepresented IMO!

OHKAY! If you veterans say that, I'm willing to go with returning it! I just feel bad for the poor abused bag.

One other note: this seller said she "cleaned" it with Coach cleaner. I bought one other bag where the leather felt funny (and not in a good ha-ha way.) Does the Coach brand leather cleaner do more damage than good over the long term? It feels rough rather than buttery.

 

[pydbl]

Hello, fellow Coach owners,

I have a briefcase, and its flap needs to be fixed (see picture below). The briefcase is still within the 7 year warranty. I wonder if it's something easy to fix. Thanks!!

 

[x UHOH X]

Hello, fellow Coach owners,

I have a briefcase, and its flap needs to be fixed (see picture below). The briefcase is still within the 7 year warranty. I wonder if it's something easy to fix. Thanks!!

It's hard to tell from the photo: is the stitching letting loose, or is it just chewed up? It doesn't look like a difficult fix if you're looking at doing it yourself. Perhaps a little of the leather glue and some edging to finish the look. I'd wait for the veteran rehab-er opinions, though.

 

[Jessi319]

Yay KateV! I know I'm late to the party, but I really hope you enjoy yourself. And it sounds like you're on your way!

Ok, ladies, I need your opinions. This poor bugger showed up on my doorstep the other day.

?

Yes, send it back! I buy a lot of vintage and used bags on ebay and I only consider the ones that have photos of every angle. I may eat my words in a few days when I receive a couple of bags I just now bought that I did request additional photos of, (was sent photos using a cell phone which helped but seriously, I hate CELL PHONE auction photos)...and they are a BIG MESS, and I knowingly went ahead and bought them LOL.... mainly because they are two of my favorite vintage styles and the price was dirt cheap!! pun intended. Good luck. I don't think there's a fix for piping like this but the bag would have been really cool if fixable!!

 

[chummycheryl]

Hi ladies! I acquired a vintage black coach court bag. Need your advise in getting rid of a little musky smell in the interior of the bag. Will febreeze do the trick?

The leather also needs some polishing and the hardware has some tarnishes. What can I do to restore some shine on it? Thanks!

 

[Jessi319]

Hi ladies! I acquired a vintage black coach court bag. Need your advise in getting rid of a little musky smell in the interior of the bag. Will febreeze do the trick?

The leather also needs some polishing and the hardware has some tarnishes. What can I do to restore some shine on it? Thanks!

Washing is the first step I've used to try and fix odors. Have you seen the links showing step by step photos of cleaning a bag..they will help a LOT! http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/two-70s-80s-made-nyc-bags-going-through-658823.html
and drying properly so that it dries quickly enough to not encourage a mildew effect. Febreeze may or may not work depending on what is causing the actual odor. YOu don't just want to put a "bandaid" on it in other words because it might come back.

 

[x UHOH X]

Hi ladies! I acquired a vintage black coach court bag. Need your advise in getting rid of a little musky smell in the interior of the bag. Will febreeze do the trick?

The leather also needs some polishing and the hardware has some tarnishes. What can I do to restore some shine on it? Thanks!

Washing is the first step I've used to try and fix odors. Have you seen the links showing step by step photos of cleaning a bag..they will help a LOT! http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/two-70s-80s-made-nyc-bags-going-through-658823.html
and drying properly so that it dries quickly enough to not encourage a mildew effect. Febreeze may or may not work depending on what is causing the actual odor. YOu don't just want to put a "bandaid" on it in other words because it might come back.

This gets back to my wondering a while back about the Arm and Hammer carpet powder. I haven't tried it yet, but the bag's musty old-military-book smell lightened up when the bag dried. I'll let you know if the carpet powder works; theoretically, it should absorb the musty odor, not just cover it...but we'll see. I just have to have a spare minute and a vacuum cleaner nearby.

 

[Catia625]

Hi ladies,

I am in serious need of some rescue advice. I purchased a legacy Ali on eBay- the one with blue lining not legacy stripe. When I received it the whiskey/tobacco color was much darker on the flap than the rest of the bag. Being a novice rehabber I used Blackrock to moisturize it back to beautiful and the color is now even all over except for one much darker brown spot. I suspect the seller used camel shoe polish to cover it and that is why the top flap was darker. Of course I can't prove it and since I moisturized away the evidence I can't send it back. I truly LOVE everything about this bag except the brown spot. Is there anything that can make it better? I called Coach customer service and they don't suggest using anything other than a damp clog on this leather. Please help! Thanks!

 

[x UHOH X]

Hi ladies,

I am in serious need of some rescue advice. I purchased a legacy Ali on eBay- the one with blue lining not legacy stripe. When I received it the whiskey/tobacco color was much darker on the flap than the rest of the bag. Being a novice rehabber I used Blackrock to moisturize it back to beautiful and the color is now even all over except for one much darker brown spot. I suspect the seller used camel shoe polish to cover it and that is why the top flap was darker. Of course I can't prove it and since I moisturized away the evidence I can't send it back. I truly LOVE everything about this bag except the brown spot. Is there anything that can make it better? I called Coach customer service and they don't suggest using anything other than a damp clog on this leather. Please help! Thanks!

Can you show us pics? You might need to try dunking the bag (physically washing it), although I'd wait to hear from one of the true veteran rehabbers. Not sure what washing it like that would do in conjunction with the Black Rock.

 

[Jessi319]

Can you show us pics? You might need to try dunking the bag (physically washing it), although I'd wait to hear from one of the true veteran rehabbers. Not sure what washing it like that would do in conjunction with the Black Rock.

I'm curious to see photos also. And I have questions about the Blackrock myself. I've always used Apple or Leather CPR. I just used Blackrock for the first time, and am wondering about it. It left a sort of sticky residue feel that didn't wipe off altogether. And, I wonder about the long term effects of Blackrock since it is a wax. Will it clog the leather over time and hurt it? ...things I should have thought about before trying it, but I know others have had great success in extreme rehab situations

 

[Catia625]

Can you show us pics? You might need to try dunking the bag (physically washing it), although I'd wait to hear from one of the true veteran rehabbers. Not sure what washing it like that would do in conjunction with the Black Rock.

Here you go. Thanks for your help. As you can see the brown spot is much darker than the rest of the bag.