Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[JOODLZ]

I found a 1994 Bottle Green Prairie Bag #9954 (thanks whateve) at Goodwill recently for $14.99 in very good condition - with a hangtag. Before pics are here: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-818914-197.html#post25010059

The strap though, was really fuzzy and beat up. Before I even dunked her, I wanted to clean up the strap edges. I started with cuticle scissors, but that was just a pain in the butt. A little, battery-operated de-fuzzer did the trick, though it created a lot of fuzz that didn’t all go inside the plastic container. Suggestion: if you try this, do it outdoors

She’s still in rehab...more in the next few days.

 

[jailnurse93]

The story goes.... "Rescuing Maggie"

Once upon a time a beautiful, young bag name Maggie sat center stage. People from all around came to admire her beauty. She shined under the spotlight and her sunny saffron color made everyone feel happier when they beheld her. Inside her heart was a hue of elegance, femininity, and grace as though her soul was made of lavendar satin.

Poor Maggie; one day a careless, hap-hazard young woman wandered by and was also struck by her beauty. She felt the suppleness of her leather and smelled the sincerity of her heart and stated to the caretaker. "This is the one I want. She will bring me joy ,envy of my friends, and will look amazing with my new jeans."

The young lady then offered caretaker and coupon and asked, "What do I need to do to make her mine?" Delighted, the young woman carried Maggie away to her home.

And....

The presumed story continues. (Don't you wish your "projects" could talk and share their stories of abuse?) If my story is ridiculous and boring, let me know and I'll request it deleted. If you like it, let me know.



Lovely Maggie was enjoyed for awhile, then the young woman began caring less and less about her. All her friends didn't seem to notice her saffron beauty any longer. Maggie found herself being tossed her and there. The worst day was at the movie theater. Maggie was horrified find herself, not in her own seat, or carefully protected on her best friend's lap, but sat on the floor! It was a dirty, sticky floor!

Ah....like a true tPFer, anthropomorphizing your Coach bag! Poor Maggie

 

[flimlim]

The bags from the 90's are the easiest! You shouldn't have any problem.

Woohoo! Can't wait to get home and clean Thanks whateve!!

 

[ack150]

Red purses tend to shed color so I wouldn't worry about that. It will probably turn the water red when you wash it. I would dunk it now. Then start conditioning before it dries completely.

Boy you weren't kidding on the water turning red! (My only vintage red bag is a legacy zip that was pristine when I got her, and didn't need any rehab) My dad took one look at the clear acrylic tub I was dunking her in, and calmly asked if he was going to need to come up with bail money. Of course, once he realized it was yet another purse, he might have rolled his eyes a bit and muttered something less than flattering - but I perservered!

She's now dry, and I'm working on the large stain (the listing is here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRE-LOVED-C...57FMzE%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_1119wt_1161). Whatever that stain is, it's not going away, but it almost feels like it's on the surface, rather than absorbed - there's no marks on the inside of the bag. Anyway, I'm gently sanding at it, then conditioning, then sanding again, to take it down as much as I can. It looks much better now - the pictures are horrible, the thing looked British Tan, but it's red! It's clearly been used, the color is darkened in places, which I'm sure will even out somewhat with Blackrocks. But, it's still bleeding color when I condition - should I Blackrocks, then spray with Apple? Will that help?

 

[CoachCatcher45]

I don't think it matters that much. If it isn't really dirty and you are afraid of losing color or the bag has some stiffening that you are afraid might soften, then 5 minutes could be enough. Most of the time, I try to soak between 15 and 30 minutes. There are times I forgot I was soaking a bag and it sat there for hours without any bad consequences.

Thank you. It ended up sitting there for almost a hour, of course when I got back all the water had drained but it looks pretty good, just has some uneven color on some sides.

 

[suliabryon]

Hey all,

A few days ago, I paid way too much for a 65th anniversary bag that needs some TLC. I love that entire line, and I love the idea of taking one that's suffered a bit and "saving" it, so I may have let that carry me away a bit when I clicked "buy it now". The bag is on it's way to me now, and I'd like to get a jump start on what I will need for the project. I've already ordered some Blackrocks, and Soilove. I have Apple conditioner and guard on hand.

The bag is a satchel with what is often described as the "thinner" leather that some of this line had., with of course the striped lining. It looks well loved, with some discolorations on the leather (could be dirt, could be something spilled, hard to tell) and at least one ink pen mark on the leather. Here is the listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221252927403?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

I'll take any advice that you experts care to impart.

 

[Daelilly]

The presumed story continues. (Don't you wish your "projects" could talk and share their stories of abuse?) If my story is ridiculous and boring, let me know and I'll request it deleted. If you like it, let me know.



Lovely Maggie was enjoyed for awhile, then the young woman began caring less and less about her. All her friends didn't seem to notice her saffron beauty any longer. Maggie found herself being tossed her and there. The worst day was at the movie theater. Maggie was horrified find herself, not in her own seat, or carefully protected on her best friend's lap, but sat on the floor! It was a dirty, sticky floor!

It was dark on that nasty theater floor! Someone spilled their popcorn and it poured inside poor Maggie.
The young lady bent down and picked her once cherished friend and laughed. She joked about the popcorn not being wasted because most of it landed inside Maggie. Maggie felt the comfort of her best friend's lap while they used her as the popcorn bag. No-one seemed to notice in the dark light of the theater all the little grease marks staining her once feminine, lavender lining. A few pieces of popcorn remained hidden when Maggie was once again placed on floor. This time the floor felt different and damp. Maggie was desperate! She had to get out of there. She wanted to go home! Always before she loved adventure, now she longed for the closet. Eventually, Maggie was lifted sharply by her her sturdy, faithful handles and carried away. The young lady hadn't noticed the struggle Maggie had been enduring. Once at home, Maggie was dropped on the floor of the young lady's bedroom. The dirty and wet bottom of her body found comfort on the soft carpet where she was left to dry. Maggie had never been through any like that before. She longed for the attention of her friend, but.... (More to come)

 

[Suzanne B.]

Boy you weren't kidding on the water turning red! (My only vintage red bag is a legacy zip that was pristine when I got her, and didn't need any rehab) My dad took one look at the clear acrylic tub I was dunking her in, and calmly asked if he was going to need to come up with bail money. Of course, once he realized it was yet another purse, he might have rolled his eyes a bit and muttered something less than flattering - but I perservered!

Spewed my coke!

 

[Daelilly]

Ah....like a true tPFer, anthropomorphizing your Coach bag! Poor Maggie

Yes, we sure care about our "babies".

 

[Daelilly]

Spewed my coke!

HAHA! I posted a pic of my bag being dyed red and it was deleted by the moderators!

 

[netlawyer]

Boy you weren't kidding on the water turning red! (My only vintage red bag is a legacy zip that was pristine when I got her, and didn't need any rehab) My dad took one look at the clear acrylic tub I was dunking her in, and calmly asked if he was going to need to come up with bail money. Of course, once he realized it was yet another purse, he might have rolled his eyes a bit and muttered something less than flattering - but I perservered!

Your dad's a funny one, for sure. I feel you on the bleeding bag. I decided to shoot the moon and give a teal nubuc purse, wristlet and wallet baths yesterday. I was stained blue above the wrists! Things are taking a long time to dry because it is so humid here, but will start some brushing to raise the nap later today to see how they turned out.

In the photo you can see my current set - two purses, wristlet and wallet. The clean purse on top I've had for about ten years and have taken good care of. I bought the wallet at the same time but really moved into it so it got dirty and shiny from use. The other purse and wristlet are new to me and are comparable to the wallet. Will post more when I have results.

ETA: Even after all these years I think this teal (which was called peacock on some bags) combined with the chartreuse lining is my favorite color combination that I've ever seen from Coach.

 

[whateve]

Your dad's a funny one, for sure. I feel you on the bleeding bag. I decided to shoot the moon and give a teal nubuc purse, wristlet and wallet baths yesterday. I was stained blue above the wrists! Things are taking a long time to dry because it is so humid here, but will start some brushing to raise the nap later today to see how they turned out.

In the photo you can see my current set - two purses, wristlet and wallet. The clean purse on top I've had for about ten years and have taken good care of. I bought the wallet at the same time but really moved into it so it got dirty and shiny from use. The other purse and wristlet are new to me and are comparable to the wallet. Will post more when I have results.

ETA: Even after all these years I think this teal (which was called peacock on some bags) combined with the chartreuse lining is my favorite color combination that I've ever seen from Coach.

I love these!

 

[whateve]

Boy you weren't kidding on the water turning red! (My only vintage red bag is a legacy zip that was pristine when I got her, and didn't need any rehab) My dad took one look at the clear acrylic tub I was dunking her in, and calmly asked if he was going to need to come up with bail money. Of course, once he realized it was yet another purse, he might have rolled his eyes a bit and muttered something less than flattering - but I perservered!

She's now dry, and I'm working on the large stain (the listing is here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRE-LOVED-C...57FMzE%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_1119wt_1161). Whatever that stain is, it's not going away, but it almost feels like it's on the surface, rather than absorbed - there's no marks on the inside of the bag. Anyway, I'm gently sanding at it, then conditioning, then sanding again, to take it down as much as I can. It looks much better now - the pictures are horrible, the thing looked British Tan, but it's red! It's clearly been used, the color is darkened in places, which I'm sure will even out somewhat with Blackrocks. But, it's still bleeding color when I condition - should I Blackrocks, then spray with Apple? Will that help?

I've had bags that bleed when I condition, but I've never had a problem with the color rubbing off when I carried it. What are you sanding it with? Is it changing the texture? The problem I've had with sanding is that when I condition that part, it ends up darker than the rest.

 

[whateve]

I found a 1994 Bottle Green Prairie Bag #9954 (thanks whateve) at Goodwill recently for $14.99 in very good condition - with a hangtag. Before pics are here: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-818914-197.html#post25010059

The strap though, was really fuzzy and beat up. Before I even dunked her, I wanted to clean up the strap edges. I started with cuticle scissors, but that was just a pain in the butt. A little, battery-operated de-fuzzer did the trick, though it created a lot of fuzz that didn’t all go inside the plastic container. Suggestion: if you try this, do it outdoors

She’s still in rehab...more in the next few days.

Great idea! I have one of these de-fuzzers someplace.

 

[ack150]

I've had bags that bleed when I condition, but I've never had a problem with the color rubbing off when I carried it. What are you sanding it with? Is it changing the texture? The problem I've had with sanding is that when I condition that part, it ends up darker than the rest.

Just a very fine grade sandpaper, nothing fancy. I can't say that it's changing the texture much - the parts feel a bit smoother, but then, they had a slightly stiff stain on them before. I'm really only trying to take down the stain, not even out the surface - I know some of you more experienced rehabbers have used sanding for more intricate resurfacing, I'm no trying to sand the leather itself, if that makes any sense. And I didn't sand much, basically I went over it with the paper a few times, then conditioned, then repeated, until I was happy with it. I was hoping the sandpaper would loosen the stain, and the conditioner would help remove it, or blend it in better, and I think that has worked.

I think I'm going to leave as is, the bag itself has darkened considerably, because it was so dry, and the stain doesn't bother me (because the red has totally won me over, I loves it so!). Now onto blackrocks, which might hide the stain further.

Thanks for all your reassurances!