Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[CoachCatcher45]

She's turning out to be a much bigger problem than I once thought. She has soilove on her in the picture but it was taking her color off. It's for my mother so she said it would be okay to dye it. Does anyone have any advice?
I gave her a bath...idk what to do

 

[flimlim]

I was going to go home to dunk this bag, but I figured I'd get any pointers beforehand if anyone's worked on a lighter color blue. It's not navy - more like a slate blue. Any products I should/shouldn't use on a lighter color?

It's a photo of the creed since it's closer to the true color of the bag. Thanks!

 

[jailnurse93]

Soooo.... got this today. Poor thing was listed forever and I finally decided to save it. Dumb. No really.

Oh, I saw this one! I was like, 'what on God's green earth.....?' I guess they tried to fix it at one point. I cannot wait to see it after you work your magic!

 

[jailnurse93]

She just sat there drying out. The next morning her the young woman finished getting ready for the day and grabbed Maggie. She remembered the popcorn that had spilled in the bag and looked inside to make sure it was all cleaned out. The young lady was very disappointed when she grease spots all over the inside of her bag. It even smelled funny now. She held up Maggie and gave her a good look and then she saw the bottom of her once favorite bag. All water stained and soiled. She thought about where it sat last night a vaguely remembered someone behind her spilling their soda. It had ruined the smooth saffron finish. The color looked all blotchy, dark in spots and washed out in others. Oh, how could I be so careless thought the woman. I can't use it like this. She quickly changed her items into another bag. Maggie found herself being stuffed into a shopping bag; Lonely, isolated and empty. Later that day, Maggie heard another woman's voice. She listened and learned she was being placed in a second hand store. Oh Maggie thought how could this be? She heard discussions about eBay.

What's going on? A camera was busy taking pictures of her from all angles. Inside, outside, bottom, left side, right side, and even her "badge of honor". Maggie was carefully wrapped and placed in a box. All was quiet. Days went by then weeks. Maggie's box was being moved. Bumped, banged, and then she felt like she was flying. More bumps and bangs. All was quiet again. Stifling heat was drying her leather and she needed out of that box! Finally the box opened...

Maggie felt the touch of caring hands. She felt the slather of moisturizers. Her leather was soft and supple. Her lining was carefully being scrubbed and blotted dry. But her scars from her neglect remained... (The saga continues and remains unsolved)

I do wonder about the history of the handful of vintage Coach that I have. I have a 96 Beekman that looked really, really beat up but it had good 'bones' left to it.....the piping was intact and such.....I wonder who owned it and what they did for a living? Doctor, lawyer and business executive? And they're all made out of ticky-tacky......oh, wait. That's the theme song from "Weeds". LOL

I am currently working on a City Bag in Coach's color "Putty". I've had much success at making a couple of Mahogany bags and a British Tan bag look very nice but I'm struggling to get this Putty color to look good....

 

[Daelilly]

I do wonder about the history of the handful of vintage Coach that I have. I have a 96 Beekman that looked really, really beat up but it had good 'bones' left to it.....the piping was intact and such.....I wonder who owned it and what they did for a living? Doctor, lawyer and business executive? And they're all made out of ticky-tacky......oh, wait. That's the theme song from "Weeds". LOL

I am currently working on a City Bag in Coach's color "Putty". I've had much success at making a couple of Mahogany bags and a British Tan bag look very nice but I'm struggling to get this Putty color to look good....

Yes, trying to match a color to touch up is very hard. The older coaches sure have some character. It will be fun to clean up the City Bag.

 

[Tetondeb]

Oh no! Another story. If it could only talk. That purse has some character. It's been around awhile. Good luck repairing her. Her leather appears strong, just needs some stitching. I have a friend who repairs and sews saddles. Sometimes she hand stitches the leather parts rather than use the machine.

I'm fortunate to live in the Rodeo capital of the world. .. or at least the Rodeo leather maker's capital. I have access to some of the best leather smiths and their knowledge. I'll give her a go but I'm not too proud to let a pro finish her if I can't!

 

[JOODLZ]

Though not the rehab success I had hoped for, this bone MFF Soho Pleated Hobo #F13730 was interesting nonetheless. What I thought was dirt, was actually worn-off surface areas of the leather, so I did a lot of “finger painting” with a mixture of Leather CPR and Linen acrylic. Before photos are here: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-818914-197.html#post25010086.

While she was still a little damp, after a warm bath in Dawn and a little scrubbing with Soilove, I started conditioning with a mixure of Leather CPR and Linen acrylic...I had used Linen acrylic for several earlier restorations and it is a perfect match for this color bag! I made 2 mixtures, one with more conditioner for overall use, and one with more paint for touching up the more worn areas. As when I used this technique before, the issue is working quickly enough while the surface is wet, otherwise applying the heavier paint mixture, sometimes refuses to stay put and actually refuses to stick. It’s certainly not perfect, but a marked improvement and has given me a bag I will be happy to carry. I also made use of an old-school typewriter eraser. (this one’s been around for years...do they even make them - or typewriters - anymore?) on a couple of ink marks Soilove failed to remove. By gently using the eraser with a circular, uplifting motion, I was able to make a great improvement in the marks. I would NOT recommend using this on a dark colored bag, but here it worked pretty well. Last of all I touched up the dark brown edging with Raw Umber tube-style acrylic paint.

I have learned a couple of important lessons through all this. First, I would NEVER buy a brand-new bag this color. It would kill me to take her out of the house, fearing that first spot or splatter. I have no worries with this one...I’ll just have fun with her and, if I have to do her over down the road, I will! And second, I am much happier rehabbing older Coach bags...the leather is much more forgiving and IMHO more age-defying and beautiful!

 

[flimlim]

General question - at what point do you use Soilove? After the initial soak or before? Directly onto the spot? Thanks!

 

[shom33]

Hello ladies! I am new to this forum & just bought my first 2 vintage coach bags! I'm wondering what is the best way to clean them. They are the 1998 coach beaumont satchel in black & in brown (not sure the exact shade). They are both in excellent shape, I just have a fear of germs & would like to make the leather buttery soft! I read the first 30 pages & this is my plan (please add anything I missed as I am new to pre loved bags!)
1. vacuum the inside of the bag
2. wipe down the bag to get rid of germs (not sure what brand of wipes is best or what ingredients to avoid)
3. stuff with newspaper & put into a cotton pillowcase with opened baking soda to get rid of musty smell
4. apply apple conditioner & buff in with cotton cloth?
5. spray with apple garde

also, the brass hardware looks like it needs some help! would the brand wenol metal polish do the best job?

thank you for reading my long post! I look forward to reading the responses

fyi I am officially obsessed with coach vintage now thanks to these bags!

 

[JOODLZ]

Hello ladies! I am new to this forum & just bought my first 2 vintage coach bags! I'm wondering what is the best way to clean them. They are the 1998 coach beaumont satchel in black & in brown (not sure the exact shade). They are both in excellent shape, I just have a fear of germs & would like to make the leather buttery soft! I read the first 30 pages & this is my plan (please add anything I missed as I am new to pre loved bags!)
1. vacuum the inside of the bag
2. wipe down the bag to get rid of germs (not sure what brand of wipes is best or what ingredients to avoid)
3. stuff with newspaper & put into a cotton pillowcase with opened baking soda to get rid of musty smell
4. apply apple conditioner & buff in with cotton cloth?
5. spray with apple garde

also, the brass hardware looks like it needs some help! would the brand wenol metal polish do the best job?

thank you for reading my long post! I look forward to reading the responses

fyi I am officially obsessed with coach vintage now thanks to these bags!

Congratulations on two beautiful bags...I would caution you about stuffing with newspaper, as you might run the risk of transferring the print to the inside of the bag...especially the lighter colored one. Non-printed packing paper would be a better choice. When I dunk a bag, I stuff with towels to reshape while drying.

As far as wipes go...I don't use them, preferring a complete bath, but I believe others have said to NOT use ones with alcohol. Wait for other opinions on that. I have no experience conditioning or finishing a bag that I haven't bathed either...hopefully other members will offer advice on that too. And whatever brass polish you use, be careful to not get it on the leather or zipper fabric.

I think most of us here think bags must be at least 20 years old to be considered vintage, and though yours are a little younger you can still embrace the Coach obsession...good luck!

 

[JOODLZ]

This is the final chapter on my 1994 Bottle Green Prairie Bag #9954 (the one with the fuzzy strap): http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-clubhouse/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-624452-658.html#post25026785).

Though she was pretty clean inside, I did find a few stray chocolate sprinkles (!) amid the usual purse stuff which I cleaned out with a dry toothbrush. Then the usual warm Dawn bath, good rinse and stuff to dry. The edges of the strap and the padded area around the turnlock needed touching up so I made a mixture of dark green (tube), black and a little tiny bit of red (yes, red) bottled acrylic. Got a pretty good match. When the paint was dry she got Leather CPR 2X, finished with Blackrocks 2X and buffed with a horsehair blend brush. She just glows!

Earlier this year my hubby and I moved his Mom from her house into independent living...a significant downsizing. I found a bottle of Tarni-shield (made by 3M) under her kitchen sink that says it not only polishes, but prevents tarnishing. YAY! Recently gave it a try on the hangtag chain on my black Stewardess, and again on this one, and I’m really pleased with the results. It’s not nearly as chemically-smelling as Brasso and seemed to work faster. Time will tell about the tarnish prevention The other brass on this bag was in fairly good patina-ed condition, so I left it alone. Someday I will get out the dremel (also from my MIL) and have a buffing party!

 

[ledobe]

She's turning out to be a much bigger problem than I once thought. She has soilove on her in the picture but it was taking her color off. It's for my mother so she said it would be okay to dye it. Does anyone have any advice?
I gave her a bath...idk what to do
View attachment 2267936

:Lighter colored bags always look worse when they are wet. Stuff it and dry it and see how it looks.

 

[CoachCatcher45]

:Lighter colored bags always look worse when they are wet. Stuff it and dry it and see how it looks.

It's dry now and looks much better than it did, I'm so relived

 

[Rarity]

Soooo.... got this today. Poor thing was listed forever and I finally decided to save it. Dumb. No really.

Wow! You're brave. I'd never have the guts to attempt something like that.
Can't wait to see what it looks like when you're done. Please make sure to post pics!

 

[Daelilly]

She's turning out to be a much bigger problem than I once thought. She has soilove on her in the picture but it was taking her color off. It's for my mother so she said it would be okay to dye it. Does anyone have any advice?
I gave her a bath...idk what to do
View attachment 2267936

I will find this one very interesting to rebuild. I am curious how you will repair the piping around the corner. I can't wait to hear what others suggest. Another place you can great info is in the Hermes thread and look up DocRide. She restores saddles and leather professionally (I think.) I do some reading there but I don't ask questions; I can't afford a couple thousand for Hermes Bag.