LOVE this bag! I don't think anything short of actually dying it will darken the leather enough from British Tan to a walnut or chocolate. Hermes baume does darken quite a bit but I don't know how it would work in this case. Again-beautiful bag!
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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I know you all are probably tired of seeing my vintage Stewardess rehabs by now! Can you tell I have a soft spot for this style? Here's some before and after pics of a vintage Espresso Brown NYC Stewardess that had really been around the block and then some!
I really couldn't tell from the sellers pics exactly what color she was and I was quite pleased at the rich brown she turned out to be. I have to say her after pics are really not a testament to my extraordinary restoration skills but to the amazing thick glove tanned vintage leather she started out with and of course Black Rock's and Obenauf's conditioners/protectants.
Is she perfect? No, not by any means but the leather is delicious and soft and she deserved to be brought back to her former glory (almost!) Invested $36 shipped, lots of conditoner and lots of buffing.
Here's before and the next message will have her after.
I really couldn't tell from the sellers pics exactly what color she was and I was quite pleased at the rich brown she turned out to be. I have to say her after pics are really not a testament to my extraordinary restoration skills but to the amazing thick glove tanned vintage leather she started out with and of course Black Rock's and Obenauf's conditioners/protectants.
Is she perfect? No, not by any means but the leather is delicious and soft and she deserved to be brought back to her former glory (almost!) Invested $36 shipped, lots of conditoner and lots of buffing.
Here's before and the next message will have her after.
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Washing and conditioning a bag will do a lot to even out the color and will darken faded areas. A good conditioner like Leather CPR or Apple will help a lot. If a bag has really bad scuffs and fading or uneven color. I will add Black Rock Leather N Rich conditioner to darken and even out the color and hide the scuffs and fades.
OMG, the dark brown color is so gorgeous, great job! I know what you mean about the importance of starting with good-quality materials in order to achieve great results! Amazing transformation, congratulations!
About that area with the worn-through piping. I am currently working on a bag with badly worn/damaged piping. Bebepurse advised me to go to the Michael's Hobby Store and buy heavy acryllic paint (in the tubes not the bottles) and then apply multiple thin layers to build up and camouflage the damaged areas. She also advised cleaning off the conditioner from the damaged areas first to make the paint stick better.
All I have done so far is buy the paint - so I can't say for sure that it will work, but the nice thing about acrylics is that if you act quickly you can wash them off with water and no harm done!
I just did a rehab with a lot of scuffing and fading. Washing and conditioning (especially with black rock leather n rich) helps determine what's just dryness and what is actually color loss. I used Fiebings Edge Kote on the piping around a very faded black bag and it looks fantastic. I just applied it with a q-tip. I also tried eco flo black dye on another bag with a bit of color loss from a larger portion of a bag's front. It worked but it only blended well with the old purse color by rewashing the bag after the dye dried. Washing it seemed to meld the new color into the old. So my conditioner got washed back out unfortunately, and had to be re applied after it dried for the second time but I was happy with the results. Any questions, just ask
Thanks! Yes, I did use Black Rocks--I love that stuff! I was happy that I found it at a Horse Tack store near my house so I don't have to buy online and pay shipping anymore
Attention Miracle Working Rehabbers...
I need every bit of expert advice and support available! I just had these two bags authenticated by Hyacinth (what a brainiac she is), pics in today's AT post #7893. Now I hope there is a way to return these bags to a usable state.
The leather one with the flap has had a bath - a good long soak - as I suspected shoe polish. I have not conditioned it, as I expect someone (or everyone) will confirm that it needs a professional dye job. It was my FIRST bathing experiment, so I picked a bag that didn't have much to lose. I didn't condition, in case the dye job is in order.
The nylon tote has similar stains to ones I've seen on ebay over the years. Something to do with the glue that was used by Coach. Does anyone have a suggestion? I've tried many spot removers, household cleaners, etc.
I look forward to everyone's help, as you gals are very resourceful, helpful and all about keeping our bags in tip-top shape! Thanks in advance!
I need every bit of expert advice and support available! I just had these two bags authenticated by Hyacinth (what a brainiac she is), pics in today's AT post #7893. Now I hope there is a way to return these bags to a usable state.
The leather one with the flap has had a bath - a good long soak - as I suspected shoe polish. I have not conditioned it, as I expect someone (or everyone) will confirm that it needs a professional dye job. It was my FIRST bathing experiment, so I picked a bag that didn't have much to lose. I didn't condition, in case the dye job is in order.
The nylon tote has similar stains to ones I've seen on ebay over the years. Something to do with the glue that was used by Coach. Does anyone have a suggestion? I've tried many spot removers, household cleaners, etc.
I look forward to everyone's help, as you gals are very resourceful, helpful and all about keeping our bags in tip-top shape! Thanks in advance!
Here's the link for your post: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-694619-527.html#post21220049
The leather one would probably benefit from a trip through the washer and extensive conditioning, but you may not be completely pleased with the results. I am sure some of the worst stains will remain. Perhaps you should first take it to a professional to see about having it dyed before doing anything else.
I am not sure what to do about the lined fabric bag with the adhesive/sealant stains. You could try washing it but that might make the stains worse! The only thing I've ever heard used to address this situation was to overpaint the entire bag with acrylic paint - but that it pretty desparate and I am not sure how well it would work.
Hopefully someone else will be able to advise you better, good luck!
Thanks for your quick response...I will wait for others to offer suggestions, but I think the flap is going to the cobbler for a price quote. Thanks again!
Funny you should post your Stewardess rehab bag today because that's the color I really want for this bag! Someone mentioned that pro dying can leave the bag stiffer. Is that always the case and if so, can the bag just be re conditioned back to a more supple state? I'm still torn on whether or not to pay over $100.+ for a bag like this and pro dye it only to have it end up stiff and unwieldy. And speaking of that, does anyone here have experience in how a pro dyed bag ages? Thanks.
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