As someone who carried a Stewardess many, many years ago, I can tell you we usually had them as our only bag and carried them for a long time. So it went to work, shopping, and in my case to the barn where I kept my horse. They were workhorses and we loved them. My only criticism is that they could be very heavy.
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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As someone who carried a Stewardess many, many years ago, I can tell you we usually had them as our only bag and carried them for a long time. So it went to work, shopping, and in my case to the barn where I kept my horse. They were workhorses and we loved them. My only criticism is that they could be very heavy.
Below is a link with info about my basic rehab process for unlined glove-tanned leather. When I originally posted this I had never given a bath to a lined bag, but I have dunked lined bags since then and so far I haven't had any problems. But I have bathed a Zoe so you should wait to hear from others.
You might first try surface cleaning with non-alcohol baby wipes and then conditioning the leather to see what that does it before giving it a bath. You can pull the lining out as far as possible and spot clean dirty areas and then wipe the lining down with non-bleach Lysol wipes to make sure it's clean.
Gorgeous bag, good luck!
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-624452-8.html#post18465269
You might first try surface cleaning with non-alcohol baby wipes and then conditioning the leather to see what that does it before giving it a bath. You can pull the lining out as far as possible and spot clean dirty areas and then wipe the lining down with non-bleach Lysol wipes to make sure it's clean.
Gorgeous bag, good luck!
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-624452-8.html#post18465269
For these types of bags (with lining), I usually do not dunk. Rather, I run some water with a little ivory dish liquid in the sink and get an old washcloth and wash the lining first with the cloth and let this dry overnight-having the lining extended and on a pant hanger hanging up to dry. Once it is dry (the next day), I do the same thing to the leather, followed by conditioner while it is still damp, not soaking wet but damp. Then finally, clean the brass using "wright's brass polish" or any kind of brass polish. That's what I do and hope that helps.
Just sharing with you ladies that it rained all day in Getzville (suburb or Buffalo) on Saturday and I am happy to report that my Cashin had NO issues, no water stains and most of all no rubbing off of dye. Remember she just got dyed last week and sealed....I had NO issues. So for those that are scared to dye a bag, I would say, so worth it....
That's great news!Just sharing with you ladies that it rained all day in Getzville (suburb or Buffalo) on Saturday and I am happy to report that my Cashin had NO issues, no water stains and most of all no rubbing off of dye. Remember she just got dyed last week and sealed....I had NO issues. So for those that are scared to dye a bag, I would say, so worth it....
The remark about washing your bags when you have the house to yourself made me laugh...I can't tell you how many "secret" bag stashes I have LOL. IF my DH ever logs into TPF and reads my posts I"m in troubleI usually explain that I am fixing them up to resell them, which is partly true. haha
LOL when the men are away, it's Bath Time! I ended up washing my Black Stewardess and a Navy Court that had some weird acne problem (bumpy leather). The Black Stewardess's leather came out feeling SO much nicer, it was smooth and supple and NO CRACKS (thank god). The navy Court is USA from 1995 and had the THICKEST leather I think I've ever felt, it's a beast. The turnlock is horribly tarnished so I'll probably use some Brasso. Would that be strong enough to get rid of really bad tarnish?
Anyways I put them up to dry and went out to dinner. I took a couple of pictures of my process, but also included pictures of the Burgandy Stewardess' crack.
Onto the Burgandy Stewardess.... I think I have a game plan. Leather CPR is not doing the trick, I think the leather is way too dry and needs something that will permeate it through multiple layers. I'm going to purchase Saddle Soap and rub it down well again to clean it. It got a Woolite bath but I think some Saddle Soap cleansing may be helpful to get rid of the musty/mold.
Second I'm going to get some leather oil. I found some options on Amazon. I'll treat it with leather oil really well because right now the Stewardess feels brittle and really dry and rough to the touch. I'm almost afraid to move it for fear of more cracks appearing!!
After the Saddle Soap and Oil... I'll see how it looks. Probably repeat oil and Black Rocks until the leather feels right. Right now I'm feeling hopeful that I'll get it right!
For leather oil, I'm probably going to buy Obenauf's leather Oil
http://www.amazon.com/Obenaufs-16Fl-Oz-Leather-16oz/dp/B003EAW57E/ref=lh_ni_t
Fiebing's Saddle Soap
http://www.amazon.com/Fiebing-Compa...ES2G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1332738386&sr=8-3
Wish me luck!!
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tehkatt said:
My only attempt to use acrylic paint for more than a scratch was a bust, but I tried years ago before I knew about this forum - so listen to Katev on that one!
My memory is that docride (on the vintage hermes thread) recommends (for those brave enough to skip professional help) leather filler and leather glue before redying when there are cracks/missing leather, and sometimes a leather patch (soft leather in a size smaller than hole). I think the filler she recs is from leathertechworld. I was planning to try her recommendation to fix a hole on one of our Ekornes analine covered armchairs but never found the time. I don't know if anyone here has tried using filler on piping or not. Good luck with the repair!
I think you are probably right. Oil might not hurt. I also think the posting about reading up on Docrides hermes leather repair thread is a great idea. I learned a lot from that thread. I just wish she were a Coachie LOL. Since Hermes is a few notches above my league of leather
But she knows Leather...even the most damaged leathers.that's great! What did you do? Did you give her a bath or try the surface cleaning approach?
I am actually working on a bag with worn-through piping and I used the heavy acrylic method recommended by bebepurse. I am pretty impressed with the results and the areas seem stable - but I don't know if they will last a long time because I have never tried this before.
I will try and post some pics!
I have never used obenauf's but it has been highly recommended by other TPFers. I usually use Leather Restorer & Therapy Oil and I have had good results. And I am going to try 100% refined Emu oil on a natural leather bag soon.
I would definitely be cautious with the crack on the cranberry colored Stewardess. The leather looks so dry--hope it isn't dry rot. I would take Jessi's advice and pm Docride as she is an invaluable source of info for leather care and resoration. I have seen her work wonders on some vintage Hermes Kelly and Birkin bags that looked beyond help. Good luck and let us know how the projects progress.
Hi! I have a question for all the rehabbers here I have recently bought quite a few scooter bags, some newer that need very little or nothing done at all. And, a few others that I have washed with good results. I used the recommended Woolite wash and than therapy oil. I had also tried the apple leather conditioner and didn't have a positive result. I think maybe I didn't buff enough after the conditioner dried, it ended up looking cracked...fine lines all through out, this was my green scooter bag. I just kept working on her with the oil and the crackling eventually disappeared. My question is about the black color older bags, though the black scooter bag is beautiful, is there a product suggested to get that very dark black look back to the leather?
I have recently bought quite a few scooter bags, some newer that need very little or nothing done at all. And, a few others that I have washed with good results. I used the recommended Woolite wash and than therapy oil. I had also tried the apple leather conditioner and didn't have a positive result. I think maybe I didn't buff enough after the conditioner dried, it ended up looking cracked...fine lines all through out, this was my green scooter bag. I just kept working on her with the oil and the crackling eventually disappeared. My question is about the black color older bags, though the black scooter bag is beautiful, is there a product suggested to get that very dark black look back to the leather?- Status