Luckily, the ink marks are on the inside, and did diminish a bit in just a good sudsy soak.
Do you use aerosol hairspray, or pump. Do you have a favorite brand? I'm not going to try it on this one, but may in the future. Thanks again for the tip.
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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Luckily, the ink marks are on the inside, and did diminish a bit in just a good sudsy soak.
Do you use aerosol hairspray, or pump. Do you have a favorite brand? I'm not going to try it on this one, but may in the future. Thanks again for the tip.
I have this bag!! Looks like this one is in nice shape!! I am curious how much this was selling for? I seem to find the prices to be all over the place on this bag.
Took the Minwax Lite Tote rehab out for the first time yesterday...and experienced NO rub-off at all!!!
And while I was prowling a local Goodwill, I came upon a fine solution for a bag liner for $1.00 (Books A Million's original $9.95 price tag still on it). It is EXACTLY the size of the inside of my Lite Tote and fits securely with the tote's zipper pocket tucked inside! (The handles of the BAM tote just dangle between the liner and the tote. I may decide to cut them off - and the zipper - at some time in the future. It lends a nice bit of reinforcement to the bottom and the sides of the leather bag - no more slouching!
When time allows, I will likely do another coat of Leather CPR, just to soften the leather a little more. Otherwise, I'm happy!
And while I was prowling a local Goodwill, I came upon a fine solution for a bag liner for $1.00 (Books A Million's original $9.95 price tag still on it). It is EXACTLY the size of the inside of my Lite Tote and fits securely with the tote's zipper pocket tucked inside! (The handles of the BAM tote just dangle between the liner and the tote. I may decide to cut them off - and the zipper - at some time in the future. It lends a nice bit of reinforcement to the bottom and the sides of the leather bag - no more slouching!
When time allows, I will likely do another coat of Leather CPR, just to soften the leather a little more. Otherwise, I'm happy!
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Had this bag identified and authenticated by Hyacinth as a Town Bag dating back to the late 80s to early 90s. Didn't spend much on it, had it a year or so.
Gave it a bubble bath and a good massage yesterday and packed it with towels overnight. This morning, one of the straps is nearly its original color, while the other strap and body of the bag are still darker. I'm guessing different cows!
Check out before and afters. I'll update more as the job progresses...
Gave it a bubble bath and a good massage yesterday and packed it with towels overnight. This morning, one of the straps is nearly its original color, while the other strap and body of the bag are still darker. I'm guessing different cows!
Check out before and afters. I'll update more as the job progresses...
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I use whatever hairspray I have around...pump or aerosol. I used to have a cheap can of aquanet or some such that I inherited with my house (long story, lotsa stuff in the house, no coach bags!), that I kept in the laundry room.
Glad to hear your white bag came out ok, I had a bit of a "oops" moment after you said you were going to try it.
The ink did come out of my station bag, no trace that I could find and it was a small drop but it permeated the bag. Looks like someone's pen broke and deposited a LOT of ink. Since it's a black bag, it was pretty much risk free, the only thing I was worried about was hairspray removing some of the black dye, but that wasn't a problem.
The pillow case I washed it in had a big ink spot right there when I took it out of the washer.
Yay! We are bag twins! I got this bag for $31 shipped. I see there are a few more listed on both E-Bay and Etsy, the cheapest of which is $81 on Etsy, the most expensive is $249 on E-Bay. These bags really are all over the map in terms of pricing, but I paid what I have within my collecting guideline to pay, I try to stick to my rule.
I used plain 91% isopropyl alcohol form the pharmacy that I keep in my bathroom in a spray bottle. I normally use it to sterilize tools and my clarisonic brush and stuff, so it was easy to grab last night when I was washing that bag and noticed all the ballpoint pen marks. It is half dry now, and there is no evidence of where I removed the ink. I also did it on the creed of the white bag I am rehabbing, and it turned the leather grey. I am glad I didn't try it on the outside of that bag! I will post pics in a bit...
ahh...I've thought about putting alcohol in a spray bottle but I don't use it often and I've wondered if it would evaporate between uses. I used to always have a bottle of alcohol in the house but my husband must use it for something and I gave up-I always have hairspray of some sort around though.
Thank YOU (and everyone else in this thread) for all the inspiration-as I've said before, I'm not afraid to wash all kinds of random stuff, but I'm not sure I would have taken the plunge (heheh) with these classic bags. I have a fossil messenger that I've had for years and while the leather isn't the same quality, I love the bag and am going to work on that too-the pockets are just all in the right place and the size works well for me. It was a splurge when my kids were little and I've certainly gotten my money's worth out of it. Good thing I like distressed leather though.
I may hit you up for some advice on my black station bag, it has some kind of whitish residue that looks almost like unrinsed soap, except it's not-I may need conditioner advice! I ordered some of the black rocks stuff so I may try that when it comes in. I'm hoping that darkening the bag will help. I experimented with some other conditioners and that didn't seem to effect it in anyway.
I also spent way too much on a couple of classic bags-I took a big chance on some eBay purchases and I hope they will work out the way I want them too in the end. I'll post those when I get around to working on them.
I got the station bag pretty cheap and as much as I like it, they are fairly easy to find and I am willing to experiment a little.
I have never rehabbed a vintage bag that I have bought. Then again I have never bought one in bad enough condition that I felt they needed to be cleaned. I kind of like my bags to look a bit used and vintage anyway. It gives them character. If I found one for a cheap price that was really dirty I would probably give it a bath, but for minor things I don't think it's a huge deal. I just need to stop being lazy and get conditioner at some point for my vintage bags. I'm always worried about them drying out or something terrible because I have never had actual leather bags before I started collecting Coach. Mine all still feel pretty good though so I'm not too worried about dry leather just yet.
I was kind of considering leaving this one in original condition. I probably wouldn't have done anything other than moisturizer if I hadn't seen all the rehabs here. I am curious to see how nice I can make this bag. One benefit I have achieved already is that the shape is now perfect.
All of the rest of my vintage bags are in great condition so I would be afraid to do anything that might make them look worse. Like you, I have never treated the leather on most of my bags.
I have a question! What bag is that in your avatar picture??? I think I just ordered a really really beat up almost unrecognizeable version of that same bag!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220994318911?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_1164wt_915
I'm always afraid of making them worse too! Especially when mine came to me in a condition that I can live with. I bought a couple knowing they weren't completely perfect and I actually found that both sellers overstated how bad the flaws actually were!
I can't remember!! Does anyone know what the bag is called in my display pic? I had it authenticated when I first joined, actually it was the reason I joined! They told me what it was but now I can't remember if it was called a convertible clutch or something else?
I started three new bags today! Two black Italian made Madison Sutton Satchel #4410. I actually accidentally bought both of them (one from Etsy and one from eBay) but its fine, they were both in great condition and I figured they were both classic anyways. Gave them both baths (since katev had good experience with) and hung them up. Once they stop dripping I'm going to take them down and stand them up next to a window.
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