Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
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No paint! I did nothing extra, the color came back on its own, just wanted attention!
Love it! Great job! I just put leather CPR on my new to me BC bag. Hoping the ashy dry look goes away after a few coat. I really don't want to put anything waxy on it.
Hi everyone! New here, but have been rescuing classic Coach for about 20 years. I came across your group last week after I found a mint 2005 Willis in British Tan w/nickel hardware at Savers for $24.99. It smelled a bit musty so I was searching to get tips on cleaning. I literally couldn't believe that there was a whole group of like-minded Coach rescuers! I've read many of the posts here and love seeing all of the gorgeous bags 
The first Coach bag that I fell in love with was a chocolate brown backpack that belonged to my coworker - that was in 1997. All of your beautiful work has inspired me. I decided to search out my own brown backpack. I found one on Etsy that was a bit rough but appeared to be in good shape overall. And the price was right at $60. I received it yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the overall condition. However the overwhelming smell of stale cigarettes was unexpected and I had to be dunk it immediately 
After a long bath and its first coat of Lexol tonight, I think it's going to turn out lovely! The leather is soft, the lining and hardware all perfect and the Creed is the best one I've read. Please share a pic if you have a backpack like my new friend 
The first Coach bag that I fell in love with was a chocolate brown backpack that belonged to my coworker - that was in 1997. All of your beautiful work has inspired me. I decided to search out my own brown backpack. I found one on Etsy that was a bit rough but appeared to be in good shape overall. And the price was right at $60. I received it yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the overall condition. However the overwhelming smell of stale cigarettes was unexpected and I had to be dunk it immediately After a long bath and its first coat of Lexol tonight, I think it's going to turn out lovely! The leather is soft, the lining and hardware all perfect and the Creed is the best one I've read. Please share a pic if you have a backpack like my new friend Attachments
Welcome! That looks like a gorgeous backpack. I would be surprised if the smell stays away with just one dunk. What other conditions do you use?Hi everyone! New here, but have been rescuing classic Coach for about 20 years. I came across your group last week after I found a mint 2005 Willis in British Tan w/nickel hardware at Savers for $24.99. It smelled a bit musty so I was searching to get tips on cleaning. I literally couldn't believe that there was a whole group of like-minded Coach rescuers! I've read many of the posts here and love seeing all of the gorgeous bags
...The first Coach bag that I fell in love with was a chocolate brown backpack that belonged to my coworker - that was in 1997. All of your beautiful work has inspired me. I decided to search out my own brown backpack. I found one on Etsy that was a bit rough but appeared to be in good shape overall. And the price was right at $60. I received it yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the overall condition. However the overwhelming smell of stale cigarettes was unexpected and I had to be dunk it immediately
Yes welcome, but I agree with @whateve, getting the smell of cigarette out of a bag can be brutal, if that wasn't disclosed in the auction then you should get at least a partial refund.
Rehabbers have tried different things with varying degrees of success, below is the link for info about 2 bags that took me months to get rid of the stink!
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...tte-smoke-smell-out-of-2-leather-bags.796750/
Here's the red vintage Willis y'all helped me with along with it's "purse strap from hell" 
I did finally give in and punch the holes where the ice pick-like slashes had been. As you can see, the altered hole measurement was off but it disguises really well when the strap is buckled. I also borrowed the wonderful trick that someone shared here about using the leather I punched out to glue into the hole. There is one outlier ice pick slash (third from last picture) that I just glued and painted because it seemed like it would look really odd so far away from the rest of the holes. This is certainly nowhere near perfect and I think the bag may need more conditioning but that strap looks better than I ever thought it would and I have my red Willis at last. Thanks for all the help and encouragement!That is lovely and the shape is so good! Did you do anything special after dunking beyond stuffing it with towels? I have a court that arrived from eBay very smushed and even after a bath and towel stuffing while drying, the shape still seems a little less "full" than I'd like. You did an amazing job!
Another product to try: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036VQIKQ/ref=pe_950220_256864650_em_1p_3_ti
Thank you for the link - the charcoal filters are a great idea! Per someone in this group's suggestion, I added febreeze to the wash water and also used vinegar in the clear water rinse at the end. I also put dryer sheets in it and left it in the sun for short periods of time while drying. It definitely smells a lot better, but I have sensitive nose and can tell that it's not totally gone yet. I think I will pick up some charcoal filters later today.
And I just contacted the seller to request at least a partial refund. Not only did the bag wreak of smoke, but the Creed says it's made in China, not the USA as she claimed in her listing. We'll see what happens...in any event I do love the bag! The Creed says that it's made to "withstand the rigors of travel" - I just like the images that phrase evokes. Hopefully it won't mind the job of just travelling with me back and forth to work.
Thank you! I have also tried Leather Therapy, which is something that I use on my riding boots, bridles and saddle with great results. Other than that, just regular saddle soap and the Lexol.