That's a bummer about the ink stains. You won't be able to cover them flawlessly most likely, but you might be able to reduce their visibility significantly. At least they are small and not on the front. Great find! I've always wanted one of those but are yet to find.
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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That's a bummer about the ink stains. You won't be able to cover them flawlessly most likely, but you might be able to reduce their visibility significantly. At least they are small and not on the front. Great find! I've always wanted one of those but are yet to find.
I had the same problem at my first time rehab. It's because the bag wasn't dried evenly. Unfortunately the water mark won't go away unless re-wash it. I've tried everything nothing helped. I re-washed the bag, soak it until completely wet, and use towels to soak out water as much as I can, then invert paper for reshape and dried it again. Then finally got out of the water mark.
Lol, yeah, plus I think handbags are having a much better time of it since the evolution of cell phones. Not much need to carry a pen around all the time these days.
Not just that, but debit cards. People rarely have to write checks anymore.
So lovely!For me, one of the joys of rehabbing vintage Coach is finding a neglected and undervalued bag and restoring its hidden beauty.
This Prairie Bag was described as being "in poor pre-owned condition and shows heavy wear from previous use, including: Heavy bottom corner wear, shell discoloration / stains, interior leather discoloration / stains / wear, metal accent scratches, long strap wear."
All in the eye of the beholder, says the fearless rehabber!
This was my first encounter with a Prairie Bag, and a British Tan one to boot! First a warm bath, then reshaping with towels, drying, and a few rounds of Leather CPR and BlackRock. Finally, installing a shiny new turnlock and buffing to a mellow glow, and this vintage beauty was reborn. In the process I unexpectedly fell in love with the size, shape, and configuration of this classic bag.
BEFORE and AFTER:
I've only tried this on a Legacy bag: gently, lightly, rubbed the ink away with a white Pentel hi-polymer eraser. http://www.pentel.com/store/hi-polymer-eraser-zeh-10 I believe it may have been a ball point pen. The light marks came up easily, and there was a smaller darker mark near a zipper that you can still see if you look for it because I didn't want to overdo it.
I only tried it on the leather. This is a great eraser for gentle erasing. On the lining, I would test a small spot of FOLEX. Saturate the ink, then let sit for several minutes, then blot off with an absorbent cloth. Repeat.
Cloth lining is easy to clean. You can use acetone or alcohol on ink, then wash the lining to get rid of rings. Only don't use acetone on vintage Madisons. It melts the lining. Possibly also Sheridans.