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#16,759
Lake Effect said:
No, but I am about to dunk a leather LLBean satchel with a label inside that actually says do not wash! Or something to that effect:biggrin:
Seriously , YMMV. I have dunked other brands with varying effects.
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You can dunk anything that doesn't have an cardboard or stiffeners in it. Rebecca Minkoff bags tend to have cotton fabric liners, however -- not sure whether the colors would bleed into the liner.
 
#16,761
whateve said:
You also have to worry about manufacturers that use glue. I dunked a Fossil once and all the areas around the seams stained.
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Here's a rehab horror story -- from this morning! A couple of years ago I thrifted a vintage Dooney AWL carrier. it looked great on the outside -- no apparent flaws -- but had ink on the inside. I could tell that it had some varnish on the smooth leather, so I never dunked it. But I got cosmetics or something in it so I dunked it this morning. All the varnish immediately came off, and it turned out that it was hiding awfulness, like paint slapped on rusted metal. It turns out the piping had been repaired in several places, and whatever was keeping it closed also dissolved. Then, some of the ink, probably from a marker, started dissolving and leaching through the AWL, like blood from a scrape. All I wanted was a clean bag, but now I am looking at major repairs. Yikes!
 
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#16,762
BronxBeauty said:
Here's a rehab horror story -- from this morning! A couple of years ago I thrifted a vintage Dooney AWL carrier. it looked great on the outside -- no apparent flaws -- but had ink on the inside. I could tell that it had some varnish on the smooth leather, so I never dunked it. But I got cosmetics or something in it so I dunked it this morning. All the varnish immediately came off, and it turned out that it was hiding awfulness, like paint slapped on rusted metal. It turns out the piping had been repaired in several places, and whatever was keeping it closed also dissolved. Then, some of the ink, probably from a marker, started dissolving and leaching through the AWL, like blood from a scrape. All I wanted was a clean bag, but now I am looking at major repairs. Yikes!
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What a shame! I'm sorry you're facing this disaster.
 
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#16,764
Hello Expert Rehabbers. I am fairly new to rehabbing vintage coach purses and this is the first time posting to this blog. I thank you all very much for sharing your experiences and advice for restoring the beauty of these bags. I've been working on a vintage burgundy basic bag that whateve authenticated for me. Here is her before:
P1010444.JPG

And now after 1 dunking and 2 coats of Leather CPR :
P1010462.JPG

Much better, but I'm not done. What to do about this ink spot?
P1010463.JPG

Interestingly, for a week now, I have dabbed some Leather CPR on a cosmetic sponge, and pressed it onto the spot, and blue keeps coming out. Like its loosening it up and bringing it to the surface. Not sure what my next steps should be. Should I:
1) Dunk her again? In the water, she turns eggplant color and I can't even see where the spot is.
2) Use some other leather conditioner that may darken her overall, and make the spot less noticeable. I have Blackrocks, but I don't know if that will make her darker.
3) Hide the spot with shoe polish or paint/conditioner? Anyone ever tried that with a vintage burgundy?
4) Any other ideas? I am afraid to use alcohol or any other harsh chemical. Besides the stupid spot, the bag is in pretty good condition. And I really like the color.

Thanks in advance.
 
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#16,765
Scooterpie said:
Hello Expert Rehabbers. I am fairly new to rehabbing vintage coach purses and this is the first time posting to this blog. I thank you all very much for sharing your experiences and advice for restoring the beauty of these bags. I've been working on a vintage burgundy basic bag that whateve authenticated for me. Here is her before:
View attachment 4111370

And now after 1 dunking and 2 coats of Leather CPR :
View attachment 4111371

Much better, but I'm not done. What to do about this ink spot?
View attachment 4111373

Interestingly, for a week now, I have dabbed some Leather CPR on a cosmetic sponge, and pressed it onto the spot, and blue keeps coming out. Like its loosening it up and bringing it to the surface. Not sure what my next steps should be. Should I:
1) Dunk her again? In the water, she turns eggplant color and I can't even see where the spot is.
2) Use some other leather conditioner that may darken her overall, and make the spot less noticeable. I have Blackrocks, but I don't know if that will make her darker.
3) Hide the spot with shoe polish or paint/conditioner? Anyone ever tried that with a vintage burgundy?
4) Any other ideas? I am afraid to use alcohol or any other harsh chemical. Besides the stupid spot, the bag is in pretty good condition. And I really like the color.

Thanks in advance.
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You'll never get rid of all the ink. You can sponge off some of it but there will always be more. If alcohol or acetone worked on it, they would lighten the leather, so it could look worse. Your best bet is a little acrylic paint mixed with conditioner and layered on the spot to cover. Shoe polish isn't good. Neither is putting on the paint too thick.
 
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#16,766
whateve said:
You'll never get rid of all the ink. You can sponge off some of it but there will always be more. If alcohol or acetone worked on it, they would lighten the leather, so it could look worse. Your best bet is a little acrylic paint mixed with conditioner and layered on the spot to cover. Shoe polish isn't good. Neither is putting on the paint too thick.
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OK.. I have Apple Condtiioner and Leather CPR. Would either of those work with acrylic paint, or is there something better?
 
#16,767
Scooterpie said:
OK.. I have Apple Condtiioner and Leather CPR. Would either of those work with acrylic paint, or is there something better?
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CPR works. Wait until the bag dries a bit more to get an idea of what the true color will be. Bring the bag with you when you pick the paint. Remember you’ll probably have to mix a few colors to get it right. Also, less is more. I’ve used the dab method with a dry paint brush or a dry sea sponge.
 
#16,770
BronxBeauty said:
Thanks for the sympathy. I will post pics when I regain my equanimity.
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Here's a pic of one side of the holes the dissolution of the varnish and glue uncovered on my Dooney carrier. The other side of the piping has the mirror problem. (I know this post is off-brand, but the Dooney rehab thread is a dead letter and it has many of the same posters as here.) I hope to patch it up with glue and paint. Anyone know a good dupe for the Dooney brown?
IMG_3375.JPG
 
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