Thank you! I might actually try that eraser on one of the ink marks on the inside of the front flap. Thanks for the suggestion!
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
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Hi, I have a couple of basic questions about rehabbing a couple of bags, please. I recently purchased a Black Crescent Hippie bag and a British Tan Stewardess bag (authenticated on here). Both are in really nice shape with no odors.
Black Hippie: No spots, major scratches, etc. Just a little lighter around the edges from wear, but not breaking into the surface of the leather. I am just thinking a good conditioning, or should I clean it with a leather cleaner first? I am much more comfortable rehabbing Louis Vuitton vachetta and use Apple products. However, on LV the cleaner really takes the color down and I don't want to fade it. Any suggestions? I would be happy to buy another brand of products, if necessary.
Black Hippie: No spots, major scratches, etc. Just a little lighter around the edges from wear, but not breaking into the surface of the leather. I am just thinking a good conditioning, or should I clean it with a leather cleaner first? I am much more comfortable rehabbing Louis Vuitton vachetta and use Apple products. However, on LV the cleaner really takes the color down and I don't want to fade it. Any suggestions? I would be happy to buy another brand of products, if necessary.
Now, for the Stewardess. It has one small dark spot on the front flap. Nothing I can't live with, but if I can get it off, that would be great. Also, the strap. It is pretty wrinkled/kinked from where the previous owner had it buckled. I need to change the notch setting and the strap looks very wavy. I am in love with this bag and don't want to ruin it. At the same time, the strap will have to be addressed. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
These are unlined vintage bags? Really, for nearly all, we recommend washing them and then conditioning them. Search on this thread for dunk, dunking or bath. It plumps up the leather and opens the pores so it is more receptive to absorbing conditioner. Apple is a maintenance conditioner and won't give you the results you want. For regular rehabs, I usually use Leather CPR with Blackrocks leather n rich as a final step. The Blackrocks protects the bag and usually makes the edges darker.
As an aside, for vachetta I use vinegar to clean and Cadillac to condition.
A bath will fix the strap. Remove the strap, soak it in warm soapy water for at least 15 minutes, then rinse well. Towel dry, then lay the strap flat on a towel with another on the top. Lay something heavy on both ends of the strap, gently stretching the strap between the ends so it will lie completely flat. Leave it for a few days until it dry, then condition.
Pictures might help determining how to address the dark spot. It might clean off in the bath. If it doesn't, conditioning should make it less noticeable. A final resort is to work a little acrylic paint into your conditioner and blend it over the spot.
Yes, they are unlined vintage bags. I will check the information on dunking. To be honest, that scares me to death, lol. But I trust you all!
The first time is scary, then it becomes addicting. It is nice having them absolutely clean too.
ETA: Do the black one first.
I'm scared to dunk them too! I bought a red NYC Station bag that needs to be dunked so to practice I bought a cheaper non-NYC red Court bag that also needs to be dunked. Then I chickened out on that one when I realized how much I loved the red color so I bought an even cheaper ugly tan court bag that needs a dunk. Then I saw a dunking post about a Court bag that warped on the bottom so now I'm too chicken to touch any of them, ha ha! Now I've collected another red Court and another red Station as well as a Court/Willis hybrid that's very rare and I still have yet to dunk any of them. I never intended to build up a rehab pile but here I am. We just have to take the plunge....pun intended. I'm waiting for payday so I can order some conditioner before I finally dunk my ugly tan Court, but I'm gonna do it!
Hi everyone, I've searched and searched the blog for cleaning ideas for this Madison Graphic Op Art Sequin Maggie bag, and I'm not seeing anything specific. If its been talked about before, I apologize in advance, please point me in the right direction. This bag, described as "great condition, light stain on the bottom" by the seller, is actually filthy. Structurally, it's fine, but its just overall dirty. The photos don't show how dingy it is. Does anyone have experience cleaning these bags with the sequins? Any special considerations I should think about? Has anyone tried machine washing (on delicate) with sequins? I'm including a photo of the bag, my cleaning supplies. I got 3 bags from this seller and ALL are super dingy and dirty. If you know of a better cleaner, I'm open to suggestions. I bought these supplies after reading this board, other blogs, and watching videos. There's about 6 bags that need in depth cleaning, but this one is the worst right now. Thanks so much for your feedback.
I hope they will clean up very nicely! My red Court has a kinked and twisted strap too, I'm so curious to see how that will turn out.Don't be scared! You won't believe how much nicer they will look afterwards!
I bought that exact same bag for my sister and before I gave it to her I put it in a pillow case and washed it in my washing machine on gentle cycle, warm water. Not all of the stains came out, especially the darker ones, but the bag itself came out beautifully! The sequins all survived. This was maybe 5 years ago and that purse is still her daily carry bag. She says she loves it. If she only knew what it looked like before the bath.....
Out of your cleaning stuff I would probably bath it in warm water and dawn, gently scrubbing any dirty areas with an old toothbrush. Then rinse. I haven't washed that bag but a similar cloth one with sequins and they all survived fine. I'd probably only resort to the washing machine if it was really really filthy.
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I am working I this dirty old flight bag right now. She's drying from a second bath right now. I have never seen so much dirt come out of a bag. She'll never be truly clean but I can live with that.. I have some ideas.
This bag is so soft it doesn't hold its shape. It's huge too. So I gave her a bath but felt I could work a little harder on some of the darker spots so I just gave her another one with some dawn scrubbing followed by a vinegar rinse. This is before as well..
i'm having some trouble editing this post.
This bag is so soft it doesn't hold its shape. It's huge too. So I gave her a bath but felt I could work a little harder on some of the darker spots so I just gave her another one with some dawn scrubbing followed by a vinegar rinse. This is before as well..
i'm having some trouble editing this post.
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I've used Soilove on a bag with similar material. It worked great. I think I scrubbed it with a brush then rinsed it really well.