Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[CurrentObsesh]

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.

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.

I used ALL of the suggestions lol. I started with some Shout in the bad parts, I was able to make a bad ink or something stain on the bottom better. Then I gave her a bath with dawn for 20 min, quite traumatic for me, I felt like I was killing her. She gurgled and everything I wasn't seeing results, even after some light scrubbing. Next, I tried Soilove, and thought there was a discernable difference. I got excited and hosed her down with it, really saturated the edges. I let her set for about 15 minutes, put her in a mesh bag AND a pillowcase. Used some woolite on handwash setting, warm, extra soiled. When she was done...well she was the same except with a heavy smell of Soilove. So I put her through AGAIN, this time on delicate setting, warm, with Gain. Welp. Same. Handles are shedding (?), the metallic came off of the handles in a lot of places, but guess what? Sequins are totally fine. She's stuffed and drying because maybe, just maybe, she'll look better when she dries I'm not getting my hopes up. So for now, I'm thinking my house purse got a nice upgrade Thank you for your suggestions, I appreciate it!

ETA: Once she's totally dry, I'll post the before and after and see if you guys can see a difference. DD thinks I've just been looking at it for too long. Lol

 

[CurrentObsesh]

Next up, I've got this little lady. I love me some pink Coach bags, and this one did show signs of wear, but it looked like it could be cleaned up. Anyone see this problem before?
Substory, does Coach fabric care work on anything? I've not seen any significant results on any of the bags I've tried it on. I'm starting to think it's for people who have clean bags already, but want to feel like they're so responsible

 

[Belicious]

I used ALL of the suggestions lol. I started with some Shout in the bad parts, I was able to make a bad ink or something stain on the bottom better. Then I gave her a bath with dawn for 20 min, quite traumatic for me, I felt like I was killing her. She gurgled and everything I wasn't seeing results, even after some light scrubbing. Next, I tried Soilove, and thought there was a discernable difference. I got excited and hosed her down with it, really saturated the edges. I let her set for about 15 minutes, put her in a mesh bag AND a pillowcase. Used some woolite on handwash setting, warm, extra soiled. When she was done...well she was the same except with a heavy smell of Soilove. So I put her through AGAIN, this time on delicate setting, warm, with Gain. Welp. Same. Handles are shedding (?), the metallic came off of the handles in a lot of places, but guess what? Sequins are totally fine. She's stuffed and drying because maybe, just maybe, she'll look better when she dries I'm not getting my hopes up. So for now, I'm thinking my house purse got a nice upgrade Thank you for your suggestions, I appreciate it!

ETA: Once she's totally dry, I'll post the before and after and see if you guys can see a difference. DD thinks I've just been looking at it for too long. Lol

I would be amazed if she's not significantly cleaner after all that! I *think* maybe it was houseof999 who used metallic gold sharpie marker on a wallet whose gold had stripped off.

As for your pink bag, that might be a permanent discoloration of the leather, might be fading. Does it look like a stain?

 

[Kim Beard]

Never got around to posting this! I didn't do much and there's not much change; I just wiped down with vinegar and moisturized with Blackrock (two coats) and Leather CPR (3 coats?). I think my biggest successes were lightening up the water stain on the bottom and getting the bag back to its original structure. I used a cotton round to saturate the whole bag with vinegar, and let it air dry. I worked with a panel at a time just to make sure it didn't get ruined. I tried to avoid wiping because I was scared of removing too much red dye. Getting rid of the water stain took a couple of tries with the vinegar. I got it to reshape by completely stuffing it while it got soaked and dried in vinegar and later conditioner, and I left the stuffing in for days even after it was dry from everything. After vinegar soaking, I realized there was not much more I could do about the darkened spots so I just moved onto conditioning. I still think it could use another coat or two - still feels a bit parched!

Anyway, here's a before picture of the loose structure (from the original Etsy listing), and of the water stain. And then pictures of the after, plus how I plan to style it (with my belt bag around the waist and tiny shopper in hand!) It's weird how it looks intensely red in some lights, and more subdued in others! I love how you can see the natural striations in the shopper's leather. And you can really tell the shopper is a much older lady than my belt bag haha. If anyone has tips or comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

This is gorgeous! What is this style? I love it!

 

[bellebellebelle19]

This is gorgeous! What is this style? I love it!

Thank you so much! I love it too. Almost too much…I baby it because it's so old and already has wear As for the official name, it's something like a dinky shopping bag. Online sellers might call it a lunch bag/tote. I'm not sure how long it was made, from her time at Coach in the 60s all the way up until the 70s? …maybe other members know.

There's a large one and a similar small one on Etsy, as well as a white one and a pink one on eBay, if you're looking to buy

https://etsy.me/2QHnOse

https://etsy.me/2xv6Gx3

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/192563676333

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/263409159413

 

[Kim Beard]

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!

I think I'm going to start with the strap on my Stewardess. I can understand your point about your red Court. I am hoping by doing the strap first, that I will gain confidence to do the bags!

 

[Kim Beard]

For those of you looking to buy supplies... I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought the Leather CPR for $14.99. Then, I had some things to look for in T J Maxx. They had it for $6.99 with a further out expiration date. Needless to say, I will be returning the one to BB&B.

 

[whateve]

For those of you looking to buy supplies... I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought the Leather CPR for $14.99. Then, I had some things to look for in T J Maxx. They had it for $6.99 with a further out expiration date. Needless to say, I will be returning the one to BB&B.

Yes, TJ Maxx and Marshalls has it a lot cheaper but they don't always have it.

 

[whateve]

I would be amazed if she's not significantly cleaner after all that! I *think* maybe it was houseof999 who used metallic gold sharpie marker on a wallet whose gold had stripped off.

As for your pink bag, that might be a permanent discoloration of the leather, might be fading. Does it look like a stain?

I used a Elmer's metallic ink pen on a bag. I posted pictures on the forum a long time ago but I can't find them in my files now to post again. I think Katev used metallic acrylic paint to touch up a bag.

 

[colorguardjames]

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.
View attachment 4195859 View attachment 4195861

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.

Love to see the results!

 

[Crystice]

Hi all! I got a black srewardess in great shape a couple months ago but she needs some eyelets on one end of her strap. What size do I need? Thank you to all with this insight.....

 

[Minchanka]

Hi all! I got a black srewardess in great shape a couple months ago but she needs some eyelets on one end of her strap. What size do I need? Thank you to all with this insight.....

Mine has 6mm or 1/4” eyelets. But you need to measure yours, that might have changed over the years.

 

[tealocean]

For those of you looking to buy supplies... I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought the Leather CPR for $14.99. Then, I had some things to look for in T J Maxx. They had it for $6.99 with a further out expiration date. Needless to say, I will be returning the one to BB&B.

Thank you! I love that I can apply it with my hands. I've started conditioning everything.

 

[CurrentObsesh]

I would be amazed if she's not significantly cleaner after all that! I *think* maybe it was houseof999 who used metallic gold sharpie marker on a wallet whose gold had stripped off.

As for your pink bag, that might be a permanent discoloration of the leather, might be fading. Does it look like a stain?

It doesn't look like a stain..it looks like it was left in the sun for too long. There may not be anything that can be done about the color, it didn't seem like anything came up when I cleaned and conditioned it. What does one do for dried out leather? Is this a soaking situation or would that not do anything in this case?

I used a Elmer's metallic ink pen on a bag. I posted pictures on the forum a long time ago but I can't find them in my files now to post again. I think Katev used metallic acrylic paint to touch up a bag.

That's a great idea! I'll try it!

 

[katev]

Next up, I've got this little lady. I love me some pink Coach bags, and this one did show signs of wear, but it looked like it could be cleaned up. Anyone see this problem before?
Substory, does Coach fabric care work on anything? I've not seen any significant results on any of the bags I've tried it on. I'm starting to think it's for people who have clean bags already, but want to feel like they're so responsible View attachment 4196211 View attachment 4196212

Did you apply Black Rock's Leather n' Rich to the leather portion of the bag? It usually does a good job of bringing out the original color. Use it very lightly, let it sit for several hours (or overnight) after an application and then buff. Apply again lightly as needed, but if you put it on too heavy it gets sticky.

Or perhaps you should try Obenauf's LP (leather protector) because it has a tendency to slightly darken the leather.

LOL! If you keep rehabbing you will find that you are turning into a "Mad Chemist!" and sometimes you'll feel like you area spending more on products then on bags!