Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[nursebetty]

Hi everyone,

I have a question about dunking a bag that has a dowel - do you only partially submerge the bag to keep the dowel out of the water? For some reason I have this impression that the dowel is wooden and may have trouble drying.... I thought I may have read it somewhere before..

Sorry if this has been asked, but I searched the thread ans I just can’t seem to find any specific mention of the dowel when dunking bags (I did see that Lake Effect has recently dunked a BT Winnie that turned out beautifully!) so I’d appreciate any tips. Now that leather cpr finally arrived for me I’m looking to dunk and reshape my black Winnie.

And for those who live in Canada, have you been able to find blackrock locally? Looks like it’s available on amazon for around $25 (incl shipping) but I was wondering if there are other options.

Thanks!!!

The cheapest I could order was from ebay. 31.34 Canadian ( 22.80 USD) which is still super expensive, but honestly the best I could do. I believe I bought from Leathercaresupply.

Cabellas carries Obenauf's LP, however. They will ship free to any store, if that's helpful.

 

[katev]

I have purchased what I will call a briefcase H7C-5266. How does one go about rehabbing it ? Can I dunk it? What is in the bottom of it — leather or cardboard. I dont want to ruin the bottom. Thanks for any help.

I have rehabbed at least 3 Coach briefcases but not a Beekman like your bag. In all cases the bottom was leather and not cardboard. I've dunked all of them and never had any problems.

The Beekman is constructed very much like the Willis handbag and I have rehabbed several of them. They all got baths and they all came out well. Search this forum for Willis 9727 to find examples of rehabs.

Did you have your bag authenticated here on TPF? I would not do all the work to rehab a bag without first making sure it is authentic.

Here are photos of a black Lexington Briefcase 5265 from the 1990s that is the same era as your Beekman, just to give you some info about the rehab process, good luck!

Before:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-970#post-31594799

After:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-970#post-31594837

Problem Areas:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-971#post-31594851

 

[Cyanide Rose]

Hi! Has anyone had a red bag change in color with black rocks? I have a couple that I haven’t put black rocks on yet because I don’t want the red to darken too much.

 

[katev]

Hi! Has anyone had a red bag change in color with black rocks? I have a couple that I haven’t put black rocks on yet because I don’t want the red to darken too much.

Red bags are tricky, you could test a little blackrocks on an area that doesn't show inside the bag and see how it reacts.

 

[catthecurious]

The cheapest I could order was from ebay. 31.34 Canadian ( 22.80 USD) which is still super expensive, but honestly the best I could do. I believe I bought from Leathercaresupply.

Cabellas carries Obenauf's LP, however. They will ship free to any store, if that's helpful.

I can't seem to find the original post, but hope @qwertie can see my response.
I did dunk two dowel bags, a Winnie and a Willis. The Winnie was in a very good condition before, but the Willis was much older, beat up and very dry. They both rehabbed beautifully and I had no issues with dowels (yes, I also think they're made of wood). Of course I can't attest how other dowel bags will do when wet, but in general, if there are no obvious issues in that area, the dowel itself shouldn't be a problem.

 

[valv54]

Hi! Has anyone had a red bag change in color with black rocks? I have a couple that I haven’t put black rocks on yet because I don’t want the red to darken too much.

@katev is right, reds are very tricky espically nyc reds, they darken very easily, just put it on lightly, working on sections one at a time, and wipe it off right away, then hang the bag in a warm room. That's at least what II works for me.

 

[catthecurious]

Hi! Has anyone had a red bag change in color with black rocks? I have a couple that I haven’t put black rocks on yet because I don’t want the red to darken too much.

My red kisslock coin purse's color didn't change after Black Rock - the color got brighter and darker after dunking and conditioning in general (I used Leather Therapy and CPR and then Black Rock) because it was very dry before. I heard people saying that their bags' color would darken from Obenauf's more and that the Black Rock would usually affect the color temporarily only.

 

[Lake Effect]

Hi! Has anyone had a red bag change in color with black rocks? I have a couple that I haven’t put black rocks on yet because I don’t want the red to darken too much.

My red kisslock coin purse's color didn't change after Black Rock - the color got brighter and darker after dunking and conditioning in general (I used Leather Therapy and CPR and then Black Rock) because it was very dry before. I heard people saying that their bags' color would darken from Obenauf's more and that the Black Rock would usually affect the color temporarily only.

I have not rehabbed many red bags. I had applied O Oil to a very dry NYC Basic Bag and it darkened considerably. The app of Blackrock after that did not change it. I bought a red Pocket bag and a red Curtis in such good condition, I only applied a light condioner, no dunking.

 

[Lake Effect]

The cheapest I could order was from ebay. 31.34 Canadian ( 22.80 USD) which is still super expensive, but honestly the best I could do. I believe I bought from Leathercaresupply.

Cabellas carries Obenauf's LP, however. They will ship free to any store, if that's helpful.

Just keep in mind, Obenauf's Leather Protector is a different product from Obenauf's Leather Oil, which I (and many here ) refer to as Obenauf's Oil.
I have not used Obenauf's LP. A search of this thread will indicate who has. I believe it is suited for something akin to weather proofing. I use O Oil as more of an additional conditioner.

 

[katev]

Hi! Has anyone had a red bag change in color with black rocks? I have a couple that I haven’t put black rocks on yet because I don’t want the red to darken too much.

Red bags are tricky, you could test a little blackrocks on an area that doesn't show inside the bag and see how it reacts.

@katev is right, reds are very tricky espically nyc reds, they darken very easily, just put it on lightly, working on sections one at a time, and wipe it off right away, then hang the bag in a warm room. That's at least what II works for me.

My red kisslock coin purse's color didn't change after Black Rock - the color got brighter and darker after dunking and conditioning in general (I used Leather Therapy and CPR and then Black Rock) because it was very dry before. I heard people saying that their bags' color would darken from Obenauf's more and that the Black Rock would usually affect the color temporarily only.

I have not rehabbed many red bags. I had applied O Oil to a very dry NYC Basic Bag and it darkened considerably. The app of Blackrock after that did not change it. I bought a red Pocket bag and a red Curtis in such good condition, I only applied a light condioner, no dunking.

Below is the link for a rehab reveal of 3 vintage red bags. They were all made in NYC in the 1980s and I was pleased with all the colors after rehabbing.

I didn't mention using blackrocks in the thread but I am certain that I did use it. It was almost a year after I learned first-hand how great blackrocks can make a vintage bag look. It instantly became a regular part of my usual rehabbing process, I even went back and used it on a number of previous projects. I might not use it on a pebbled leather bag, but I regularly use it on smooth, glove-tanned bags like these.

As I mentioned, red bags are tricky but if you are not happy with the current appearance, some Black Rocks may help a lot. In order to play it safe, it's always a good idea to test a product in an area that doesn't show.

Keep in mind that I have seen some vintage red bags get all spotty after the application of any type of conditioner, even the most mild and guaranteed not to change color conditioners, but if you give it some time the conditioner is absorbed and the color evens out again - at least that has been my experience. Good luck!

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/red-hot-in-nyc-three-bag-rehab-reveal.755638/

 

[Cyanide Rose]

Red bags are tricky, you could test a little blackrocks on an area that doesn't show inside the bag and see how it reacts.

@katev is right, reds are very tricky espically nyc reds, they darken very easily, just put it on lightly, working on sections one at a time, and wipe it off right away, then hang the bag in a warm room. That's at least what II works for me.

My red kisslock coin purse's color didn't change after Black Rock - the color got brighter and darker after dunking and conditioning in general (I used Leather Therapy and CPR and then Black Rock) because it was very dry before. I heard people saying that their bags' color would darken from Obenauf's more and that the Black Rock would usually affect the color temporarily only.

I have not rehabbed many red bags. I had applied O Oil to a very dry NYC Basic Bag and it darkened considerably. The app of Blackrock after that did not change it. I bought a red Pocket bag and a red Curtis in such good condition, I only applied a light condioner, no dunking.

Below is the link for a rehab reveal of 3 vintage red bags. They were all made in NYC in the 1980s and I was pleased with all the colors after rehabbing.

I didn't mention using blackrocks in the thread but I am certain that I did use it. It was almost a year after I learned first-hand how great blackrocks can make a vintage bag look. It instantly became a regular part of my usual rehabbing process, I even went back and used it on a number of previous projects. I might not use it on a pebbled leather bag, but I regularly use it on smooth, glove-tanned bags like these.

As I mentioned, red bags are tricky but if you are not happy with the current appearance, some Black Rocks may help a lot. In order to play it safe, it's always a good idea to test a product in an area that doesn't show.

Keep in mind that I have seen some vintage red bags get all spotty after the application of any type of conditioner, even the most mild and guaranteed not to change color conditioners, but if you give it some time the conditioner is absorbed and the color evens out again - at least that has been my experience. Good luck!

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/red-hot-in-nyc-three-bag-rehab-reveal.755638/

Thanks so much to all of you. I thought about testing the pocket inside. It is a New York bag. I will attach a picture Iin the next post. I actually like my bags better after black rocks. They feel more protected if that makes sense. I just didn’t want the red to darken much. I was going to let it go but I may keep it now.

 

[Cyanide Rose]

I just checked again, it’s a made in United States bag. I tried to show the brightness of the red in the picture but I was kinda thinking the black rocks would even it all out about bit more. Not sure though.

 

[catthecurious]

I just checked again, it’s a made in United States bag. I tried to show the brightness of the red in the picture but I was kinda thinking the black rocks would even it all out about bit more. Not sure though. View attachment 4367987

It's such a gorgeous bag! I would never let it go, but, again, at some point I also had to become more selective because their amount started getting out of hand. We all have our preferences!
I missed whether you dunked it, but my guess is you didn't because I think the color would be more intense. Now that I'm thinking about it, with NYC bags I probably dunked them all and therefore have no experience with thoroughly conditioning a very old bag without dunking it first.

 

[katev]

I just checked again, it’s a made in United States bag. I tried to show the brightness of the red in the picture but I was kinda thinking the black rocks would even it all out about bit more. Not sure though. View attachment 4367987

That's pretty! I would use BRs and it should even out the tan trim and it may make the red/orange color very rich - but it's always wise to test first - I don't always follow my own advice but it's usually doesn't hurt to be a bit cautious.

I tend to take more risks with an inexpensive bag that it is in poor condition then I do with a more expensive bag in good condition - but I would definitely consider using BRs on that bag.

 

[Cyanide Rose]

It's such a gorgeous bag! I would never let it go. Now that I'm thinking about it, with NYC bags I probably dunked them all and therefore have no experience with thoroughly conditioning a very old bag without dunking it first.

Thanks so much! I dunked it twice. After the first dunk, it had weird spot after I applied leather CPR, so I dunked it again and it dried evenly. Thank goodness.

I dunk all of my NYC bags too but I condition them two hours or so after I dunk them, especially the binding. They tend to dry out quickly, at least in my case. So to me, it keeps them from cracking.

My apologies for typos. This app doesn’t let you see what you are typing without deleting part of the post you are quoting and even then, it doesn’t always work.