Thank you everyone for the tips on how to remove smoke from my bag! I keep thinking of how well allowing vinegar to evaporate worked on fabric. Is it safe to try soaking the leather bag in vinegar water and letting it air dry in the shade to help it pull out the smoke? Can the bag handle being soaked in the vinegar and air dried more than once?
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
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IMO, some of the older bags seem a bit stiffer, dryer, especially if they were well used, not conditioned and may just be the lot of leather they came from. Have handled a few at thrift shops, flea markets. My oldest bag is a small shoulder bag, Creed with no serial # and the leather is stiffer. On the other hand, it wouldn’t surprise me if people replied saying they had bags of your age with supple leather.
I believe the color of your bag is Mocha. I have a Marketing Tote from the mid 80s in that color with stains and I know what you mean. It was very dry, with thick leather. I used Obenauf's Oil and it did not change the color, and it made the leather supple. Lol, I have a friend who is crazy about that tote, stains, wear and all. I only remember one person sharing here they Obenauf’s LP. That seems to be recommended more for waterproofing/weather proofing. The poster was okay with that as it was a black bag, iirc, she would be using as a work bag on public transportation .
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Thanks for posting this link. I had seen this post before and though it was stunning. And a crazy good save of a red bag.
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I hadn't seen that thread before and just read it. She did a beautiful job!
Mocha sounds about right, from what I've seen in pics and on eBay. I couldn't remember what it was called. Thank you!
I will go ahead and order the Obenauf Oil, I want to give it a try. I should have some on hand any way.
Thank you so much!
Rehab Reveal!
Before: the leather was in great condition but the bag was very dirty and had spots and residue inside and out.
After: nice and clean!! She needs a little more conditioning and the hardware polished but I can already tell this rehab was a success.
Before: the leather was in great condition but the bag was very dirty and had spots and residue inside and out.
After: nice and clean!! She needs a little more conditioning and the hardware polished but I can already tell this rehab was a success.
Looks so good! Great job!
I don't know if there's another thread for this because it's not really a rehab related. I went to a leather tooling class today and learned how to carve and use different tools. It's not easy. I have a whole new level of respect for people who do this! 
Hi Everyone
Looking for some advice on my first “real” rehab.. (my first since I’ve only ever washed bags that were already ok, and by bags I mean one bag...)
I recently received a beige/cream Devon bag that I purchased on eBay and there were some hidden stains the seller didn’t disclose! To be fair I think the seller might not have known that they were there...
Here is a photo of the stain in the back slip pocket - looks oily? But luckily it did not bleed out to the back of the bag (though as you can see there is a light mark on the back of the bag that’s covered by this pocket).
Here is a photo inside the zipper pocket.. not sure what that stain is but I’m guessing it might be pen or marker? There are light pen marks all over the inside of the pocket.
There is also a more prominent green line under the zipper on the inside of the pocket, like someone took a highlighter and ran it along the zipper. I don’t see green on the hardware but am wondering if that is verdigris?
I’m a little annoyed because I feel like the seller should have checked and disclosed these... however I still like the bag and if I can clean it up I think it’d be really nice. Since it’s a light coloured bag, I just wanted to check with you experienced rehabbers to see if there are any special precautions I should take so that I can remove the stains, or at least not spread them around the bag.
I’d really appreciate any input. Thanks in advance!
Looking for some advice on my first “real” rehab.. (my first since I’ve only ever washed bags that were already ok, and by bags I mean one bag...)
I recently received a beige/cream Devon bag that I purchased on eBay and there were some hidden stains the seller didn’t disclose! To be fair I think the seller might not have known that they were there...
Here is a photo of the stain in the back slip pocket - looks oily? But luckily it did not bleed out to the back of the bag (though as you can see there is a light mark on the back of the bag that’s covered by this pocket).
Here is a photo inside the zipper pocket.. not sure what that stain is but I’m guessing it might be pen or marker? There are light pen marks all over the inside of the pocket.
There is also a more prominent green line under the zipper on the inside of the pocket, like someone took a highlighter and ran it along the zipper. I don’t see green on the hardware but am wondering if that is verdigris?
I’m a little annoyed because I feel like the seller should have checked and disclosed these... however I still like the bag and if I can clean it up I think it’d be really nice. Since it’s a light coloured bag, I just wanted to check with you experienced rehabbers to see if there are any special precautions I should take so that I can remove the stains, or at least not spread them around the bag.
I’d really appreciate any input. Thanks in advance!
The green is verdigris that came from the zipper. I actually think you are being too critical of the seller. IMO, these are all minor things that are on the inside of the bag. I might try cornstarch on that oily looking stain.
Another newb looking for advice [emoji23] I recently purchased a Chelsea Hobo in Mineral # 10959 and I think it’s in pretty good shape but I’d like to spruce her up a bit. But I’m a little afraid of this leather, Coach called it “vintage” and I think that just meant it was untreated or something like that. I did look back through this thread and found a post from someone who dunked theirs and it came out very nice. I don’t think this is the bag I should be attempting that with for my first time haha!
I’m wondering if I could give it a light wipe down with some soapy / vinegar water and then moisturize? This leather seems like it’s meant to be worn in so I don’t want to completely remove its “patina” but the bottom is definitely darker and seems to be a bit dirty. And there is a large scratch across the front that I’m hoping some moisturizer can blend in a bit.
I’ll probably try to clean off part of the bottom to test first and see how the leather reacts before I do the whole thing. Unless someone advises me not to mess with this leather [emoji23] I seem to have fallen down the rabbit hole of this era of Chelsea’s, I’m usually not into the older styles I appreciate them and enjoy looking at them but I may have found my era of older Coach! This bag is just so well made. I got into Coach a few years after this bag was released.
Thanks for any help! Or just for listening [emoji1]
I’m wondering if I could give it a light wipe down with some soapy / vinegar water and then moisturize? This leather seems like it’s meant to be worn in so I don’t want to completely remove its “patina” but the bottom is definitely darker and seems to be a bit dirty. And there is a large scratch across the front that I’m hoping some moisturizer can blend in a bit.
I’ll probably try to clean off part of the bottom to test first and see how the leather reacts before I do the whole thing. Unless someone advises me not to mess with this leather [emoji23] I seem to have fallen down the rabbit hole of this era of Chelsea’s, I’m usually not into the older styles I appreciate them and enjoy looking at them but I may have found my era of older Coach! This bag is just so well made. I got into Coach a few years after this bag was released.
Thanks for any help! Or just for listening [emoji1]
So love the colour lf this..look forward to seeing her rehabbed.
Thanks for the prompt response, whateve!
You’re right, I guess I’m being a crybaby because I’ve been mostly lucky with my eBay purchases. In the grand scheme of things it’s still a beautiful bag, just a bit dirtier than expected.
About the cornstarch, should I try that before or after soaking the bag? Thanks!!
I would work on the stains before soaking. Soaking might spread the stains. Try to sand the verdigris off the suede before getting it wet. You can use vinegar to clean the zipper and you can use it to scrub the verdigris stain, but once it gets wet it can spread so it is best to try to get as much off while it is dry.
The color is so pretty! I love wearing clothing this color so it’s kinda crazy I’ve never had a bag in this shade. I think it’ll be great for Summer. I’ll definitely post pics when I’m done cleaning her up [emoji1]