Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[tealocean]

We don't wear shoes in the house either. But I don't think anyone would want all of my many shoes by the door! lol! That would be crazy in my situation We do keep my son's there though. My husband and I just bring whatever shoes we are wearing to the door area.

 

[nursebetty]

I wonder if more water got inside because you took off the hardware. Maybe it wouldn't have warped if the hardware had been left on, and possibly not dunked for too long.

That's a good point! The hardware may have kept that area clamped shut. I don't remember how long I soaked, but I don't think it was unusually long. I wonder if others took their hardware off first?

 

[tealocean]

Pics of flap before and after. Still a stunning bag - but it would be awesome if the flap didn't lose that crispness.

+1! It's still beautiful!

 

[whateve]

That's a good point! The hardware may have kept that area clamped shut. I don't remember how long I soaked, but I don't think it was unusually long. I wonder if others took their hardware off first?

I'm pretty sure I dunked one without taking off the hardware. I didn't get the flap absolutely flat.

 

[Lothruin]

Cleaned hardware tonight. Just a water and baking soda paste on most of it, with a little bit of very fine steel wool on the turnlocks. I'm leaving the patina on the hardware from the tote. Tomorrow, we dunk. I am going to dunk the Murphy, even with the wood dowel, but not submerge that bit. I'm fairly sure the two newer bags are Mocha. Does anyone have a recommendation for a puff paint match? The plug on one end of the dowel is missing, and I think it almost looks like it is just edge paint, but it could be a small round of leather, and I might be able to find a close match in my stash. But just in case...

 

[CoachMaven]

Does anyone know if the Sheridan Monticello has cardboard in the flap? I have one coming to me in the next couple of days, and while lined I was contemplating dunking if necessary.

 

[whateve]

Cleaned hardware tonight. Just a water and baking soda paste on most of it, with a little bit of very fine steel wool on the turnlocks. I'm leaving the patina on the hardware from the tote. Tomorrow, we dunk. I am going to dunk the Murphy, even with the wood dowel, but not submerge that bit. I'm fairly sure the two newer bags are Mocha. Does anyone have a recommendation for a puff paint match? The plug on one end of the dowel is missing, and I think it almost looks like it is just edge paint, but it could be a small round of leather, and I might be able to find a close match in my stash. But just in case...

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I really wouldn't worry about getting the dowel wet. Wood will dry. I've dunked many bags with dowels and didn't treat them any differently from other dunkings. Mocha isn't a newer color. I don't recall ever seeing that color name used in the 90s. The dowels were covered with leather. Sometimes they fell off and some people painted the dowel.

 

[catthecurious]

I am glad to be forewarned, had I known my Willis had a wooden rod at the top I would not have submerged it because water is terrible for wood. If it seems to have cardboard I will dunk the bottom and just wipe the top section. Although I wonder what CPR seeping into it will do. Having just taken the color out of a Tods trying to remove a small ink line, I am in cautious mode.

I fully submerged both the full-sized Willis I rehabbed for a friend and my own baby Willis. I knew about the wooden dowel, bit I also knew about people dunking them without any issues. I didn't even think about removing the dowel rings - it didn't ever dawn on me! It all went well and both bags are still doing fine 2 or 3 years later.

 

[catthecurious]

No worries, it's a fair question. I had both bags authenticated here.
In hindsight, now that I know about the fibreboard, I don't know why I didn't look for it sooner. How else is the flap going to maintain that shape? If the leather were not backed, it would be far more flexible. Even if you have two layers of leather, there would be some flop. I believe it's also necessary to have some kind of stiffener as a base for turnlocks and snap hardware installation, or the leather would just tear from use eventually.

I haven't dunked my recently purchased Italian Madison yet, but I know @katev rehabbed a few of them and her theory is that there's no cardboard, but rather a layer of a very stiff leather inside. Guess neither of us have seen the bag in such poor condition that its guts are spilling out yet, so there's no concrete proof, LoL!

 

[catthecurious]

I did four and that might have been too much. This morning she felt sticky in parts like the CPR oozed out over night

That might also depend on how much moisturizer you use. I usually put it on in very thin layers, try to spread it quickly and massage well. It's just a habit, I never thought about right or wrong way of doing that. So maybe that's why my bags require so many layers overall.

 

[catthecurious]

So I just finished the rehab process for the first time on a Coach Station bag (black, pre-1994), and thought I'd outline the steps I took for y'all.

1) Bathing: Look at that gnarly gunk in the water--gross! So glad these old bags can be dunked like this to get them really clean! I’m already having so much fun!

2) Drying/Shaping: Wow, it’s already looking so much better! This was a really great idea.

3) Applying leather conditioner: This is going so well and is really a pretty easy! I definitely need to find more bags to rehab--it’s so fun and rewarding!

4) Blackrocks & Buffing: I am a bag rehab goddess.

5) Polishing hardware: Why in the world did I ever think this was a good idea, omg. This is the most frustrating and tedious task I have ever undertaken in my life and if I never touch another piece of brass it will be too soon. The smell of Brasso is making me dizzy and my eyes are starting to cross....has it really been two hours already?? I am NEVER doing this again, what was I thinking?

6) After: Ooooh so pretty and shiny! Can’t wait for my next bag to arrive so I can get started again!

But seriously, I spent the last week or so reading through the first Rehab and Rescue thread and there is SO much amazingly helpful info. I'm so grateful to everyone who has contributed their knowledge, experience, tips, and tricks here. I'm on page 121 of this current thread, and I'm not giving up until I've caught up lol.

Guess one is never considered baptised as a rehabber until their first dunk

 

[Syren]

I bought leather glue recently so I could do that. It is not uncommon for them to separate with time. I put a thin even coat on one part, aligned them and put them under a book for several hours, and let it lie flat for 24 hours. Looks like new!

Good to know! I won’t let a separated tag deter me [emoji1]

 

[katev]

If I'm stating the obvious - my apologies! We all master our rehab skills through trial and error, and my latest "Eurica!" moment is probably old news for some of you.

One of my bags fell on a buckle from another bag while being stored and spent maybe a few months this way. It had some pretty noticeable dents on the side afterwards... since it wasn't something that lasted several years, I knew it was possible to get rid of them probably after dunking. However, it was otherwise in perfect condition and I didn't want to go through the whole process. So I put a small saucepan with boiling water on the stove and held the dented side above the steam for maybe 3 min. The leather became really soft, damp and pliable, bit the dents were still there. So I kept holding the bag above the steam while gently but consistently pushing the dent with my finger from the inside (it was an unlined bag). Then I did the same with another dent. They eventually became barely visible. Then I moisturized still warm damp bag with the CPR - the bag needed it, anyway - and let it rest for a day. In the morning it looked perfect!

I'm sure someone else here "invented" the trick before me, but I was pretty excited to do this fix with such little effort. Didn't take any pictures, sorry...

Never heard of using steam before, that's a great idea! You know Willis bags often have persistent dents where the dowel rod D-rings rest against the top of the bag - even after dunking. I wonder if steaming could get them out!

If you have an old stove-top tea kettle you could direct the spout at a specific spot on the bag - but don't get burned!

 

[katev]

For what it's worth, I once dunked a microfiber Kate Spade messenger bag that I knew had cardboard in the bottom, and it came out fine.

 

[Lothruin]

I really wouldn't worry about getting the dowel wet. Wood will dry. I've dunked many bags with dowels and didn't treat them any differently from other dunkings. Mocha isn't a newer color. I don't recall ever seeing that color name used in the 90s. The dowels were covered with leather. Sometimes they fell off and some people painted the dowel.

Oh! I was just comparing it as best I could to several of the color charts I've found, although I suppose the newest one I saw with a date was 1989. I found the color charts in the reference thread! It will be tough to tell for sure until they're their nice rich selves again, but I guess these must be Mahogany.

Re the dowel plug: I think the other side that still exists is original, I just couldn't tell for certain, perhaps because it hasn't yet been cleaned, weather it was leather or a good paint job. I am sure I have some dark brown leather in my stash that I can use to cap the other end to match. It might be a slightly different color, but given the nature of the spot, shouldn't be obvious at all.

Thank you so much!