Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[aerinha]

Happy Easter everyone! It’s finally sunny enough here in the UK to actually be able to dry some bags, so I’m starting with a burgundy courier. There is some color loss, any ideas how to darken it without paint? I have leather cpr and blackrocks ready to go, by any other tips would be amazing! Here are some pics in and out of the sun.View attachment 4410158View attachment 4410159View attachment 4410160View attachment 4410154

Wow that is beautiful! Love the color. Have you washed it? So far on my rehabs color loss has been fixed after washing and conditioning.

 

[Cate103]

Wow that is beautiful! Love the color. Have you washed it? So far on my rehabs color loss has been fixed after washing and conditioning.

Thanks so much! I have! The color is so dark and even now that it’s wet, I wish it would stay that way! I’ll condition and hopefully it’ll even out

 

[Cate103]

Happy Easter! Great find! You may not have to darken it. My recent burgundy bag I rehabbed had 3 coats of leather CPR. It was very very dry so I put one coat of Leather Therapy Restorer & Conditioner. It says it won't darken color significantly but I think mine did but just enough to restore the original color.

Ah good to know! Restoring the color is all I really want to do, I don’t need it too much darker than that thanks so much!

 

[katev]

Happy Easter everyone! It’s finally sunny enough here in the UK to actually be able to dry some bags, so I’m starting with a burgundy courier. There is some color loss, any ideas how to darken it without paint? I have leather cpr and blackrocks ready to go, by any other tips would be amazing! Here are some pics in and out of the sun.View attachment 4410158View attachment 4410159View attachment 4410160View attachment 4410154

You might try Obenauf's LP (leather protector) because it has a tendency to slightly darken the leather.

 

[nursebetty]

It's probably plated since I think they only used solid brass on their NYC era bags. However, I don't think cleaning older brass-plated locks (can't say anything about nickel) of this kind should be an issue. Sometimes they're in such poor condition (verdigris and/or corrosion and scratches) that removing plating is the only option. Unless someone shares a more elegant and easy way of doing it, it takes some time and elbow grease. If the lock is removable, I usually soak the parts for a few hours in some water with Brasso added in a closed jar that I shake occasionally. That makes the process a bit easier. After that - just scrubbing with steel wool and Brasso, then polishing with jewelry polishing squares and fine-tuning with a jewelry cloth.

Thank you. I am going to try some steel wool on the reverse side of the turnlock and see what I find. Hopefully I will just take off the factory lacquer and reveal brass tone underneath. I tried the magnet trick and the top part of the turnlock does not 'stick' but the knob part does - it might just be the metal parts inside the the magnet is drawn to - I tried the same thing on my Manor turnlock and it responded the same way. I love your brasso jar idea, BTW!

 

[nursebetty]

I rehabbed a 1994 Essex. I dunked it just as I would any other bag.

It had the older style turnlocks:

View attachment 4409468

I didn't remove them -- they were pretty clean. I just masked off the leather and rubbed the hardware with steel wool, followed by Cape Cod Metal Polishing cloth.

Yours appear to be a different style turnlock. I think you'll probably need to use steel wool on them to remove the coating, then polish using your favorite method.

The Essex was one of my most memorable rehabs, well worth the time and effort. Enjoy!

Thank you! I find the shear size and weight of the bag a bit daunting. Good to know the results will be worth it. It's for my husband, and the first thing he said when he pulled it out of the shipping box was "this thing is HEAVY!" Well, I did warn him but he just did not really believe it was going to be that dense, LOL.

 

[Ireiki4u]

Can you dunk a Sheridan Monticello ok? The black one I received is super squishy it feels like maybe cardboard in the bottom section. My brown one feels completely different

 

[katev]

Can you dunk a Sheridan Monticello ok? The black one I received is super squishy it feels like maybe cardboard in the bottom section. My brown one feels completely different

There was a recent discussion about dunking Sheridan bags, search this thread for more information.

Here are before and after pics of a Sheridan Glenwood bag that I dunked years ago when I was new rehabbing - it came out great!
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/what-happens-when-you-dunk-a-bag-that-shouldnt-get-wet.689911/

 

[Ava_13579]

Hi everyone, and hope you're having a great long weekend.

Posting about a bag that I plan to rehab. If possible, I'd really like to hear your opinions.

It’s an Emmie Flap from 1997 in Periwinkle.

The bag is a light color. I plan to give the bag a bath, and use conditioner. I don't see any color loss on the body of the bag. There’s a bit of color loss on the corners, which I’m fine with; I have acrylic leather paints, and plan to use paint to touch up the corners.

I’m mostly concerned about the leather loops. Anyone have an opinion about whether the loops are unusually stretched / damaged, or whether the loops look pretty typical for a vintage Coach bag?

@whateve : you mentioned that this bag holds quite a bit of stuff. Looking at the loops, I'm assuming that the previous owner carried quite a bit in this bag.

I'm going to upload more photos in a second post, below.

(Hope it's ok that I'm uploading so many photos! I figured that showing quite a bit of detail could be helpful.)

 

[Ava_13579]

Here are the additional photos that I mentioned in my last post. =)

 

[nursebetty]

Here are the additional photos that I mentioned in my last post. =)

View attachment 4410574 View attachment 4410575 View attachment 4410576 View attachment 4410577 View attachment 4410578 View attachment 4410579 View attachment 4410580 View attachment 4410581 View attachment 4410582 View attachment 4410583

What a pretty bag! I have a few bags with straps that are overstretched. One that I took to a cobbler looked much worse - I thought he might have to remove that section of leather and replace with fresh stock. The cobbler talked me out of it, said structurally it was still fine. I hope that helps?

Painting the strap edges did help cosmetically. You might consider glueing that protruding bit that has come undone - you can use a clothespeg over something flat ( so the peg doesn't mark the leather) to secure while drying then paint that edge too.

Now I'll be looking for an Emmie Flap

 

[whateve]

Hi everyone, and hope you're having a great long weekend.

Posting about a bag that I plan to rehab. If possible, I'd really like to hear your opinions.

It’s an Emmie Flap from 1997 in Periwinkle.

The bag is a light color. I plan to give the bag a bath, and use conditioner. I don't see any color loss on the body of the bag. There’s a bit of color loss on the corners, which I’m fine with; I have acrylic leather paints, and plan to use paint to touch up the corners.

I’m mostly concerned about the leather loops. Anyone have an opinion about whether the loops are unusually stretched / damaged, or whether the loops look pretty typical for a vintage Coach bag?

@whateve : you mentioned that this bag holds quite a bit of stuff. Looking at the loops, I'm assuming that the previous owner carried quite a bit in this bag.

I'm going to upload more photos in a second post, below.

(Hope it's ok that I'm uploading so many photos! I figured that showing quite a bit of detail could be helpful.)

I don't think they look very stretched out. I wouldn't be concerned unless the leather was abnormally thin. It should rehab beautifully.

 

[Ava_13579]

What a pretty bag! I have a few bags with straps that are overstretched. One that I took to a cobbler looked much worse - I thought he might have to remove that section of leather and replace with fresh stock. The cobbler talked me out of it, said structurally it was still fine. I hope that helps?

Painting the strap edges did help cosmetically. You might consider glueing that protruding bit that has come undone - you can use a clothespeg over something flat ( so the peg doesn't mark the leather) to secure while drying then paint that edge too.

Now I'll be looking for an Emmie Flap

@nursebetty

Thank you so much for letting me know, and that’s very helpful! I’m now much more excited about this bag.

About painting the strap edges, good point! Thanks, and will do!

About gluing a part that’s come loose, I assume you mean that bit on the strap? (Uploading a photo to show you what I’m talking about.)

Or do you see another part that should be glued?

 

[Ava_13579]

I don't think they look very stretched out. I wouldn't be concerned unless the leather was abnormally thin. It should rehab beautifully.

@whateve Thank you so much! I really appreciate your advice and experience.

May I ask, do you have an opinion about whether a Periwinkle bag should be given a bath?

I was planning to give the bag a bath mostly so that the bag can be reshaped.

Maybe I should be considering giving the bag a bath with water only, and no soap?

 

[whateve]

@whateve Thank you so much! I really appreciate your advice and experience.

May I ask, do you have an opinion about whether a Periwinkle bag should be given a bath?

I was planning to give the bag a bath mostly so that the bag can be reshaped.

Maybe I should be considering giving the bag a bath with water only, and no soap?

I don't think soap would hurt. I've found that bags from this era don't bleed in the bath. My periwinkle bag was new looking when I got it, so I didn't bathe it but it needed it, I wouldn't hesitate. I would be more careful as to which conditioners I used. I would feel comfortable with Leather CPR. I wouldn't risk Leather Therapy or any conditioners that might darken. I'm not sure I would use Blackrocks. I'd probably test it on the inside first.