Good morning, I'm a total newbie when it comes to coach rehabing.I bought a Patricia Legacy last fall at GW she was in great condition, clean no edge ware or scratches.So my love of vintage Coach purses was born.I have kept her conditioned with Apple Care and she is soft and buttery I love her dearly.Of lately I have bin moaning a bit about her heftyness in the Florida heat.My boss overheard this and went on a shopping frenzy on e-bay. The first gift, a black station messenger bag hit me Thursday at work, after I got the mail, she casually shoved the box across the table, that is for you I think.She wached me like a nervous cat while my jaw hit the ground.I had her authenticicated here right away.On my way out the door she pops up with, there is a couple more coming, I had them shipped to your house, Im tired of you waring the same bag all the time. Those two turned out to be genuine also.So I now have the pleasure of rehabing 3 black new to me Coach purses. After reading here for the past couple of days I have ordered leather cpr, edgecoat, obenauf's and a new horsehair brush.I have cape cod cloth for the hardware and whoolite and the regular old fashiond dawn. It seems to me the more I read the more stuff is mentioned, like blackrock.What is the difference between blackrock and obenauf's.Im getting confused by the overload on information. The purses I'm trying to do are all black and smooth leathered. The messenger bag I gave a conditioning coat with Apple care just because it felt so dry and stiff.I still plan on dunking her when the ergo mini and small legacy zip get here. So right now I'm sitting on my hands with my boss breathing fire up my back, she is 80 with no time to spare as she is so fond of pointing out.
Now, as I mentioned, the schedule above is the ideal schedule.
I find that the schedule often looks more like the one below. This one varies based on the bag.
Could be because I'm not a master rehabber, but it's why I say between 10 and 14 days, because I don't really expect to be able to wear the bag for about 14 days.
THE "WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING" SCHEDULE
Day 1
Wash - Hangtag (if applicable)
Wash - Strap
Wash - Bag
Day 2
Leather CPR - Hangtag and strap - First coat
Leather CPR - Outside of bag - First coat
Day 3
Leather CPR - Hangtag and strap - Second coat
Leather CPR - Outside of bag - Second coat
Leather CPR - Inside of bag - First coat
Day 4
Leather CPR - Hangtag and strap - Third coat
Leather CPR - Outside of bag - Third coat
Leather CPR - Inside of bag - Second coat
Day 5
Leather CPR - Inside of bag - Third coat
Leather CPR - Inside pockets (leather only, not suede) - First coat
Day 6
Leather CPR - Inside pockets (leather only, not suede) - Second coat
Day 7
Leather CPR - Outside of bag - If any areas still seem dry, I add a bit of CPR to those spots
Leather CPR - Inside pockets (leather only, not suede) - Third coat
Day 8
Blackrock - Hangtag and strap - First coat
Blackrock - Outside of bag - First coat
Day 9
Blackrock - Hangtag and strap - Second coat
Blackrock - Outside of bag - Second coat
Day 10 - 13
Wait to make sure conditioner is dry
Day 14
Wear the bag
Note:
Wanted to mention why, in the schedule above, the conditioning is staggered (i.e. outside of bag, inside of bag, and leather inside pockets).
Before the leather is conditioned, it can be stiff.
To access the inside of the bag, and the leather inside the pockets, often the leather has to be bent.
For example, if the bag has a flap, the flap will need to be bent, to get to the inside of the bag.
Which is why I find that I wait for most of the bag to be conditioned before trying to apply conditioner to those areas.
It's ideal to apply conditioner while leather is slightly damp, so it would be nice to do these areas a bit earlier.
Though sometimes they are still very slightly damp by the time they're conditioned.
I find that generally, the first area of the bag to become dry is the outside of the bag, the second area to become dry is the inside, and the third area to become dry is the insides of the pockets.
