Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Yes, I use it full strength to kill any mold or mildew.
Even though I buy bags in really great condition, cleaning with vinegar always makes me feel better about the bags cleanliness. They aren't bags that need to be dunked, so it feels good to do something, especially on the inside, and sometimes I do it multiple times just in case. The outside I do a quick, soft run over with vinegar. The recent bag I bought, the red station bag, had a tiny smell, and though the outside was perfect, the inside wasn't as clean as my others--so the vinegar wipe has really helped.
That red is gorgeous!!! Is that where the color 1941 red originated?
I just bought a vintage Crescent from an estate sale for $4! Already authenticated by Hyacinth. There's some minor cleanup needed but overall looks like new. I don't think it had ever been used. Even had all the paperwork. Here's the issue - it SMELLS. Smells like musty attic. Smells so bad the smell makes me sick. I've read some of the thread and found some ideas to try. Right now I'm trying the baking soda but I'm sure it's not going to take the smell out. Can someone give me an idea of what order to try first before resorting to dunking (which I've never done and scares me) or does it not really matter? I didn't find the answer to that question in the Coach forum. Any input would be appreciated. Here's a pic of my vintage beauty
Amazing find! I am no pro rehabber and relatively new to it and like you I was terrified of dunking a leather bag. But hopefully from one newbie to another you can believe me, it’s really not that bad. And these older styles can handle it. You can do it!
Do you live in a humid climate? If not I would suggest trying to leave it outside propped open for a few days during the day to try and air some of the smell out. I wouldn’t leave mine out overnight as they might get a little dew on them by morning. And you can try wiping it down with a vinegar and water mix it while it’s outside. I think dunking it is what will get most of the smell out and letting it soak. My red daypack I recently rehabbed had a very strong closet old scent. After dunking I poured water and vinegar into it and swished it around and then rinsed. It still had the odor as it dried but got better everyday. I’ve noticed bags can keep their odor until it is 100% dry which can take days. After I moisturized the daypack and she was finished I bought charcoal odor absorber sachets from Amazon. If you search charcoal odor absorber a bunch will pop up. These work great! And are reusable, you “recharge” them by setting them in the sun for a few hours. I left these in the daypack for about a week and now the bag smells FRESH! Like wonderful fresh leather.
Don’t be afraid of dunking the bag! It’s black and sturdy as long as you moisturize it after it will be incredibly hard to mess it up
I used vinegar to get rid of strong cigarette smoke in a glovetanned bag. It was so bad I spritzed the leather with 50/50 white vinegar water several times, allowing it to air dry in the shade, before washing it, and it worked. Be aware that I only tried it with one bag; so it might not be good for your bag. I just wanted you to know in case nothing else works. I needed something to pull out the scent; so I was aggressive, and thankfully it worked as the vinegar water evaporated and took the smoke with it. Hopefully just wiping will be enough for you.
Wow! You really revived this leather, and it looks so healthy now! Did you do a coat of Blackrock at the end? It looks so good.My Mahogany Lula’s Legacy is finished! It was in pretty good shape mostly just dry and a bit of surface dirt. I’m really REALLY loving this style and I’ll be using it for the first time tomorrow, last pic shows my siggy accessories I plan on pairing with it. I think I’d love this in navy
First 2 are before and last 2 are after. In person I can’t see some of the spots that show up in the after pics! My phone camera may be better than my eyes at this point lol
View attachment 4512444
View attachment 4512441 View attachment 4512442 View attachment 4512443
Yay!Fixed my yellow city bag!used a leather degreaser around the piping, took all that oil out! Didn't follow the directions and it left a water mark but I'd rather have a faint watermark than brown piping. Before and after. It looks better in person. Lol
I'm glad you were able to restore it! And thank you for sharing about leather degreaser. I had no idea!Thanks! Yes I ended with a coat of blackrocks, it really added a great rich sheen to the leather.
What a transformation! You really brought out the red. This color is so beautiful too! I am hoping to get a red one someday, and you've shown me how well the color restores!
For preloved newer bags that are lumpy, I wipe with a damp cloth and white vinegar/water and then with Leather CPR. If it's dry you can also add more Leather CPR. On a white bag like that, I would do a final light coat of Blackrock's Leather N Rich the next day, immediately wiping off the excess before it sets. I applied it on my beechwood Dinky to protect the light color. You can stuff it with towels or whatever you have to shape it while the conditioner is soaking in. Gently cleaning and conditioning really helps the bag to be able to be shaped a bit. I learned about the conditioners here from Whateve; so she might have more ideas for you.
I think there are different variations, and mine is a slightly darker red. I think there are some brighter reds, and I am not sure which one matches 1941, lol!
I just bought a vintage Crescent from an estate sale for $4! Already authenticated by Hyacinth. There's some minor cleanup needed but overall looks like new. I don't think it had ever been used. Even had all the paperwork. Here's the issue - it SMELLS. Smells like musty attic. Smells so bad the smell makes me sick. I've read some of the thread and found some ideas to try. Right now I'm trying the baking soda but I'm sure it's not going to take the smell out. Can someone give me an idea of what order to try first before resorting to dunking (which I've never done and scares me) or does it not really matter? I didn't find the answer to that question in the Coach forum. Any input would be appreciated. Here's a pic of my vintage beauty
One other thought: you might want to check for verdigris (green waxy stuff) around the turnlock, buckles and the eyelets in the strap, if you haven't already.
I just bought a vintage Crescent from an estate sale for $4! Already authenticated by Hyacinth. There's some minor cleanup needed but overall looks like new. I don't think it had ever been used. Even had all the paperwork. Here's the issue - it SMELLS. Smells like musty attic. Smells so bad the smell makes me sick. I've read some of the thread and found some ideas to try. Right now I'm trying the baking soda but I'm sure it's not going to take the smell out. Can someone give me an idea of what order to try first before resorting to dunking (which I've never done and scares me) or does it not really matter? I didn't find the answer to that question in the Coach forum. Any input would be appreciated. Here's a pic of my vintage beauty
Beautiful buy for $4, @Freak4Coach! In terms of smells, I haven't tackled this yet but a luxury bag YouTuber I follow named Autumn Beckman recommended Ozium canisters which she actually stores inside a bag to help eliminate the smell; she typically deals with preloved LV so I don't know if she's used this sort of thing in cowhide leather bags before. Here's a link on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K007R6...-storefront&ref=exp_cov_autumnbeckman_dp_vv_d
@Catbird9 already mentioned this but I noticed some verdigris around the turnlock when you posted pics in the Authentication thread -- you might want to try removing the hardware to clean it well underneath. Brasso works really well with brass; someone else recommended a dollop of Brasso in a mason jar with a little water and the (removed) hardware and letting it soak for a couple hours, which worked nicely for my pocket pouch hardware; in my case it was just around the edges similar to how it looks on yours, but once I removed it from the bag the undersides of the hardware were caked in the stuff so I knew it would just continue seeping out unless I addressed it. My two cents!
Also, is there a stain on the back of it or was that just the lighting in the pic on the Authentication thread? I think dunking this one would go well but it's entirely up to you. Keep us posted on your progress with whatever you decide to tackle!