Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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#22,516
Morgan_Bellini said:
So last week I received my "black" Costa Rican Willis with nickel hardware from Mercari and it turned out to be navy blue. Again. I have now bought two "black" Willises that turned out to be navy blue. The first one I decided to keep because it was in great shape and I decided I liked the color after all. The second one was a major disappointment and I didn't want to keep it. However, I bought it off of Mercari and I didn't even open the box within the first 3 days....for reasons. Just reasons, we'll keep it at that. Long story short, my fault but I'm now stuck with the bag. The bad news is that when I finally did open the box, I discovered the back pocket was covered in white colored mold. In a moment of exhaustion and irritation I filled the entire purse with straight white distilled vinegar and let it sit overnight. I rinsed, soaped, and soaked again this morning and now the bag is drying. My question is, do you guys think the white vinegar killed the mold? Would you feel comfortable carrying the bag or at this point should I just scrap the bag and harvest the lovely nickel hardware from it?
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And I know people here have posted not to do this, but I would probably dunk it in 2 gallons of water with a cup of bleach, for about 10 minutes while gently scrubbing with a tooth brush, follow by a 15 minute rinse in warm water alone.
While I cannot say there will be no color loss, early on, I used this process with 2 bags, putty and another neutral, that were mildew stinky with no apparent detriment to the leather or color. And since I am looking to experiment with dark blue recolorant, it would be a good bag to experiment with, any thing, dyes, conditioners.
And if I were to sell my bags, I would say they water stained, mildewy (both accurate) and can you believe how great they look after being soaked in bleach and conditioned (both accurate)??
And yes, it can be a donor bag, strap, handle, hardware, hang tag . . .
 
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#22,517
Lake Effect said:
And I know people here have posted not to do this, but I would probably dunk it in 2 gallons of water with a cup of bleach, for about 10 minutes while gently scrubbing with a tooth brush, follow by a 15 minute rinse in warm water alone.
While I cannot say there will be no color loss, early on, I used this process with 2 bags, putty and another neutral, that were mildew stinky with no apparent detriment to the leather or color. And since I am looking to experiment with dark blue recolorant, it would be a good bag to experiment with, any thing, dyes, conditioners.
And if I were to sell my bags, I would say they water stained, mildewy (both accurate) and can you believe how great they look after being soaked in bleach and conditioned (both accurate)??
And yes, it can be a donor bag, strap, handle, hardware, hang tag . . .
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Sounds good to me, I've got nothing to lose!
 
#22,519
Lake Effect said:
Happy to, ty! There is Plaza (smaller) that is about 9” x 8” and mine , the Plaza Large, about 11” x 8”. Sellers don’t often know the name, and don’t get the measurements right . Let me see if I can find posts of the description here.
There are so many vintage styles out there. I was amazed when I first started exploring vintage Coach a few years ago, with the help of the Forum. I had no idea.
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Large sounds perfect! Maybe I'll get lucky and find one at a great price.
 
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#22,521
Lake Effect said:
Well here is my challenge! Can I restore this BT Plaza (large) to its former glory? A black Plaza I purchased in great condition is rooting it on! I will say, the BT has that amazingly smooshy leather. Maybe that made it easier to be completely squashed flat, and I mean flat. The softness of the leather and size of the front slip pocket are encouring to consider removing both pieces of the turnlock to clean :yes:View attachment 4519037
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My squashed before pic!
And now, my after, standing, with a few stains though, a bit a forward lean. image.jpgimage.jpg
I did just buy a used chambray blue hang tag, that I think will go well with the distressed , patina look. Have not ruled out more conditioning.
 
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#22,525
I bought another black Costa Rican Willis with nickel hardware that is actually black this time, not navy blue - woo hoo! - however it's covered in shoe polish and the nickel hardware looks like the lacquer is peeling, similar to how the brass hardware often looks on vintage bags. ALL of my other vintage bags have pristine nickel hardware, have you guys ever seen tarnished or worn nickel hardware? The leather is in great shape on this bag, is it worth it to remove the shoe polish or should I send it back?
 
#22,527
Morgan_Bellini said:
I bought another black Costa Rican Willis with nickel hardware that is actually black this time, not navy blue - woo hoo! - however it's covered in shoe polish and the nickel hardware looks like the lacquer is peeling, similar to how the brass hardware often looks on vintage bags. ALL of my other vintage bags have pristine nickel hardware, have you guys ever seen tarnished or worn nickel hardware? The leather is in great shape on this bag, is it worth it to remove the shoe polish or should I send it back?
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That's too bad. I would probably return it because of the shoe polish. I don't think the nickel hardware is supposed to tarnish. Maybe it reacted with the shoe polish?
 
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#22,529
In the middle of cleaning up a new-to-me black pocket purse. I gave it a bath yesterday. It was in great condition, but there was some sticky stuff in the rear pocket. I had to scrub that bad boy a few times and rinse until it came off. I was about to throw some Goo Gone on it! Other than that, the creed is a little faded, and the bag is thirsty. Put my first coat of CPR before I went to work. I'll post some pics when I've finished it. Just a quick shout out to everyone who posts in this particular thread and shared their tips and tricks. This is only my second dunk and I feel super confident, because I have poured through this thread. All your advice is amazing. I'm not quite ready to take on ink marks or stitching, but grime and faded corners don't deter me from a purchase anymore.
 
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