Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[qwertie]

Thanks for the insights whateve and Catbird9. I shall give it another try and report back! Thanks again!

Haven't tried that on verdigris myself, but I used toothpaste to clean some other tough stains with good results. The mild polishing effect of toothpaste works wonders in cleaning

Ran out of white vinegar at the moment but I just gave the zippers a few good scrubs using a toothbrush, a scrubbing pad, and toothpaste... and it’s already made a huge difference. On top of that the bag smells great (thanks to Colgate max fresh!).

The bag is still dripping wet so I will wait for it to dry a bit overnight to see if I will need to throw in a round of white vinegar for good measure (as soon as I get some). Thanks so much for the toothpaste idea LunaSilver!!!

 

[artax two]

Great job on this rehab, and I can definitely understand how you feel about it seeming like more of a chore than a pleasure to rehab some of these bags. I get into a zone where I really enjoy it and rehab a bag or two for a couple weeks, then I fall into a zone where I don't want to deal with it, so the rest of them sit for awhile. I had two that I just finished rehabbing for a friend and was on a time crunch so I could get them back to her while she's in town; I found I sort of avoided dealing with them until I couldn't put it off any longer. For me, a typical rehab takes at least a week if not more, with all the conditioning after a dunk, and removing/cleaning/polishing hardware is one of the most tedious chores for me. If the bag's just for my use, I might slack off on some of the aspects I'd be more diligent on for someone else's bag. All I know right now is that I'm a big BIG fan of nickel hardware because polishing brass can be a PITA!

Same here, this is something I may or may not get motivated to do in the future, we'll see. It's not hard work, but like you said, tedious, some parts at least. I can seriously see myself procrastinating if I felt it was something I had to do.

 

[Catbird9]

Ran out of white vinegar at the moment but I just gave the zippers a few good scrubs using a toothbrush, a scrubbing pad, and toothpaste... and it’s already made a huge difference. On top of that the bag smells great (thanks to Colgate max fresh!).

The bag is still dripping wet so I will wait for it to dry a bit overnight to see if I will need to throw in a round of white vinegar for good measure (as soon as I get some). Thanks so much for the toothpaste idea LunaSilver!!!
View attachment 4621480

That looks great! I can't wait to try the toothpaste treatment!

 

[LunaSilver]

Ran out of white vinegar at the moment but I just gave the zippers a few good scrubs using a toothbrush, a scrubbing pad, and toothpaste... and it’s already made a huge difference. On top of that the bag smells great (thanks to Colgate max fresh!).

The bag is still dripping wet so I will wait for it to dry a bit overnight to see if I will need to throw in a round of white vinegar for good measure (as soon as I get some). Thanks so much for the toothpaste idea LunaSilver!!!
View attachment 4621480

Glad to see it works.

 

[vickenator]

I finally finished the rehabs of the two bags I gave to a friend of mine -- one's a Willis and the other's a Mini Demi Hobo. Neither were in terrible shape, but the verdigris, my god, the verdigris. Lots of brass polishing, which I unfortunately completed before catching some of the great tips here on zipperwork and steel wool. Oh well, fodder for the next ones. I made dustbags for them which was another new project (also convenient source of procrastination).

BEFORE:



AFTER:


That green spot on this picture nearly gave me a heart attack thinking I'd missed some of the verdigris! But it's just a reflection of something else. Whew.

 

[redwood66]

I finally finished the rehabs of the two bags I gave to a friend of mine -- one's a Willis and the other's a Mini Demi Hobo. Neither were in terrible shape, but the verdigris, my god, the verdigris. Lots of brass polishing, which I unfortunately completed before catching some of the great tips here on zipperwork and steel wool. Oh well, fodder for the next ones. I made dustbags for them which was another new project (also convenient source of procrastination).

BEFORE:
View attachment 4622032
View attachment 4622031

AFTER:
View attachment 4622033 View attachment 4622034 View attachment 4622035

That green spot on this picture nearly gave me a heart attack thinking I'd missed some of the verdigris! But it's just a reflection of something else. Whew.

Lovely job!

 

[Catbird9]

I finally finished the rehabs of the two bags I gave to a friend of mine -- one's a Willis and the other's a Mini Demi Hobo. Neither were in terrible shape, but the verdigris, my god, the verdigris. Lots of brass polishing, which I unfortunately completed before catching some of the great tips here on zipperwork and steel wool. Oh well, fodder for the next ones. I made dustbags for them which was another new project (also convenient source of procrastination).

BEFORE:
View attachment 4622032
View attachment 4622031

AFTER:
View attachment 4622033 View attachment 4622034 View attachment 4622035

That green spot on this picture nearly gave me a heart attack thinking I'd missed some of the verdigris! But it's just a reflection of something else. Whew.

Congratulations on tackling that verdigris!

 

[artax two]

I finally finished the rehabs of the two bags I gave to a friend of mine -- one's a Willis and the other's a Mini Demi Hobo. Neither were in terrible shape, but the verdigris, my god, the verdigris. Lots of brass polishing, which I unfortunately completed before catching some of the great tips here on zipperwork and steel wool. Oh well, fodder for the next ones. I made dustbags for them which was another new project (also convenient source of procrastination).

BEFORE:
View attachment 4622032
View attachment 4622031

AFTER:
View attachment 4622033 View attachment 4622034 View attachment 4622035

That green spot on this picture nearly gave me a heart attack thinking I'd missed some of the verdigris! But it's just a reflection of something else. Whew.

How did you get all the verdigris out? I was pushing q-tips through the handle strap leather holes and D ring leather holes and seems like after the dunk n' stuff there was more to remove. Some even seemed to be set into the edges of the leather, I can see some in your before picture.

 

[vickenator]

How did you get all the verdigris out? I was pushing q-tips through the handle strap leather holes and D ring leather holes and seems like after the dunk n' stuff there was more to remove. Some even seemed to be set into the edges of the leather, I can see some in your before picture.

I fully removed all the hardware first of all, soaked them in a mason jar filled with a mixture of Brasso and water, then tackled the leather body and handle and strap before I dunked them. I used a combination of q-tips, toothpicks, and metal dental picks to scrape a lot of it away from the insides of things like the dowel rod holes, the handle leather holes, and especially the holes left by the hardware like the turnlock where so much typically builds up.

With the hardware off, it was much easier to deal with but it was amazing how much builds up -- you can see so much green in the before picture I'm embarrassed I ever gave it to my friend in this condition! Anyway, I then used a Dremel and polishing tips on the brass itself to get the lacquer off but got pretty frustrated trying to get the strap buckles done properly. I figured as long as the turnlock looked good and the visible portions of the D-rings looked good and everything matched in color, only the nitpickiest of nitpicky would examine the lobster claw clasp on the strap to see I didn't polish the insides of those adequately. I've seen other posters mention vinegar and should have tried that too but I think I got most of it by scraping carefully.

 

[vickenator]

Lovely job!

Congratulations on tackling that verdigris!

Thank you both!!

 

[Tosa22]

I finally finished the rehabs of the two bags I gave to a friend of mine -- one's a Willis and the other's a Mini Demi Hobo. Neither were in terrible shape, but the verdigris, my god, the verdigris. Lots of brass polishing, which I unfortunately completed before catching some of the great tips here on zipperwork and steel wool. Oh well, fodder for the next ones. I made dustbags for them which was another new project (also convenient source of procrastination).

BEFORE:
View attachment 4622032
View attachment 4622031

AFTER:
View attachment 4622033 View attachment 4622034 View attachment 4622035

That green spot on this picture nearly gave me a heart attack thinking I'd missed some of the verdigris! But it's just a reflection of something else. Whew.

They both look so nice and shiny now!

 

[artax two]

I fully removed all the hardware first of all, soaked them in a mason jar filled with a mixture of Brasso and water, then tackled the leather body and handle and strap before I dunked them. I used a combination of q-tips, toothpicks, and metal dental picks to scrape a lot of it away from the insides of things like the dowel rod holes, the handle leather holes, and especially the holes left by the hardware like the turnlock where so much typically builds up.

With the hardware off, it was much easier to deal with but it was amazing how much builds up -- you can see so much green in the before picture I'm embarrassed I ever gave it to my friend in this condition! Anyway, I then used a Dremel and polishing tips on the brass itself to get the lacquer off but got pretty frustrated trying to get the strap buckles done properly. I figured as long as the turnlock looked good and the visible portions of the D-rings looked good and everything matched in color, only the nitpickiest of nitpicky would examine the lobster claw clasp on the strap to see I didn't polish the insides of those adequately. I've seen other posters mention vinegar and should have tried that too but I think I got most of it by scraping carefully.

They both really do look fantastic.

 

[Morgan_Bellini]

I fully removed all the hardware first of all, soaked them in a mason jar filled with a mixture of Brasso and water, then tackled the leather body and handle and strap before I dunked them. I used a combination of q-tips, toothpicks, and metal dental picks to scrape a lot of it away from the insides of things like the dowel rod holes, the handle leather holes, and especially the holes left by the hardware like the turnlock where so much typically builds up.

With the hardware off, it was much easier to deal with but it was amazing how much builds up -- you can see so much green in the before picture I'm embarrassed I ever gave it to my friend in this condition! Anyway, I then used a Dremel and polishing tips on the brass itself to get the lacquer off but got pretty frustrated trying to get the strap buckles done properly. I figured as long as the turnlock looked good and the visible portions of the D-rings looked good and everything matched in color, only the nitpickiest of nitpicky would examine the lobster claw clasp on the strap to see I didn't polish the insides of those adequately. I've seen other posters mention vinegar and should have tried that too but I think I got most of it by scraping carefully.

Any chance you'd be able to post pics of the Dremel tips you used? I think I bought the wrong ones.

 

[Jacynthe]

I've rehabbed several of the Italian Coach bags including the Carlyle. Most of them have just needed surface cleaning but I have dunked a few of them and they came out well, but they need a long time to dry. I don't use a creamy conditioner on them, I use "leather therapy restorer & conditioner" to condition and restore the shine.

Here's a picture of my first Italian Coach bag, the tiny Gracie bag in Beechnut color. I picked it up for only $2 at the Salvation Army Store. It was missing the strap so I use a Coach gold chain strap.
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...-carrying-today.913052/page-940#post-32544542

The shiny, pebbled leather is called "Caviar Leather" and it is very fine and difficult to make. These Italian Coach bags were originally made by Coach in imitation of the Hermes Kelly bag.

Here are pics of a recent acquisition, a small Coach bag that was hand-made in Italy in 2000. It is a limited-edition, numbered bag that is made from genuine Lizard with suede pigskin lining. I just surface-cleaned it and used reptile leather conditioner.
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...-hand-made-and-vintage.1017506/#post-33338212

I like the Italian coach bags from the mid/late 1990s, they are very well made and they always make me think of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, but it is not a style that appeals to everyone.

Hello katev! Are you able to share more details of the Carlyle you dunked please? Did you dunk as the same as the full grain vintage leather? Thank you!

 

[Lake Effect]

Crazy or not , we get it here, no ‘splaining needed!
Yes, I know at one point all the more knowledgeable posters here on some thread had in depth posting on curved versus flap buckles. All my NYCs with a buckle have flat ones, but curved ones are possible too. I don’t have any bags with pebbling, sigh, but have seen them posted and discussed. I love the pebbling in the leather side of my Berkeley Flap.
Lol, here’s a twenty, pick me up the next one you see!

@VintageViv I had it backwards! As I stare at my NYC Shoulder Sac, it has curved buckles. However prior discussion found some NYC bags with flat too!