Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[LunaSilver]

My tabac courier which had a lot of scratches, but nothing else wrong (a dunk fixed it) was around $180 shipped. I won it on ebay and would not have gone higher because I wasn’t sure if I would like the style. My small navy courier was a lucky Etsy find both in terms of size and price. Shipped and with tax it was $106. Other than a good vacuum for debris, it needed nothing else, although I did give it a coat of CPR to perk it up (it was shipped flat).

What I am willing to pay varies based on how much I want something and how often I see it come up for sale.

Guess I just need to be patient waiting for the right courier at a right price for me. Thanks for sharing.

 

[vickenator]

So this wasn't much of a rehab, but I had to share. I have become a HUGE fan of the Ergo XL totes. I have one in smooth leather in Chalk, a pebbled leather one in Black, and then I stumbled upon this one in natural vachetta by complete accident for a ridiculous price on Ebay. It isn't as light as some prefer, but I just love that suntanned patina look. Whomever owned this before me took great care of it, just had it in the sun . There was no damage, no nasty black handles, I am smitten! It was in need of some moisturizer so this is after two coats of Leather CPR and a buffing with a horsehair brush. I have the hangtag and the dust bag, just didn't post for the photo.View attachment 4623666

I love those Ergo totes -- I have one I found at Goodwill for $25 in a deep mahogany/chestnut and found another on eBay, smaller sized, in a lighter tan. Such handy little things and such soft leather.

 

[vickenator]

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

My husband got them for me and I think these on Amazon come closest to the types I've been using; I have been using a red polishing rouge as well. I like the medium and larger ones; the tiniest ones are not very useful because if you press too hard the cotton wool on the tip wears off quickly and you run the risk of scratching the brass.

 

[Syren]

Long time no rehab lol Today I received my aubergine Ramblers Legacy that I just scored. She’s in good shape just a little edge wear but a dunk and conditioner should help. Excited to have a purple bag back in my collection!

 

[Morgan_Bellini]

My husband got them for me and I think these on Amazon come closest to the types I've been using; I have been using a red polishing rouge as well. I like the medium and larger ones; the tiniest ones are not very useful because if you press too hard the cotton wool on the tip wears off quickly and you run the risk of scratching the brass.
View attachment 4623896

Those look perfect! I have definitely been using the wrong ones. Thank you so very much!

 

[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:
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.

Sooo.... interesting developments when I gifted them to her yesterday. She said they were too nice and I put too much work in them and she is reluctant to take them as she's not sure she'll ever use them! I told her to keep them awhile, and if she finds they're just adding clutter to her space, set them aside for the next time we see each other and I will rehome them. But to try to use the Willis at least once because that bag needs to see fresh air!

She did like the bag strap I found on Amazon for her so that was a nice surprise as that was just an idea to use with the Mini Demi Hobo sometime. So it goes!

 

[katev]

This legacy colorblock sandal is being sold for $78 with free shipping as "New with Defects" on ebay. The defects are handle imprints on both the front and back.

You might be able to get them out. I recently steamed a bag for the first time and it worked well, but it was wrinkled, it didn't handle imprints like this bag.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DEFECT-COA...373752?hash=item287ad382b8:g:SR4AAOSwZsFbFuXq

 

[Narnanz]

Long time no rehab lol Today I received my aubergine Ramblers Legacy that I just scored. She’s in good shape just a little edge wear but a dunk and conditioner should help. Excited to have a purple bag back in my collection!
View attachment 4623897

View attachment 4623898

Ohhhh lovely.

 

[houseof999]

Maybe. I've never dunked with the striped lining. I would be afraid to, but that leather needs work.

The fabric shrinks according to Deb Barros. I wouldn't dunk it either.

 

[Narnanz]

Ok...Ive been watching this bag for a while...and as I got one in black for my bestie Ive been thinking of getting one for myself.
But this one has damage to the piping that I dont think I can handle. Do you fix first then dunk or dunk then fix.
Im not likely to get it as I really am on a bag ban but would be i interested in opinions.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Co...atchel-USA-Turnlock-Rare-/113773141797?_ul=NZ

 

[Lake Effect]

Ok...Ive been watching this bag for a while...and as I got one in black for my bestie Ive been thinking of getting one for myself.
But this one has damage to the piping that I dont think I can handle. Do you fix first then dunk or dunk then fix.
Im not likely to get it as I really am on a bag ban but would be i interested in opinions.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Co...atchel-USA-Turnlock-Rare-/113773141797?_ul=NZ

From what I have seen here, people that fix piping dunk and condition first. I’ll let others weigh in more the specifics, since the only piping repair I did was on a strap. I just glued the open edges together, with no intention or doing anything further. I am not ready to tackle piping repair yet.
One possible pro to doing this repair is that since it is on the back, for the most part it is not visible to others. And would be a good experience to dabble in piping repair.
Side note, I have to pull out my pocket bag . . .

 

[katev]

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!

I didn't dunk the Carlyle, sorry if I gave that impression, but I have dunked a few of the Italian Coach Madison and Gramercy bags including a black Gramercy Zip, a red Madison Bristol Domed Satchel, and the Butter Madison Copley and French Wallet. These Italian bags are pretty tough and not as delicate as they appear.

I just give them a bath in Dawn and stuff them to start the drying process. I moisturize with Leather Therapy Restorer and Conditioner and polish the hardware.

They take a long, long, long time to dry - even after I remove the stuffing. If parts of the bag are drying faster than others (like the straps) I moisturize with Leather Therapy before they dry out.

The card slots in the butter French purse wallet were drying all stretched out and wavy, so I put plastic credit cards and gift cards in the slots to shape them while drying.

Below are pics of the butter Copley bag and wallet rehabs:

Butter Madison Copley
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-1169#post-32540096

Butter Madison French Purse:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-1169#post-32540108

 

[whateve]

Ok...Ive been watching this bag for a while...and as I got one in black for my bestie Ive been thinking of getting one for myself.
But this one has damage to the piping that I dont think I can handle. Do you fix first then dunk or dunk then fix.
Im not likely to get it as I really am on a bag ban but would be i interested in opinions.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Co...atchel-USA-Turnlock-Rare-/113773141797?_ul=NZ

I dunk first. That's a beautiful bag!

 

[katev]

I have already posted After pics of a recent ebay bargain in the main Coach Purseforum but I have been meaning to post the Before pics here in the Rescue and Rehab Club. It was a very easy rehab but I wanted to share it with Rehabbers because it was the first time that I have steamed a bag to remove the wrinkles - and it was easy and it worked!

The bag is a Tatum Tall Whiplash Tote with Neon Pink Pop Lacing 35156 LI E1K and it was released in Spring 2015 for $695.

It was poorly listed on ebay as "New with Defects" and I got it for only $42. The outside of the bag was grubby from handling and it had a few small dirty areas but it really was in surprisingly good condition.

However, the bag was wrinkled being stored unstuffed and the wrinkles were quite obvious in the white pebbled leather. The wrinkles weren't terrible but the bag looked lumpy and they were more noticeable IRL than in the before photos. It is not a structured bag so I don't mind a little slackness and draping in the leather, but lumpy is never a good look in a designer bag IMO!

First I wiped the bag down with Dawn and applied a little elbow grease to the dirtier spots and it cleaned up very nicely. I was quite pleased with the results except that I could still see the wrinkles, but I didn't want to dunk the bag because it really didn't need a bath.

So I stuffed it with towels and hung it on a towel rack in the bathroom near the shower. I arranged a gap in the shower curtain close to the bag. Then I turned the shower on Hot and let it run and closed the bathroom door. After 5 minutes I turned the bag around so that the back side was showing and let the shower run on Hot for another five minutes. Then I turned the shower off and just let the bag hang in the bathroom with the door closed until the steam dissipated.

When the steaming was finished I was glad to see that the wrinkles were gone! The bag was damp from the steam so I just wiped it down and let it sit with the stuffing still inside until it was completed dry. Then I moisturized it with Leather CPR and it was done!

Here is one of the After pics and all of the the Before pics from the auction. You can see more After photos at the link below if you are interested. I don't know if steaming would work on a badly creased, seriously wrinkled, or deeply imprinted bag but it was pretty easy to do so I think that it is worth a try! If you have some badly wrinkled areas, you might try the shower method but also boil hot water in a kettle and direct the steam specifically at the wrinkles.

Chalk Tatum Tall Whiplash Tote After:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/this-deal-was-a-real-steal-come-see-my-reveal.1021586/


Chalk Tatum Tall Whiplash Tote Before (eBay Auction):

 

[katev]

Also is this rehabable?

Maybe. I've never dunked with the striped lining. I would be afraid to, but that leather needs work.

The fabric shrinks according to Deb Barros. I wouldn't dunk it either.

I know that I sound like a broken record, and my experience is very, very limited, but I have successfully dunked my one and only pre-creed Bonnie Cashin Coach bag with striped lining and it came out very well. I know that there is a risk but if the bag was really dirty I wouldn't hesitate to dunk another one - if I ever get another one! See link below:

https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...y-can-still-be-beautiful-rehab-reveal.742282/