Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[redwood66]

Woo hoo! Glad you saw it before someone else bought it! Can't wait to see how it turns out!!

Did you dunk yours? I want to do that because I get an ick factor on older bags.

Just checked your pics and I think it is the burnished glovetanned like the 11285 I just finished. The new bigger one is vachetta and I wonder if I can dunk it? Researching now.

 

[redwood66]

So it sounds like dunking an actual vachetta bag is not a good idea from what I have been reading? What about baby wipes and pull the lining out to wash it carefully?

This is the creed from the bag.

 

[Catbird9]

So it sounds like dunking an actual vachetta bag is not a good idea from what I have been reading? What about baby wipes and pull the lining out to wash it carefully?

This is the creed from the bag.

I agree, not a good idea to dunk. Also I read that baby wipes should be avoided. I'd dampen a cloth with vinegar and wipe down the outside. If the lining isn't too soiled I would just use vinegar on it too, but if you decide to wash it, I'd recommend be careful not to get the vachetta wet.

By the way, great deal on a gorgeous bag!

 

[redwood66]

I agree, not a good idea to dunk. Also I read that baby wipes should be avoided. I'd dampen a cloth with vinegar and wipe down the outside. If the lining isn't too soiled I would just use vinegar on it too, but if you decide to wash it, I'd recommend be careful not to get the vachetta wet.

By the way, great deal on a gorgeous bag!

Thank you very much. I'll see how it looks when it arrives and decide then. Hopefully it is in decent shape as the listing describes. You all are so helpful.

 

[Narnanz]

The small shopper arrived today, she is clean and in good condition except one broken strap. Any suggestion how to repair it? Or best to take her to a cobbler? Thanks.

Complete novice here...but I think anything you do is going to be noticable. Cobbler could stitch the leather together but would they have to put an extra piece of leather around the join to protect it?
A scarf bow would hide the join but wouldnt the handle lose some of its strength now as the core fabric has been stretched and damaged?

 

[Morgan_Bellini]

I received my pre-creed (with a metal tag) saddle bag the other day and it looks like it’s in pretty good condition. I’m afraid of dunking it (but maybe I should just be brave and do it), maybe I fear the older leather breaking down or something... haha. Should I wipe down with vinegar, spray inside with vinegar too? Then condition and stuff to reshape? It’s very flat.

I dunked a pre-creed metal tag Courier Pouch and it turned out beautifully. Dunking and LOTS of Leather CPR most definitely improved it! I have heard though that others have had issues with dunking older bags. You can always try spritzing and conditioning first and if that doesn't work you can dunk later. I'm not sure if there's a way to identify if a bag will give you problems after a dunk, it seems to be hit or miss based on feedback here. I hope others with more experience chime in to offer you advice but based on my own experience I have no regrets for dunking my Courier.

 

[CPSE]

I dunked a pre-creed metal tag Courier Pouch and it turned out beautifully. Dunking and LOTS of Leather CPR most definitely improved it! I have heard though that others have had issues with dunking older bags. You can always try spritzing and conditioning first and if that doesn't work you can dunk later. I'm not sure if there's a way to identify if a bag will give you problems after a dunk, it seems to be hit or miss based on feedback here. I hope others with more experience chime in to offer you advice but based on my own experience I have no regrets for dunking my Courier.

Thanks so much for the advice! I think I might just try dunking later like you suggested if the spritz-condition-and-stuff doesn’t work. I would be very sad if dunking caused it to fall apart!

 

[LunaSilver]

Complete novice here...but I think anything you do is going to be noticable. Cobbler could stitch the leather together but would they have to put an extra piece of leather around the join to protect it?
A scarf bow would hide the join but wouldnt the handle lose some of its strength now as the core fabric has been stretched and damaged?

Yes the handle is very hard to repair. The picture on eBay wasn't very clear, I thought it was a partial tear. The bag is tiny, mostly just as eye candy. It's silly but I really want something from 60s with those stripe lining, so far this is the only thing in my price range.

 

[coach943]

Thank you very much. I'll see how it looks when it arrives and decide then. Hopefully it is in decent shape as the listing describes. You all are so helpful.

I have that bag. Do not get the leather wet. It will make water stains. The interior of mine was filthy when I got it, so I pulled the lining out as best I could and tried Soilove to clean it. It worked very well, but I got the leather wet. It made water stains. I tried a bunch of things to fix it, and none of it worked very well. And if the leather gets wet, it will start to bleed on the lining.

I wouldn't use baby wipes on the leather. Vinegar is a much better choice.

 

[redwood66]

I have that bag. Do not get the leather wet. It will make water stains. The interior of mine was filthy when I got it, so I pulled the lining out as best I could and tried Soilove to clean it. It worked very well, but I got the leather wet. It made water stains. I tried a bunch of things to fix it, and none of it worked very well. And if the leather gets wet, it will start to bleed on the lining.

I wouldn't use baby wipes on the leather. Vinegar is a much better choice.

I hope it's in good shape. I was thinking I could cut a hole in the bottom of a plastic bag and pull the lining through it to clean it while having the plastic bag over the leather.

To anyone can I use Obenauf LP on this leather? I thought I read that it works on vachetta without darkening too much. Would that help with keeping errant water drops from staining?

 

[katev]

The small shopper arrived today, she is clean and in good condition except one broken strap. Any suggestion how to repair it? Or best to take her to a cobbler? Thanks.

I would take it to a cobbler that you trust. Ask questions first and don't leave it with someone that gives you a bad feeling. Make sure he knows that it is a rare and valuable bag.

Nice find!

 

[nursebetty]

I hope it's in good shape. I was thinking I could cut a hole in the bottom of a plastic bag and pull the lining through it to clean it while having the plastic bag over the leather.

To anyone can I use Obenauf LP on this leather? I thought I read that it works on vachetta without darkening too much. Would that help with keeping errant water drops from staining?

I once rehabbed a vachetta Willis with some staining. I 'pushed' the patina using multiple layers of Blackrocks over several days and placing the bag in sunlight. It was very successful, but I ruined the overall rehab by trying to remove pen marks and causing huge damage to the leather.

If you are interested in the patina deepening, there are lots of threads for purses with Vachetta handles, like Louis Vuitton. I do believe some of those use Obenaufs. My understanding is that it just needs to be a 'waxy' type conditioner.

If you want to avoid darkening, there are threads for that as well, but I don't think you can avoid it forever. Whatever you do, don't use magic eraser - hugely damaging. Congrats on your vachetta and good luck!

 

[redwood66]

I once rehabbed a vachetta Willis with some staining. I 'pushed' the patina using multiple layers of Blackrocks over several days and placing the bag in sunlight. It was very successful, but I ruined the overall rehab by trying to remove pen marks and causing huge damage to the leather.

If you are interested in the patina deepening, there are lots of threads for purses with Vachetta handles, like Louis Vuitton. I do believe some of those use Obenaufs. My understanding is that it just needs to be a 'waxy' type conditioner.

If you want to avoid darkening, there are threads for that as well, but I don't think you can avoid it forever. Whatever you do, don't use magic eraser - hugely damaging. Congrats on your vachetta and good luck!

Thank you. I was hoping for more of a protectant on the leather that would keep it from staining as it looks like it has decent patina already. Or at least some kind of color.

 

[coach943]

I hope it's in good shape. I was thinking I could cut a hole in the bottom of a plastic bag and pull the lining through it to clean it while having the plastic bag over the leather.

To anyone can I use Obenauf LP on this leather? I thought I read that it works on vachetta without darkening too much. Would that help with keeping errant water drops from staining?

Wait until you receive the bag. If the lining isn't dirty, don't mess with it. Even if you try to use a plastic bag over the leather, water can easily get on the bag if you do anything that soaks the lining.

I've used Obenauf's LP on other vachetta Coach bags. I like it, but I wouldn't count on it not darkening the bag at all.

 

[katev]

The small shopper arrived today, she is clean and in good condition except one broken strap. Any suggestion how to repair it? Or best to take her to a cobbler? Thanks.

It's great that your small shopper is in good condition, but after you repair the strap you might consider giving it a bath. Take a look that the difference a bath (with a little TLC) made in the before and after pics of my tan small shopper.