Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[CPSE]

Oh its pretty much every one of them. I have started cutting my dunk time down to under 10 minutes for both soap phase and rinse phase combined, and cutting the amount of detergent down to just a drop or two, hoping maybe that will help to not remove too much natural oil from them. I have to get the first CPR coat on within 2 hours or the bag will be dry to the touch already. Then I try to wait about 6 hours until the next coat but usually its overnight if I start the dunk in the afternoon. My Winnie that I just dunked got 3 coats of CPR, a coat of Renapur and a coat of Blackrocks and after two to three days, it still felt a little dry and rough on the outer sides and just did not feel like it did before I started. Yes, maybe your older bags that have been used more have oils from our hands and such deep in the leather so that is what makes the difference.

Wow, 2 hours and already dry to touch! That’s definitely pretty dry. Hopefully someone here has suggestions on dry climate and some oils for you!

 

[MrsGAM]

So I have started feeling like since my rehabbed bags are still just not getting as soft as they were before dunking, maybe what they are missing is some kind of oil application. What is the general consensus here about applying any oil at any stage in a rehab? It just seems like once the CPR dries, the leather is still stiff and rough. Maybe my house is just super duper dry (it is, I know because I bought a digital humidity gauge and it reads about 30%) and I need a lot more coats of CPR than one would think normally necessary. Or maybe I need a product with an oil in it? Just wondering what everyone thinks.

I have some bags that stayed stiff until an application of Obenauf's LP and Blackrocks. Also, I use Leather Therapy on all my really dry bags (and all the bags that are not smooth leather) if CPR doesn't seem to be working as well. I'm almost done with a NYC bag that was super stiff even after 5+ coats of CPR and 3+ coats of Leather Therapy, but it finally softened after an application of Obenaufs and letting it sit for 24 hours.

 

[artax two]

I have some bags that stayed stiff until an application of Obenauf's LP and Blackrocks. Also, I use Leather Therapy on all my really dry bags (and all the bags that are not smooth leather) if CPR doesn't seem to be working as well. I'm almost done with a NYC bag that was super stiff even after 5+ coats of CPR and 3+ coats of Leather Therapy, but it finally softened after an application of Obenaufs and letting it sit for 24 hours.

Thanks for chiming in! Hmm, going by the Amazon reviews it looks like they both darken light leather pretty drastically, have you experienced that? I might have to be ok with a trade off between the color and the feel.

 

[MrsGAM]

Thanks for chiming in! Hmm, going by the Amazon reviews it looks like they both darken light leather pretty drastically, have you experienced that? I might have to be ok with a trade off between the color and the feel.

No, I haven't experienced any darkening! It might darken during application, but it has always gone back to the original color after it's been completely absorbed. I've used both on red, green, yellow, and bone colored Coach bags.
I always wonder about those negative reviews - maybe some people are over saturating the leather or using it on leather you're not supposed to use it on. It would definitely darken Nubuck, suede, and untreated leather - I tested Obenauf's LP on a tiny spot of a hiking boot just to see what would happen, and it was still dark after weeks of letting it sit around (but went back to the normal color after I used sandpaper on it).

 

[houseof999]

Thanks for chiming in! Hmm, going by the Amazon reviews it looks like they both darken light leather pretty drastically, have you experienced that? I might have to be ok with a trade off between the color and the feel.

Do you have hard water?! That could factor into bags turning out stiff because of the minerals.

 

[Minchanka]

Have anyone figured out a creative way to extend the straps on the shoulder bags from the 2000s (armpit time!)? My friend loves the Bleecker flap, but she is pretty tall and it just doesn’t look right. I want to give her that bag, but she needs a longer strap.

 

[artax two]

Do you have hard water?! That could factor into bags turning out stiff because of the minerals.

YES I do have hard water. Argh! I've been wanting a softening system in my house for a long time but our water heater and house shut off are a long ways from each other so it would take a huge reroute of piping plus there's no good spot for a softener anywhere.

 

[Catbird9]

YES I do have hard water. Argh! I've been wanting a softening system in my house for a long time but our water heater and house shut off are a long ways from each other so it would take a huge reroute of piping plus there's no good spot for a softener anywhere.

Adding white vinegar to every rinse might help.

 

[artax two]

Tha

Adding white vinegar to every rinse might help.

Thank you, I'll try it next time.

 

[artax two]

Do you have hard water?! That could factor into bags turning out stiff because of the minerals.

Thank you for suggesting this.

 

[katev]

Have anyone figured out a creative way to extend the straps on the shoulder bags from the 2000s (armpit time!)? My friend loves the Bleecker flap, but she is pretty tall and it just doesn’t look right. I want to give her that bag, but she needs a longer strap.

You can add a chain or clip extender to add some length to the strap, like this one that is about 4 inches long. You can find them online, try Amazon. The clip below was on this Carly bag when I bought it - obviously someone had used it to lengthen the strap.

 

[katev]

Adding white vinegar to every rinse might help.

Perhaps you could buy a gallon of distilled water and use it as a final rinse? Let the bag soak in it a bit to get rid of some of the minerals.

 

[artax two]

Perhaps you could buy a gallon of distilled water and use it as a final rinse? Let the bag soak in it a bit to get rid of some of the minerals.

That's a good idea too! Good suggestions.

 

[Busykitty]

Have any of you dealt with pinprick holes, small but still visibly seen, like tiny rips in the leather? I don’t know if they are cat scratch marks or what, but in two bags that I’m currently working on have them on the back. Would you leave them as is or fill it with leather glue? I don’t want them to open up more by accident.

I was able to pretty much eliminate the picks on a black soho Whitney I rehabbed. They weren’t terrible to start but with a lot of buffing, buffing, then some more buffing you couldn’t tell. But I can’t over emphasize how much buffing was involved! During conditioning and after with a horsehair brush.

 

[CPSE]

I was able to pretty much eliminate the picks on a black soho Whitney I rehabbed. They weren’t terrible to start but with a lot of buffing, buffing, then some more buffing you couldn’t tell. But I can’t over emphasize how much buffing was involved! During conditioning and after with a horsehair brush.

That’s interesting, I’ll give that a shot! Thanks!