Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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Yes, you must respect the power of mold lol. There was one with a basement smell but no visible signs of mold that sat in a rehab bin for a few months, maybe more. I just happened to move some stuff around and noticed problems with nearby finished rehabs. I will be dunking everything right away now!
Did you vinegar yours like crazy in the rinse? Wipe with straight vinegar? Set out in sun? That’s for mold but there are a zillion solutions for odors on here.
I've never found anything that works on thrift store smell!
 
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I've finished rehabbing a Tangerine Geometric Bag (9043, 1997, USA); thank you to @whateve for authenticating the bag.

I bathed, shaped and conditioned it, replaced the missing portion of the turnlock, and polished the hardware. I think that the appearance of the bag has improved but I am a little disappointed that I couldn't eliminate some dark stains on one side near the top flap.

See below for before and after rehab pics and also a catalog image of the Geometric Bag collection.

Tangerine Geometric Bag 9043, Before:
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Tangerine Geometric Bag 9043, After:
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Coach Geometric Bag 9043 Colors, Catalog:
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It's beautiful! I'm sad this style was ruined for me by getting a fake.
 
It's beautiful! I'm sad this style was ruined for me by getting a fake.

That's too bad. I've purchased a fake Murphy and a fake Scooter bag but I got my money back and it didn't put me off those bags. On the other hand, I once bought a fake Taft and I've never been inclined to try and get a real one even though I got a refund on the bad bag. I guess it's because I've seen so many fake Tafts and I've lost interest.
 
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Oh wow - that looks incredible!

I have another rookie question if you don't mind. I purchased some leather therapy and was probably a little heavy handed when using it on a BT bag. It seemed to really darken and enhance the scratches - they looked like pen parks after to give you an idea of the effect. I let it dry for 24 hours and no difference. I dunked it and will try to condition again when its almost dry but I'm reluctant to use the Leather Therapy. Also, I thought it was hard to know how much I was applying when using a damp sponge. Anyone have any tips? I'm considering switching to leather CPR - do you apply with a rag instead of a sponge? And can you use it liberally? Thanks for the tips!


So it's been just over 24 hours since the dunk. I applied a little bit of CPR yesterday evening because the bag felt mostly dry on the outside - inside the pockets and inside the bag were still damp. It's looking splotchy and I'm hoping someone can reassure me that this is normal when BT dries? It looks worse in the picture than it does in real life; it's not quite so dramatic in person. What do you think?
 

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Oh wow - that looks incredible!

I have another rookie question if you don't mind. I purchased some leather therapy and was probably a little heavy handed when using it on a BT bag. It seemed to really darken and enhance the scratches - they looked like pen parks after to give you an idea of the effect. I let it dry for 24 hours and no difference. I dunked it and will try to condition again when its almost dry but I'm reluctant to use the Leather Therapy. Also, I thought it was hard to know how much I was applying when using a damp sponge. Anyone have any tips? I'm considering switching to leather CPR - do you apply with a rag instead of a sponge? And can you use it liberally? Thanks for the tips!

So it's been just over 24 hours since the dunk. I applied a little bit of CPR yesterday evening because the bag felt mostly dry on the outside - inside the pockets and inside the bag were still damp. It's looking splotchy and I'm hoping someone can reassure me that this is normal when BT dries? It looks worse in the picture than it does in real life; it's not quite so dramatic in person. What do you think?

I have never had any issues with applying too much Leather Therapy or Leather CPR. I do wipe off the excess after I massage them into the leather because I don't want any residue building up near seams and piping.

The only leather conditioner that I have had to use sparingly has been Black Rocks Leather n Rich. I put it on lightly (one section at a time) rub it in and quickly wipe it off. If you apply BRs too thickly it will get sticky and tacky and take forever to dry.

Of course dark bags (black, navy, mahogany, etc) are more forgiving and it is harder to see flaws after the rehab, but it can be hard to minimize flaws in lighter bags like British Tan. I have seen some bags get splotchy immediately after applying conditioner but it is usually absorbed into the leather after a few days (or a week) and the spottiness disappears. I've had this happen most often with red bags.

But if a light bag has significant flaws and stains then you can make the bag look clean and fresh but you probably won't be able to disguise the flaws as much as desired. In those cases I am usually happy if the Leather Therapy or Black Rocks darkens the leather a little because it may make the flaws less obvious. I once had an issue with a camel bag that I finished with Renapur and I thought that the color looked great but the flaws were more noticeable. I redid the rehab and used Black Rocks to finish the bag and I felt that it worked better in that specific case.

If the bag is spotty because to mold damage then cleaning and conditioning may make the spots more prominent.

The link below shows before and after pics of 5 British Tan bags that I rehabbed and you can see the variations in results. I especially recommend that you look at the 2 tan City Bags in the group. The City Bag that was made in Turkey was in good shape before I started and it rehabbed very well, but the USA bag had significant wear and it didn't turn out as good - but it was improved.

My advice is not to despair too quickly, give the bag some time to absorb the conditioner and some of the splotches may fade; and if you finish the bag with Black Rocks it may help to even out the color. Good luck!

 
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That's too bad. I've purchased a fake Murphy and a fake Scooter bag but I got my money back and it didn't put me off those bags. On the other hand, I once bought a fake Taft and I've never been inclined to try and get a real one even though I got a refund on the bad bag. I guess it's because I've seen so many fake Tafts and I've lost interest.
Hey there's one (unauthenticated) here if you're interested - https://www.etsy.com/listing/761449734/coach-taft-bag-in-british-tan-leather I think it's the cheapest i've come across if you're inclined to give the Taft another shot :D
 
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Hi ladies, I have two bags that are a tan/butterscotch (sort of a marigold-ish tone?) that are in pretty good shape. Would it be fine if I were to dunk them? I've been doing that given the Covid situation but this is the first light coloured bag I've had to dunk and i don't want to ruin the colour of the leather if possible. Thank you in advance.
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Hi ladies, I have two bags that are a tan/butterscotch (sort of a marigold-ish tone?) that are in pretty good shape. Would it be fine if I were to dunk them? I've been doing that given the Covid situation but this is the first light coloured bag I've had to dunk and i don't want to ruin the colour of the leather if possible. Thank you in advance.
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@Morgan_Bellini just dunked a bag in the shade of yours on the left and the result is stunning. I have some pics of color swatches I need to look up. The color of the older bag on the left may be Saddle or Buckskin.
 
Hey @Lake Effect thanks for that. The one on the right is from 2000 and the leather doesn’t feel as thick. If anything I’d do a quick dunk and dry of it.
With bags with thinner leather in good shape, I give a thorough wipe down with Lexol Leather Cleaner mixed in water followed by Cadillac Supreme, a light conditioner.
I have dunked lighter bags with no problem, vintage and non-vintage.
 
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@Morgan_Bellini just dunked a bag in the shade of yours on the left and the result is stunning. I have some pics of color swatches I need to look up. The color of the older bag on the left may be Saddle or Buckskin.
Hey @Lake Effect thanks for that. The one on the right is from 2000 and the leather doesn’t feel as thick. If anything I’d do a quick dunk and dry of it.
Thanks LE!! It was a very satisfying rehab. I carried my Rambler to work today and it's the perfect size for all my stuff. I'm very excited!

Kistae, I think my bag was saddle colored. I dunked it at the same time I dunked 3 british tan bags and it always maintained a lighter color than the BTs. It did, however, darken with conditioning but I believe that happened because the leather was so dry. Yours looks a little lighter than mine but do keep in mind that if the leather is really dry it will likely darken to its original shade after a dunk and conditioning.
 
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