Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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#29,371
LunaSilver said:
The recolored bag looks great. Did it change the texture or feel of leather?
I tried dip dye with Rit a while ago. The raw suede sides were dyed perfect, but due to factory finish the smooth leather side didn't take color evenly.
I think a 3 steps dye process will work.
Step one : dip dye with Rit fabric dye for at least 8 hrs.
Step two: thoroughly clean to get rid of excess dye color. Then shape and dry.
Step three: surface recolor with matching color ( leather paint or leather dye) on smooth leather.
Attached are my dip dyed bags. I like the result of interior, as you can see the exterior color is not even. I am ok with that, fear if I recolor the leather, it may change the appearance and feel of leather. I need to start practicing the one stroke painting again, someday I will hand paint the purple and pink bags with garden themed flowers.
(All 3 were originally off white color)

View attachment 4812880
Click to expand...
It doesn't change the texture of the leather if you use the right amount. If you put too thick a coat the whole thing will just end up splotchy and irregular. You must use real leather paint. You must prep the surface before with a mix of acetone and alcohol. If you want to dunk and condition it first that's great but let it dry completely. Don't over work the paint and use the best brushes you can find.
Let each coat dry thoroughly. The first one may only need a couple of hours but I let mine sit 24 hours. Before the third coat and that one dries for a couple of days as it is usually the last coat.
 
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#29,372
LunaSilver said:
The recolored bag looks great. Did it change the texture or feel of leather?
I tried dip dye with Rit a while ago. The raw suede sides were dyed perfect, but due to factory finish the smooth leather side didn't take color evenly.
I think a 3 steps dye process will work.
Step one : dip dye with Rit fabric dye for at least 8 hrs.
Step two: thoroughly clean to get rid of excess dye color. Then shape and dry.
Step three: surface recolor with matching color ( leather paint or leather dye) on smooth leather.
Attached are my dip dyed bags. I like the result of interior, as you can see the exterior color is not even. I am ok with that, fear if I recolor the leather, it may change the appearance and feel of leather. I need to start practicing the one stroke painting again, someday I will hand paint the purple and pink bags with garden themed flowers.
(All 3 were originally off white color)

View attachment 4812880
Click to expand...
Did you use anything (deglazer or acetone nail polish remover) to remove the factory finish before dyeing them? All the dye videos I watched say you have to use something first.
 
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#29,373
Yes I use a mix of acetone and everclear or vodka or isopropyl. Lately it's been harder to find isopropyl so I used the everclear and it worked great. I've also mixed a bit of denatured alcohol with regular leather dye and used it to dye suede. I clean the suede first with the alcohol to get any sealant or protectant of the bag or shoes etc. Suede protectant will ruin the dye job if you don't. Found that out the hard way.
 
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#29,375
bolsathemosta said:
It doesn't change the texture of the leather if you use the right amount. If you put too thick a coat the whole thing will just end up splotchy and irregular. You must use real leather paint. You must prep the surface before with a mix of acetone and alcohol. If you want to dunk and condition it first that's great but let it dry completely. Don't over work the paint and use the best brushes you can find.
Let each coat dry thoroughly. The first one may only need a couple of hours but I let mine sit 24 hours. Before the third coat and that one dries for a couple of days as it is usually the last coat.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the detailed information.
 
#29,376
CPSE said:
What if you used regular smooth leather dye on the outside, over the rit dye? I don’t know how leather paint will be in changing texture, but I just dyed a bag for the first time and the outside looks decent but the inside suede looks terrible because it was so uneven (I ran out of suede dye, it was soaking it up so quickly before I could spread it). Your inside looks great. I want to try this next time! (Well... if there is a next time, haha!) I didn’t notice the texture of the leather changing for me.

Edit to ask: how did you prep your bags for rit dye?
Edit to add: OR maybe I should try dying my current bag in rit dye, to take care of the inside! It would be opposite of you.
Click to expand...
If you did a rub down with deglaze first it might grab onto the outside a bit better maybe. Have you had any problem with the color rubbing off afterwards? I have only done one lighter colored bag and I used dark brown leather dye on a really drye and spotty british tan. I am less than thrilled with the results. Seems like your method would work better.
 
#29,377
LunaSilver said:
I used Ammonia as deglazer. Not sure if that is the problem of uneven color of my bags?
Click to expand...
Maybe. I don’t know. But if you did another, I would be curious to see the results is you used another product to deglaze. My loan color project was just fixing the black on a previously dyed black bag. It was pretty easy covering it in Saphir. But it smelled.
 
#29,378
bolsathemosta said:
If you did a rub down with deglaze first it might grab onto the outside a bit better maybe. Have you had any problem with the color rubbing off afterwards? I have only done one lighter colored bag and I used dark brown leather dye on a really drye and spotty british tan. I am less than thrilled with the results. Seems like your method would work better.
Click to expand...
I used rubbing alcohol over the whole bag, including the inside suede (though I wasn’t sure about that part, I did it anyway). On the outside I used the smooth leather dye and on the inside it was suede dye. I don’t have problems with the dye rubbing off on the outside because I used resolene to seal it, as I read here. But I didn’t put that on the suede inside. When I run a suede brush over the inside, some color does come off onto the brush. Maybe I need to brush it down more to get rid of the excess? I actually haven’t used this bag yet because I just finished it this week, so I couldn’t tell you what happens when it’s in action! Actually it’s not finished because the inside looks terrible! Haha
 
#29,379
My black stewardess arrived yesterday, in somewhat worse condition than described. I'm optimistic the bag itself will rehab just fine, but there is a tear in the strap by the first rivet. I'm going to try to repair it with leather glue but am wondering whether you glue before the dunk or after, or if it doesn't matter. What has worked well for you?

And if this doesn't work, any leads on how to find a replacement strap?

And have you ever worked on a bag that was so gross to begin with that even after you've cleaned it and made it beautiful again, the ick factor is still there?

Thanks all

IMG_4737.jpg

IMG_4738.jpg
 
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#29,382
mpd said:
My black stewardess arrived yesterday, in somewhat worse condition than described. I'm optimistic the bag itself will rehab just fine, but there is a tear in the strap by the first rivet. I'm going to try to repair it with leather glue but am wondering whether you glue before the dunk or after, or if it doesn't matter. What has worked well for you?

And if this doesn't work, any leads on how to find a replacement strap?

And have you ever worked on a bag that was so gross to begin with that even after you've cleaned it and made it beautiful again, the ick factor is still there?

Thanks all

View attachment 4813320

View attachment 4813321
Click to expand...
I would repair it after dunking.
 
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#29,383
CPSE said:
I used rubbing alcohol over the whole bag, including the inside suede (though I wasn’t sure about that part, I did it anyway). On the outside I used the smooth leather dye and on the inside it was suede dye. I don’t have problems with the dye rubbing off on the outside because I used resolene to seal it, as I read here. But I didn’t put that on the suede inside. When I run a suede brush over the inside, some color does come off onto the brush. Maybe I need to brush it down more to get rid of the excess? I actually haven’t used this bag yet because I just finished it this week, so I couldn’t tell you what happens when it’s in action! Actually it’s not finished because the inside looks terrible! Haha
Click to expand...
This reminds me of the time I used Fiebing's suede dye for a suede Coach. As soon as I brushed it after the dye dried, it brushed all the color right off. It didn't matter if I waited a day or a week. I did two coats and both just brushed right off. So then I used RIT. I painted it on rather than dipped, and it worked fine. It didn't come off when I brushed.
 
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#29,385
mpd said:
And have you ever worked on a bag that was so gross to begin with that even after you've cleaned it and made it beautiful again, the ick factor is still there?
Click to expand...
Yes! I once had a bag that smelled like basement but also combined with other unknown not-so-pleasant scents, and it had so much junk inside, like hair balls and random pieces of trash, and like... old leaves. I don’t know how it all got in there, stuck in the crevices. I had to hold my breath while I was washing it, and I’m not particularly sensitive to smells or anything, in general. I dunked it twice and scrubbed it so hard. It turned out really well and clean and ok smelling in the end... but I could not get out of my head what it came to me like. I never wore that bag!
 
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