Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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Hi there,

I just received this Rambler in the mail. It actually looks a bit better in person. Yaaay! I have been combing the threads and have a general plan however I have a few questions before I get started that I am hoping someone can help me with.
1. Why are folks applying CPR before a dunk? I thought the dunk was to get stuff out and clean it away, my worry is that I would impede that, but clearly this bag is dry. Thoughts?
2. On a few you tube videos I have watched people are polishing the brass after the dunk. I keep wanting them to do it before to soak off any Brasso residue etc. Am I thinking about this wrong or just personal preference.
3. Lastly, what color would you say this bag is?

So nervous to get started as I don't want to mess it up! Open and grateful for any and all feedback or pointers!View attachment 5093475View attachment 5093476View attachment 5093478

Nice Rambler!

1 - Who has said they are applying CPR before a dunk? I only precondition if it is very distressed or the piping/strap looks as though it's about to crack. As I'm in the UK, I precondition with more accessible conditioners (eg Chamberlain's) though that I'm trying to get through and save the precious finite CPR for wet leather.
ETA: some rehabbers like the very very experienced @katev never precondition and opt to use LT on a dry bag after the dunk.

2 - I polish hardware before dunking.
 
Hi there,

I just received this Rambler in the mail. It actually looks a bit better in person. Yaaay! I have been combing the threads and have a general plan however I have a few questions before I get started that I am hoping someone can help me with.
1. Why are folks applying CPR before a dunk? I thought the dunk was to get stuff out and clean it away, my worry is that I would impede that, but clearly this bag is dry. Thoughts?
2. On a few you tube videos I have watched people are polishing the brass after the dunk. I keep wanting them to do it before to soak off any Brasso residue etc. Am I thinking about this wrong or just personal preference.
3. Lastly, what color would you say this bag is?

So nervous to get started as I don't want to mess it up! Open and grateful for any and all feedback or pointers!View attachment 5093475View attachment 5093476View attachment 5093478

I think it is British Tan but you will have a better idea of the color after you complete the rehab; I've been surprised a few times when an unexpected color is revealed; below is the link for a bag that I thought was dark red or "maroon" but it was actually dark brown with reddish undertones.

I don't moisturize before dunking for the reasons you mentioned, because I want it to get really clean. I do understand the concerns about dehydrating a bag that is very dry so I start applying conditioner while it is still damp and I pay special attention to the "thinner" areas that tend to dry faster, like straps, handles, hangtags, etc. I find that Leather Therapy Restorer and Conditioner is a good first product for a bag with very dry leather, but it's not necessary for most bags.

You can try polishing the brass first and see how it works, please let us know. I think I tried that in the past and it started to get tarnished again during the rehab process, but I am not sure. It might just be because I hate polishing the hardware so I procrastinate!

You have a lovely bag and I am sure that it will rehab well, good luck!

 
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Thank you Ladies!
First to get the ball point pen out of the inside then the dunk. I REALLY appreciate the guidance from folks that have done this before. I will post back with updates of my progress.


How bad are the ink marks on the inside? Are there just some stray pen marks or does it look like a pen leaked inside the bag?! Can you show us some pictures? Happily the marks are on the interior!
 
How bad are the ink marks on the inside? Are there just some stray pen marks or does it look like a pen leaked inside the bag?! Can you show us some pictures? Happily the marks are on the interior!
The ink marks just look like an uncapped ball point pen spent time in there. No pooling or anything like that, def not a fountain pen. I was going to see what I could do with a magic eraser and the Coach Youtube channel recommended Cuticle remover and blotting? I am at work so don't have a pic to share. The pen looks kind of superficial but there is lot's. Open to suggestions. Do I have to worry about ball point pen bleeding during a dunk? Honestly, since it's on the inside I don't think I would really care. Right now none has leaked through the bag to the outside.
 
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The ink marks just look like an uncapped ball point pen spent time in there. No pooling or anything like that, def not a fountain pen. I was going to see what I could do with a magic eraser and the Coach Youtube channel recommended Cuticle remover and blotting? I am at work so don't have a pic to share. The pen looks kind of superficial but there is lot's. Open to suggestions. Do I have to worry about ball point pen bleeding during a dunk? Honestly, since it's on the inside I don't think I would really care. Right now none has leaked through the bag to the outside.
It won't bleed but it most likely won't come out. Underside of my Court's flap has a load of biro marks too and they've significantly faded from everything I've been doing but they'll never be fully gone. As you said, I'm not fussed as they're on the inside.
 
The ink marks just look like an uncapped ball point pen spent time in there. No pooling or anything like that, def not a fountain pen. I was going to see what I could do with a magic eraser and the Coach Youtube channel recommended Cuticle remover and blotting? I am at work so don't have a pic to share. The pen looks kind of superficial but there is lot's. Open to suggestions. Do I have to worry about ball point pen bleeding during a dunk? Honestly, since it's on the inside I don't think I would really care. Right now none has leaked through the bag to the outside.

If the inside of the bag is suede (reverse of the leather exterior), I have taken an emery board and scrubbed away at ink marks before dunking. Nothing is ever completely removed, but marks can be taken down to nearly nothing. Must be done on a dry bag before dunking and only if the inside is suede.
 
Yeah looks like biro marks to me for which I think, if it isn't coming out with washing up liquid and water, Coach cleaner won't do anything.

AFAIK Coach's polished pebble leather is embossed and then painted. So I can't think of a way you could remove the stripes only and not the brown underneath too. Not to mention there is evidence that friction causes the embossment to smooth out into a fuzzy greyness. The only thing I can think of is to repaint the whole bag or wear it backwards so the scuffed side is not visible.
Thank you for the advice. The bag is for my husband, and he loves it. I'll figure something out. :)
 
Hope it works out - keep us updated! Glad DH loves it x. Is he bothered by the marks too?
A little. We got a deal on the price. I told him if I can't fix it up, I'd find him another of the same in better condition. Here's what I've done so far, and I think it actually helped. On the dark blue stripe, I found a matching color sharpie, and basically painted it on the brown spots. It made a weird shine differential, but when I used leather cleaner on it, the shine disappeared. So it doesn't look "perfect," but much better. I'll share a photo. I'm thinking white leather shoe type dye for the stripes. Other idea, the entire stripeBlue Stripe Repair.jpg panel, dye it black and leave the rest of the bag brown. I think that would still look good.
 
A little. We got a deal on the price. I told him if I can't fix it up, I'd find him another of the same in better condition. Here's what I've done so far, and I think it actually helped. On the dark blue stripe, I found a matching color sharpie, and basically painted it on the brown spots. It made a weird shine differential, but when I used leather cleaner on it, the shine disappeared. So it doesn't look "perfect," but much better. I'll share a photo. I'm thinking white leather shoe type dye for the stripes. Other idea, the entire stripeView attachment 5094480 panel, dye it black and leave the rest of the bag brown. I think that would still look good.

Looks good. I've read a lot of suggestions on here about applying acrylic paint mixed with CPR?

It's certainly what I'll be trying on my Sadie (also polished pebbled leather) at some point as it has a little patch of colour that has chipped off - similar to your situation.
 
Good afternoon rehabers! I'm going to rehab a turnlock of a coach vintage purse. It's my first time doing this. I plan to use BRASSO to remove tarnish, but don't know how to recover the coat on the turnlock.

May I know how you guys remove and add a new coating on the turnlock?View attachment 5094616
Most of us remove the coating with 0000 steel wool and then polish using Brasso and leave it at that. I haven't seen anyone recoat it.
 
The green lindsey will come back with the usual dunking...make sure you have CPR ready.

Im not sure on the other.
Other opinions welcome
Hi Narnanz, sorry it's been a while. But I just got the chance to dunk this dark green Lindsay and apply CPR to it. It becomes much better now! Thank you for your help.

Just one more thing that I'm not sure about. The color around the flap still didn't come back to usual. Do you have any suggestions on that?1.jpg2.jpg
 
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