Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[RadhaDB]

I had a chance to go thrifting today and didn't expect to find anything on a Saturday afternoon but I got lucky! Two vintage Coach and my first Kate Spade.

Pretty sure the Taylor is wearing the Convertible Clutch's strap, and therefore missing it's own. They are both actually in lovely condition, very soft and relatively clean. Both are the dark navy.

The Kate Spade caught by eye because the niceness of the leather trim- I didn't actually see the branding until I was looking closely at the purse. It's black canvas with leather trim and a cute striped lining. Needs cleaning- I would appreciate any advice! It has a stiffener of some sort so not sure it can be dunked...

 

[katev]

This might be a dumb question but after retouching a bag with acrylic paint + CPR and it's fully dried, should the bag never be washed/dunked again? Would that wash off the acrylic paint?
Along the same vein, could you condition a bag that's been painted?

I don't think I have ever rewashed a bag with a paint touch-up but if it does lose some color on the corners after rewashing you could just retouch it. Yes, you can condition a bag that has paint touch up; in my experience the paint dries permanent.

 

[americandreaming]

I started to rehab my newly acquired BT basic bag made around 1980. When I dunked it, both the water and my hands turned a darkish honey colour. Several more dunks with hot water and Dawn did not reduce the honey colour. Neither did a run through the laundry. The glued-in serial number did not budge but neither did the honey seepage.
I don’t think that it had a coloured polish applied because filling the bag with water also turned that water honey coloured.
Is it possible that the bag was over saturated with BT colour when it was made?

My saddle Pony which I’m guessing was made around the 70s did the same. When I conditioned with my hands they came away orange, and no other bag has ever done that. It’s hasn’t “leaked” color since it’s been dry, thankfully.

I also had orange hands when dealing with my Tabac NYC Dinky.

 

[americandreaming]

My black Metropolis may be TOO worn for the colour to come back with conditioner only but the white parts darken to unify with the rest of the bag every time I slather on the various conditioners. I'm considering trying Leather Therapy to see if it'll be the key.

Eta I did not precondition the Metropolis. My three Basics are also extremely parched and weathered so either way I definitely think LT will be needed as I don't have anything strong enough in my kit.

@katev am I looking at the right one? TIA! X

Absorbine Leather Therapy Restorer & Conditioner

This Absorbine Leather Therapy Restorer & Conditioner has a blend of rich replenishing oils formulated to transform dry, hard leather to original flexibility. It is ideal for restoring old, dried out leather and helps it last longer with regained suppleness and strength as well as inhibiting...

gsequestrian.co.uk

 

[katev]

My black Metropolis may be TOO worn for the colour to come back with conditioner only but the white parts darken to unify with the rest of the bag every time I slather on the various conditioners. I'm considering trying Leather Therapy to see if it'll be the key.

Eta I did not precondition the Metropolis. My three Basics are also extremely parched and weathered so either way I definitely think LT will be needed as I don't have anything strong enough in my kit.

@katev am I looking at the right one? TIA! X

Absorbine Leather Therapy Restorer & Conditioner

This Absorbine Leather Therapy Restorer & Conditioner has a blend of rich replenishing oils formulated to transform dry, hard leather to original flexibility. It is ideal for restoring old, dried out leather and helps it last longer with regained suppleness and strength as well as inhibiting...

gsequestrian.co.uk

That's the right stuff but there may be other, similar products that are cheaper and readily available in Europe, IDK.

 

[katev]

I started to rehab my newly acquired BT basic bag made around 1980. When I dunked it, both the water and my hands turned a darkish honey colour. Several more dunks with hot water and Dawn did not reduce the honey colour. Neither did a run through the laundry. The glued-in serial number did not budge but neither did the honey seepage.
I don’t think that it had a coloured polish applied because filling the bag with water also turned that water honey coloured.
Is it possible that the bag was over saturated with BT colour when it was made?

I have had bags where the color just runs no matter what. Oversaturation or maybe never firmly fixed? But the bags seem fine otherwise and haven't color transferred to clothes, so I put it down as a quirk of the dye process.

My saddle Pony which I’m guessing was made around the 70s did the same. When I conditioned with my hands they came away orange, and no other bag has ever done that. It’s hasn’t “leaked” color since it’s been dry, thankfully.

I also had orange hands when dealing with my Tabac NYC Dinky.

I've had color bleeding happen most frequently when bathing red bags, but not all red bags. At the link below you can see the bath water turning blood red while I was rehabbing 3 vintage NYC bags all in reddish shades. It looked bad and my hands were stained but the bags came out just fine.

Red hot in NYC! Three bag rehab reveal!

Here are some pics of washing the bags. I was nervous about ruining the bright colors. I got very nervous when the wash water started turning pink, then darker and then red, red, red! It was staining my fingers and I had to put on gloves! But the bags came out looking just fine, and now they are...

forum.purseblog.com

 

[Narnanz]

I've had color bleeding happen most frequently when bathing red bags, but not all red bags. At the link below you can see the bath water turning blood red while I was rehabbing 3 vintage NYC bags all in reddish shades. It looked bad and my hands were stained but the bags came out just fine.

Red hot in NYC! Three bag rehab reveal!

Here are some pics of washing the bags. I was nervous about ruining the bright colors. I got very nervous when the wash water started turning pink, then darker and then red, red, red! It was staining my fingers and I had to put on gloves! But the bags came out looking just fine, and now they are...

forum.purseblog.com

My current Ramblers Legacy looked like a bloodbath...I always thought of it as a good sign myself...lots of colour there to rehydrate the bag...if anyone gets my drift....I cant spoke proper England.

 

[katev]

View attachment 5065164

Here's a picture of my friend after I gave her the Hamptons Weekend Watercolor Stripe Small Tote today. Several other friends also gave her small gifts. She received balloons, a journal, and 2 gifts of flowers. She also got some floral leis to start her on her trip, but she only received one rehabbed Coach Tote - and she loved it! She said that "it is the perfect bag for a Florida vacation!" so I hope that she enjoys it. (She loved all of her gifts and was very touched and surprised.)

I bumped into my friend this morning and I was delighted to see that she was carrying the Hamptoms Weekend Watercolor Stripe Small Tote 10025 that I rehabbed as she went about her daily activities!

 

[Coachaddict4020]

My current Ramblers Legacy looked like a bloodbath...I always thought of it as a good sign myself...lots of colour there to rehydrate the bag...if anyone gets my drift....I cant spoke proper England.

Is the word you’re looking for “saturate”?

Agreed. I love when a bag bleeds a lot because the colour on the piping comes back very well. I purposely dunk in really hot water to get my bags to bleed haha

 

[Narnanz]

Is the word you’re looking for “saturate”?

Agreed. I love when a bag bleeds a lot because the colour on the piping comes back very well. I purposely dunk in really hot water to get my bags to bleed haha

Thank you...yes thats the word.

I actually get disappointed when they dont.

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

Well, I guess I'm hooked. (On rehab.) I was dreaming last night about working on this purse today. And so I will. Found it shrift shopping yesterday. I'm new to the game here and this is the first "Willis" purse I've obtained. LOVE IT! SO MUCH. Found these three purses yesterday. After learning from you all, I've done the "dunk" so far.

 

[whateve]

Well, I guess I'm hooked. (On rehab.) I was dreaming last night about working on this purse today. And so I will. Found it shrift shopping yesterday. I'm new to the game here and this is the first "Willis" purse I've obtained. LOVE IT! SO MUCH. Found these three purses yesterday. After learning from you all, I've done the "dunk" so far.View attachment 5102834View attachment 5102835View attachment 5102836

Welcome to the addiction! That isn't a Willis, it is a station bag. Willis has a wooden dowel at the top and is a little bigger.

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

Welcome to the addiction! That isn't a Willis, it is a station bag. Willis has a wooden dowel at the top and is a little bigger.

Cool! Thanks for the info. Whatever it is, it's for ME. Not selling this one. I LOVE it!!!!!!!! PS: The reason I thought that was when I researched the serial number, a lot of people were selling and describing this same serial number bag as Willis.

 

[LaVinCoach]

Oh how the rehab bug has bit... Now that my first *real-ish* rehab has boosted my confidence, I've decided I'm going to fix all the bags I was too scared to touch before (slowly but surely).

Still finishing up that Quincy bag I've been working on. I noticed that the edges felt kind of chalky after being painted, which is what I expected it to feel like due to the acrylic paint, but I conditioned it and it was nice and smooth again! I think I'm done with the corners even though one still seems to darken suspiciously whenever I condition the bag.. Looks fine dry, so I'm gonna leave it as is! It's currently drying from the... (lost track of number of CPR applications)... conditioning.

Also dunked 2 more bags last night and conditioned them. Waiting for them to dry so I can retouch their edges.

I've seen a lot of talk about horsehair brushes and buffing the bags.. I'm either not doing it right or it's a very subtle change, but I don't really see a difference.. All I am noticing is that horsehair gets stuck all over my bags Do you guys wait for the bags to fully dry after conditioning to buff? Or do you rub in the conditioner with the brush?

 

[seekingvintage]

Well, I guess I'm hooked. (On rehab.) I was dreaming last night about working on this purse today. And so I will. Found it shrift shopping yesterday. I'm new to the game here and this is the first "Willis" purse I've obtained. LOVE IT! SO MUCH. Found these three purses yesterday. After learning from you all, I've done the "dunk" so far.View attachment 5102834View attachment 5102835View attachment 5102836

Great finds!!