Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[americandreaming]

I have a black Metropolis and two brown (think mocha and tabac) Basics all in poor condition that up until last night were just sitting and collecting dust.

I had dunked them a few months ago and piled on 20983432 coats of 29874923 different conditioners (NONE being cpr) and nothing happened except oversaturation yet STILL dry! I redunked and SCRUBBED them a few weeks ago and didn't condition them, thinking they still had too much conditioner, but they stayed dry and cardboard-y. Since Amazon UK finally restocked cpr and I ordered a bunch to come, I decided there was nothing to lose by trying healing balm on the defaced areas and a thick layer of cpr on each of the bags.

Well now they're all CPRed up, super soft, all the defacing to the surface has been vigorously buffed out and they're glowing! Not done with them to take after pics as I'm going to finish them after my exams but this completely lifts my mood as I thought I had a scrap pile of bags to have to try and sell on for pennies.

The Metropolis piping was super super worn and white and no conditioner (including LT) was making any difference to texture nor colour. One layer of CPR brought the colour right back! Now the whole bag is glowing from conditioning whereas the other conditioners before were making no difference at all. I think I will keep and try out the Metropolis now that it looks good! My three Basics (third is burgundy) will be going.

After trying out a gazillion products, I definitely think my favourites are healing balm, cpr and br. I need to do a direct comparison of renapur and chambers to find br's runner up. There are no runners up to healing balm and cpr.

Low quality before and current of the metropolis

 

[GoStanford]

Just as an update, the selling site "Depop" responded to my pictures saying they would be taking my feedback down and said,

"Please know this is not a formal warning, just a friendly reminder to provide clear, honest context in your reviews, keeping feedback as accurate and fair as possible."



I'm shocked and I probably shouldn't be. Nice to know they filter their reviews to side with the seller and promote sales. I wrote back a lengthy email, which I'm sure won't make a difference, but just wanted to let them know how dishonest and unfair THEY are being.

If a clawed up bag isn't enough proof, I don't know what is.

That is frustrating. Why do they even collect feedback if they won’t use it to impact how they handle sales OR at least use it to increase awareness and let buyers make their own decision with fair warning?

 

[katev]

Thanks, and happily there was was damage to coach bags!

I meant to type "no damage"!

 

[DL Harper]

I meant to type "no damage"!

 

[SloaneTailor]

Here's a picture of a Butter Copley bag and wallet that I rehabbed. It's a very hard color to photograph because the color really changes with the light and it can look yellow, white, grey, cream, etc.

It's a beautiful bag but it was a difficult rehab and I was a little disappointed with the results because I just couldn't get it to look quite as clean as I wanted, especially the stitching.

View attachment 5163379

I am a little nervous about rehabbing it. I have seen some say soaking the bag is fine but I worry about the structure and any panels inside. I may try to get away with just CPR and even a wipe down with a soapy cloth. If you could expand on your experience I would appreciate it. Did you wash yours?

 

[whateve]

There's a feature on Amazon in the US that I have come to love. If you ever look at something that you've bought previously, a box at the top of the item page tells you how many times and when you bought it. I headed there to get this Healing Balm after reading your post because I have a bag coming that will need some work on the leather surface. Well, surprise, surprise I bought it last year! Yes, it was on my supply shelf, behind some other items that I use more often. Saved me money but made me realize that I need to reorganize that shelf!

That feature has saved me some money! I went there recently to order some trash bags and Amazon said I had bought some a few months before. I had put them in a different place than I normally do so I didn't find them at first.

 

[whateve]

It's a happy Friday for me! Toffee 9033 arrived and she's beautiful. I think she will look super good after rehabbing although she'll have to wait until September.

View attachment 5163129

9033/9034 toffee comp for you @whateve. The 9033 looks richer to me. eta sorry didn't notice my hand was in it

View attachment 5163130

Thanks! They are both beautiful.

 

[whateve]

Thank you for the photos and measurements, which will be helpful if I decide to check with a local cobbler to create a strap. Price dependent, of course

It might be cheaper to buy a wristlet that has a removable strap.

 

[katev]

I am a little nervous about rehabbing it. I have seen some say soaking the bag is fine but I worry about the structure and any panels inside. I may try to get away with just CPR and even a wipe down with a soapy cloth. If you could expand on your experience I would appreciate it. Did you wash yours?

Sure, I have rehabbed several vintage Italian Madison bags and they hold up well to the rehab process. Some of them just needed surface cleaning - like my Beechnut Gracie - but others needed a bath either because they were dirty or misshapen (or both!)

Below are links for the rehabs of my Butter Copley and 2 other vintage Madison bags that I also dunked, a Cherry Red Carlyle and a Forest Green Drake Briefbag. They both did fine with their baths but there are 2 things I've learned about rehabbing vintage Italian Madison and Gramercy bags and wallets:

1) They take several days to dry and you just have to be patient.

2) If you polish the hardware too hard it will loose the brushed finish and turn shiny gold.

Good luck with your Gracie!


Madison Copley 4414, Butter, Italy 1996 and French Purse Wallet 4473, Butter, Italy, 1996 – After: https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-1169#post-32540096


Madison Carlyle 4401, Cherry Red, Italy 1994 – Before:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-1646#post-33532703

Madison Carlyle 4401, Cherry Red, Italy 1994 – After:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-1646#post-33532733


Drake Briefbag 4420, Forest Green, Italy 1995 - Before:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-1646#post-33532798

Drake Briefbag 4420, Forest Green, Italy 1995 - After:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-1646#post-33532882

 

[Coachaddict4020]

Just as an update, the selling site "Depop" responded to my pictures saying they would be taking my feedback down and said,

"Please know this is not a formal warning, just a friendly reminder to provide clear, honest context in your reviews, keeping feedback as accurate and fair as possible."



I'm shocked and I probably shouldn't be. Nice to know they filter their reviews to side with the seller and promote sales. I wrote back a lengthy email, which I'm sure won't make a difference, but just wanted to let them know how dishonest and unfair THEY are being.

If a clawed up bag isn't enough proof, I don't know what is.

Depop is a gamble. Every bag I’ve purchased off that platform has had undisclosed damage or been a PITA during the rehab. Im really hoping I have better luck with my latest purchase because it was described as barely used & looks to be accurate based on the pictures. Fingers crossed!

 

[americandreaming]

The healing balm. What does the no1 product do?

Hi, healing balm is an intense conditioning product for really dry/scratched/cracked leather rather than a finishing wax like br, which I use as a final step once the leather looks all good so they are not comparable - like you said, different issues.

No1 is like a normal maintenance conditioner. They say it 'rejuvenates' but I've been through a big bottle and it didn't rejuvenate anything I used it on but it smells nice and I enjoy using it to spruce up my shoes! Ie leather cpr all the way!!!

 

[RadhaDB]

Me: Man, I sure miss my black Willis. So versatile, one of the few black bags I just really loved. Shouldn't have given it away. Maybe I'll just check eBay...

One week later, package open: Yay! Great price and those corners will spruce right up...wait, does that look blue? Nah...

Today before the dunk: Bit of a fixer upper...hmm. IS that blue? No, no, it's black...

In the dunk:


Dammit.

Anyway, I have a new navy Willis

 

[Rougery]

Me: Man, I sure miss my black Willis. So versatile, one of the few black bags I just really loved. Shouldn't have given it away. Maybe I'll just check eBay...

One week later, package open: Yay! Great price and those corners will spruce right up...wait, does that look blue? Nah...

Today before the dunk: Bit of a fixer upper...hmm. IS that blue? No, no, it's black...

In the dunk:
View attachment 5163827

Dammit.

Anyway, I have a new navy Willis

Is it the color of the bag during the dunk or the dye in the water that gives it away as navy instead of black? If it’s the latter, I would’ve (naively) assumed Coach used a blue-based black like some manufacturers do with paints, hair dye, etc.

My black Willis is next in line for a dunk and I’d like to know what to look out for.

 

[RadhaDB]

Is it the color of the bag during the dunk or the dye in the water that gives it away as navy instead of black? If it’s the latter, I would’ve (naively) assumed Coach used a blue-based black like some manufacturers do with paints, hair dye, etc.

My black Willis is next in line for a dunk and I’d like to know what to look out for.

The water color here helps, because (and it's hard to tell from my nighttime photo) it's a clear true blue. But, once clean the leather has become more obviously navy also.
You are absolutely right in that black dyes often contain blue or purple hues and the water from a black bag often looks bluish. In this case it's a combo of the leather being blue now that it's clean, and perfectly blue water showing that the bag is navy.

 

[Rougery]

The water color here helps, because (and it's hard to tell from my nighttime photo) it's a clear true blue. But, once clean the leather has become more obviously navy also.
You are absolutely right in that black dyes often contain blue or purple hues and the water from a black bag often looks bluish. In this case it's a combo of the leather being blue now that it's clean, and perfectly blue water showing that the bag is navy.

Thank you! I’ve read about the struggles of finding a true black Willis. Sorry you got caught up in that... unless you are pleased with the bag, then the condolences are unnecessary.